The Italian Dilemma

ROME, February 4, 2008

The current political crisis in Italy, caused by a no confidence vote which brought down the Government headed by Romano Prodi does not, in itself, appear much different from dozens of similar situations which have plagued Italian political life for many decades, and the scenario that is now unfolding seems painfully familiar. Well beyond the immediate causes and the political significance of this last crisis, there is, however, a general consensus that Italy today is a particularly troubled Country, though it seems difficult to analyze the origins and the extent of this present troubled state.

The fact is that whereas, in the past, situations of political crisis, with governments collapsing and elections being called before the end of the Legislature seemed to be observed with considerable – sometimes cynical – detachment by Italian public opinion, there is today a palpable air of malaise – or “malessere” – which seems to be bringing a growing number of people to distance themselves from politics and to treat all parties and all politicians with a contempt that is sometimes, but surely not always, deserved.

Attempts at analysis of the situation have been numerous and well qualified both from within Italy and from the outside. A recent book on the subject – “La Casta” – has, for instance, become a best seller in a society not particularly devoted to reading, while the non Italian press, on its part, has been quite liberal in its offerings on the subject. A few weeks ago, for example, the New York Times published an excellent, intelligent and eminently readable article about Italy in which the Rome correspondent, Ian Fisher, expressed some very accurate critical comments, most of which, in reality, echoed much of what Italy’s more responsible journalists had been writing for the past months.

Italians seem well aware of the country’s predicament, which is a constant subject of debate both in private conversations and in the media, and which has opened the doors to a novel form of populism, dubbed “antipolitica” personified by a very popular comedian, Beppe Grillo.

It was therefore surprising that recent critical opinions in the foreign press, and particularly the New York Times article, caused a considerable storm, and reactions were immediate and hostile, going as far as a public statement by the president of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, to the effect that, even though the Country was perhaps experiencing some problems, these would be overcome by the “animal spirits” of the Italians.

There followed the customary Italian reaction to “foreign attacks”, and the usual gamut of responses were fired in rapid succession. The glories of the Roman Empire, the Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Federico Fellini all were brought into play, and going down (or perhaps up) the cultural ladder, even pasta, pizza and the Football World Cup ended up being used as ammunition in the defense of Italian Pride: the motto seemed to be: “no criticism, please, we’re Italian”. Eminent pundits dismissed articles such as these as “the customary anti-Italian attacks in the Anglo-Saxon press”, and it should be noted that for most Italian intellectuals anyone who is either a part time or a full time English speaker, from Cape Town to Dublin, is regarded as “Anglo-Saxon”.

These reactions could appear inexplicable and, above all, utterly disproportionate unless an additional factor were also taken into account, which, in reality, tends to be ignored both in Italy and abroad. Because of a stubborn, almost aggressive refusal to learn the main vehicular languages, English in particular, spoken by now all over the world, Italians, one of the last monolingual people in continental Europe, find themselves in a growing state of cultural isolation. The Italian public doesn't even get to see foreign films, no matter how famous, if not in atrociously dubbed versions, and is cut off from all the leading international sources of information, except for snippets filtered through by the Italian media, which, in truth, tries to deliver a fairly extensive coverage of international events, trends and opinions. Although Italy is, by all accounts, a democratic society, and although the Italian press is extremely free and outspoken, the Italian pubic thus finds itself in a state of dependence on the choices of the national media – almost as if in an autocratic regime – