A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #337 - Italy: The parties pass, the confindustria remains (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

There are few countries where the close links between employers and 
political leaders have been so assumed and claimed for 75 years as a 
guarantee of competence. The fact that Giorgia Meloni claims to be the 
heritage of fascism does not change much! ---- It was from 1990 that the 
Italian political landscape which seemed eternal disappeared. ---- 45 
years of absolute domination of the Christian Democracy (DC) in power 
and the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in opposition do not resist the 
political earthquake that shakes the world with the fall of the Berlin 
Wall and the dissolution of the USSR. This Italian bipartisanship (1) 
corresponded to the bipolarization of the world between the two 
imperialisms.
In reality, the end of the conflict between Don Camillo and Peppone was 
already taking shape fifteen years earlier with the "historic 
compromise" brought to the baptismal font by the PCI of Errico 
Berlinguer, the inventor of Eurocommunism, and by the majority of the DC 
with the figure of Aldo Moro. But on March 16, 1978, while he went to 
parliament to ratify a new “alliance” between the two intimate enemies 
through a unity government supported by the PCI (2), Moro was kidnapped 
by the Red Brigades and executed 50 days later.

Italy is then under the control of three pressure groups: the Church, 
the United States, for whom the peninsula is the advanced bastion of 
NATO and, of course, the employers led by the CEO of FIAT. , Agnelli. 
Let's add "the octopus" (the mafia), which has at least one tentacle in 
each group. The employers, unlike the Vatican and the United States, saw 
no disadvantage to the historic compromise insofar as the PCI had 
undertaken not to nationalize the avvocato automobile factory (3) and 
not to put into question causes Italy's membership in NATO. Moro's death 
sounded the death knell for the experiment and the Italian political 
world then sank into a slow decomposition which would lead to the 
explosion of the 1990s, when, the icing on the cake, Operation Mani 
Pulite ( clean hands) carried out by judges from the Milan public 
prosecutor's office reveals what everyone knew, large-scale corruption 
in the political world.

Aldo Moro shuttering
After the Ambrosino bank crash in 1982 which directly implicated the 
Vatican, and the multiple bribery cases; after the “scandals” of the P2 
Lodge (4) and Gladio, a secret anti-communist paramilitary structure, 
responsible for the strategy of tension with the attack on Piazza 
Fontana in 1969 of which the anarchist Pinelli was wrongly accused; 
after the Christian Democrats' links with the mafia, the far right, and 
the American secret services became evident, the DC, PSI, and others of 
lesser importance had no choice but to disappear quickly.


The space left vacant by the two deceased ogres of the past is then 
offered to the ambitions of a multitude of groupings and personalities, 
shooting stars which appeared, disappeared, split, recomposed, combined, 
by furnishing the political space Italian since the beginning of the 
century. Four end up emerging on the right, which are in reality 
coalitions of mini parties.

The Lega founded by Umberto Bossi in 1991, demanding autonomy for part 
of the north of the country on xenophobic grounds towards southern 
Italians and more generally all emigrants. Having become a national 
party, it only advocates federalism.

Forza Italia (FI) of Cavaliere Berlusconi, an eminent figure of 
transalpine capitalism and member of the P2 lodge, was formed in 1994 
then merged for a time in 2009 with the National Alliance (heiress to 
the MSI) in The People of Liberty.

The 5 Star Movement of the cathodic comedian Beppe Grillo appeared in 
2009, a mixture of ecology and demands for direct participatory 
democracy. Behind this facade which may have seduced certain left-wing 
activists, there is a constant, an opposition to the rights of the soil 
and a firm policy vis-à-vis immigration. The Grillo quickly disappeared 
but the populism of Cinque stelle gained weight.

Finally the latest born in 2014, Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy), 
led by the current Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, formed by dissidents 
most openly linked to fascism from the People of Liberty and the 
National Alliance ( 1). The same year, in the European elections, the 
“Brothers” received a million votes but less than the 4% necessary to 
have a deputy. In 2018 they exceeded the 4% mark and sent 32 deputies to 
parliament. This is the time when the 5 Star movement and Matteo 
Salvini's Lega are on the rise and govern together without the support 
of Fratelli who considers 5 Star to be "left-wing"! Note that Fratelli 
d'Italia is also the name of the transalpine anthem... As if Marion 
Maréchal decided to found a party called Marseillaise... you never know!   

The left, for its part, is trying to form a coalition which no longer 
even presents itself as social democracy but which, under the name of 
L'Olivier (from 1995 to 2007), brings together a few scum of the ex-PCI 
and PSI, castaways from the DC and ghostly ecologists. Their leader is 
not just anyone, it is an eminent servant of Capital, Romano Prodi: 
Minister of Industry at the end of the 1970s, he then headed the IRI (5) 
– Institute of Industrial Reconstruction. Between 1996 and 2008, he 
spent two short stints as head of government.


It was to these new political formations that the mandate fell to manage 
the difficulties that Italian capitalism was once again experiencing. 
The post-war “economic miracle” was nothing more than a memory. It was 
built thanks to the Marshall Plan, the modernization of the steel 
industry and the dynamism of small and medium-sized businesses which 
were able to create profitable niches (clothing, food, mechanics, etc.), 
taking advantage of the end of protectionism and the weak labor costs in 
the peninsula; Italy had thus become a great industrial power.

But Italian capitalism is largely family capitalism (even now, 40% of 
the 300 largest companies are managed by their founder or one of his 
heirs). What was an asset for the construction of the “miracle” thanks 
to the dynamism and taste for risk of these entrepreneurs became a brake 
when the increasingly globalized economy required greater investments to 
deal with crises, in particular to that of 2008. Many of these SMEs did 
not have the investment capacity necessary to remain competitive. 
Because they were unable or unable to develop, 1,300 Italian companies 
were bought in a few years by large groups.

The mission of the new political class which comes to power is therefore 
to carry out the structural measures necessary to help the employers 
overcome these difficulties.
From 2001 to 2006, Berlusconism, obliging budgetary austerity, 
initiated a set of reforms leading to the precariousness of many public 
services. Privatizations and openings to competition follow one another 
and even accelerate with the “left” government of Prodi from 2006 to 2008.
A little later, another left-wing coalition (Matteo Renzi from 2014 to 
2016) sets up Jobs act which eliminates the possibility of being 
reinstated in their company for the unfairly dismissed employee, thus 
abolishing a conquest of the struggles of the 1970s. This coalition also 
establishes the “CDI with increasing protection” with a trial period of… 
three years, during which the employer therefore does not have to 
justify the termination of the contract. Severance pay increases 
depending on the employee's seniority in the company. The icing on the 
cake is that employers are exempt from social security contributions on 
this type of contract for these three years. Under pressure from the 
base and social centers, a one-day strike was organized on December 12, 
2014 at the call of the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labor) 
and the UIL (Italian Labor Union). But for the union bureaucracies it 
was only a demonstration of their existence and not the starting point 
of a struggle. That same evening, they left the field open to the 
government which ratified the Jobs Act in February 2015. These measures 
were supposed to create jobs, but this obviously did not happen.


What followed were short-lived coalition governments around 5 Stars and 
the League. The latest, by Mario Draghi, perfectly illustrates the 
direct links between employers and politicians. Former vice-president of 
Golden Sachs (6), then governor of the Bank of Italy and finally 
president of the European Central Bank until 2019, he became president 
of the Italian Council of Ministers on February 13, 2021 with the 
support of all gone from parliament! He seems like the right person in 
the right place. And yet his government does not last. A few months 
later, his management of Covid (he imposes strict health measures: 
health pass, compulsory vaccination for medical personnel), rising 
inflation and poverty, and the accelerated deterioration of public 
services are the reason for his popularity. His allies, 5 stars first, 
then the Lega and FI dump him. Early elections are organized for 
September 2022.

A new coalition is formed between Fratelli d'Italia, the Lega, and Forza 
Italia. Under the leadership of Meloni, the campaign is led on promises 
of tax cuts, the “defense of the homeland” (stopping immigration and 
closing ports, defense of Judeo-Christian values ​​concerning the 
family). Previously Eurosceptical, the coalition now says they are in 
favor of European integration with an EU reform in terms of public 
spending. It is planned to abolish the “citizenship income” established 
a few years previously by 5 stars, and to implement a tax policy 
favoring heritage. Giorgia Meloni becomes the favorite of business circles.
The victory is total. The coalition received 44% of the votes, that of 
the center left (Democratic Party, Greens, and others), 26%. The 5-star 
movement that goes it alone, 16%. Within this coalition, Fratelli is 
well ahead of his allies by garnering three times more votes than all of 
his partners.
With an absolute majority in both chambers, Meloni is tasked by the 
President of the Republic with forming a government.

Barely had the first Meloni government been formed, the appointment of 
Giancarlo Giorgetti as economy minister made it clear that Italy would 
not embark on any initiative without EU agreement. Coming from the MSI 
(1), Giogetti became a pillar of the Lega but of the economically 
liberal tendency favorable to the EU and close links with the United 
States and NATO. Minister of economic development in the Draghi 
government, he clearly indicated that Meloni would pursue the same line. 
Barely elected, she increased her international travel in order to erase 
her sovereignist image. The new government also confirms its alignment 
with Italy's traditional allies both with regard to the war in Ukraine 
and that of the Middle East. “We became friends,” declared the American 
president after meeting him.
Noting that in recent years the State having given a lot to the banks, 
they had to give a little in turn, Giorgetti introduced a tax on their 
excess profits; a way to show off a little social side. But now, the 
bosses don't want it and are making it known. Giorgetti admits to 
“communication errors” and backpedals by assuring that, even if this tax 
is fair, there would be significant adjustments and balancing of the 
tax. Important indeed! If the banks do not want to pay the tax, they 
have the right to do so provided they pay nothing to shareholders and 
put the agent aside. This is obviously the choice that almost all of 
them make… and yet the amounts paid to shareholders have increased 
further in recent months. As for fears of a possible extension of such a 
tax to other sectors, a representative of the bosses declared that he 
did not expect a new "clumsy error": "I think the government has learned 
from his mistakes” he declared like a good teacher scolding his students.

Despite a significant tightening of repression against migrants that 
everyone has heard about, the promise of “closed ports” has not been kept.
The formula displayed during the campaign, “yes to tourists, no to 
migrants”, was clear. Welcome to the rich, it doesn't matter if, despite 
the patrimonial nationalism displayed, they plunder the territory. It 
doesn't matter if, despite the Brothers' social discourse, they expel 
the poor from city centers by organizing speculation in real estate and 
basic necessities. As for migrants, they are unwelcome, not because of 
the color of their skin (racism does not come into play here) but 
because they are poor.
However, in an aging Italy the labor market is suffering from 
demographic decline so much so that massive recourse to foreign workers 
is inevitable in sectors such as agriculture, catering or fishing. They 
already represent the main workforce in certain sectors. Italian 
employers are calling for an influx of immigrant workers to support the 
economy! The daily La Republica headlined, in the name of Italian 
employers: “We need immigrants”. While the government says it wants to 
close the borders, businesses are calling on it to immediately encourage 
the arrival of at least 200,000 foreign workers. If the firmness 
displayed by the Meloni government is necessary for its popularity and 
the maintenance of its electoral base, it could harm the economy! This 
is how, on December 14, 2023, the government decided to bring 452,000 
foreign workers into Italy in three years, the largest quota in 12 years.
Part of the opposition forces in Italy, after a year, tried to prove the 
incompetence and demagoguery of the government due to the fact that 
promises had not been kept. Such analysis only distracts from what the 
new covenant truly represents. Indeed, behind the broken promises lie 
the very real ones that were made to the employers for whom, for 
whatever reason, the new coalition operates as the previous one did.

Have we ever seen broken promises defeat governments, even those 
considered incompetent? No. the Meloni government is the direct 
expression of an anti-social and anti-popular right which finds its 
source in specific social strata, such as traders, bosses, the police. 
And the measures taken are not a question of promises kept or not. Let's 
take an example, citizenship income. It was canceled as promised, but 
partially reinstated a few months later before the summer: it was not a 
broken promise, nor even, unfortunately, the consequence of a struggle. 
At the start of summer, it was a question of “providing labor in 
conditions of semi-slavery to this world which revolves around tourism, 
from restaurants to hotels” (Sicilia Libertaria).
A fascist regime?
The political career of both Fratelli and the Lega may suggest that 
Italy has just changed its regime and moved to fascism. Certainly, 
Meloni governs through decree-laws without Parliament having a say, but 
without switching to another regime. Last November, the council of 
ministers approved a constitutional reform project establishing the 
election of the prime minister by direct universal suffrage for a period 
of 5 years on the pretext of putting an end to 75 years of chronic 
governmental instability (12 presidents of the council in 20 years). 
However, this is not a change of regime because the role of the 
President of the Republic is maintained, the Prime Minister will not be 
able to appoint his ministers or dismiss them or even dissolve the 
chamber in the event of a conflict.
Certainly repressive measures are increasing, such as those against 
social centers. The government has announced zero tolerance towards 
illegal occupations of premises, which means the need for them to be 
legalized and to obey standards which would empty them of their 
rupturist substance to make them places of simple " care”.
We know the policy towards migrants, modulated by the needs of 
employers. But all this constitutes more the continuation of a 
parliamentary regime with an authoritarian liberal policy such as we 
find more every day in Europe, than a fascist regime which should be a 
single party with a ban on all others, supported by militias and by the 
army.

Although weakened in recent years, it is not absent, but it is not to be 
found among the left-wing institutional bureaucracies. The Democratic 
Party, the Left-Green Alliance and sometimes the 5 Star Movement try to 
organize demonstrations against the government with the unions. For 
example, on November 17, 2023, a day of action took place in Milan, 
Rome, Genoa, Bologna and Naples against the refusal of a minimum wage 
and against the finance law which prefers to use the meager resources of 
the State to satisfy populist demands and thus go hunting for votes to 
the detriment of education or health. The strike was a success but could 
not prevent the government from restricting the right to 4 hours instead 
of the 8 planned. The unions, who say they admire a “true art” of the 
strike in a France where “citizens know how to be respected”, are eyeing 
greedily beyond the Alps. If indeed they can envy the constancy of the 
mobilization regarding pensions, they forget to specify the stagnation 
caused by these demonstrations centrally overseen by a bureaucratic 
inter-union. According to others, “à la française” means yellow vests. 
And this is more serious. La Meloni will not deny us that she said she 
feared the outbreak of spontaneous revolts… More than her parliamentary 
opposition in any case! We remember that in 2013 “the pitchfork 
movement” shook Italy. Coming from the depths of society, it now appears 
to be an anticipation of what the Yellow Vests will be like in France 
ten years later.
Indeed, if the demonstrations of November 17 were a success (50,000 in 
Rome), those of the 25th against violence against women brought together 
nearly 500,000 people in the same city, which far exceeds the figures 
for the rallies at the initiative of parties and unions. It is obvious 
that it was not ONLY a feminist demand but that it reflected a more 
global desire for protest emerging outside of traditional bureaucracies.
It is perhaps in Bologna that the protest landscape of the coming months 
will take shape. An atypical city, it has often been the crucible of 
radical innovations and to see that currently rallies, demonstrations, 
parades take place there almost daily against the State of the Brothers, 
can only give us hope.

jpd

Notes
(1) On the eve of 1990, the PCI still had 27% of the vote (in an Italy 
where more than 80% of those registered voted) after having reached 35% 
in 1976. Let us add the existence of a socialist party , weak but 
playing from 1983 to 1986 the role of useful idiot in maintaining the 
system with Bettino Craxi at the helm. And, of course, an Italian Social 
Movement (MSI) openly claiming to be fascism, and which remained at 
around 6/8% but which had to reconvert into the National Alliance (AN) 
in 1994.
(2) Without, however, this last one participates
(3) This is what Giovanni Agnelli was called, also president of 
Confindustria, the employers' union.
(4) A true State within a State, it is a Masonic lodge whose objective 
was to make Italy an anti-communist bastion by means of large-scale 
corruption. Obviously opposed to historical compromise.
(5) The Institute of Industrial Reconstruction was the most powerful 
body in Italy in the management of state-owned capital. A public 
organization, created in 1933 by the fascist government, it was, until 
the wave of privatization from 2000, responsible for managing the 
sectors of the economy controlled directly by the State. With 
Confindustria, the employers' union, the IRI constituted the real power 
in Italy.
(6) Very old American investment bank which has multiplied fraud and 
embezzlement. After numerous losses, it benefits from new liquidity 
while Warren Buffet (the one who claims to lead the class struggle for 
the benefit of the capitalists), enters the capital of GS
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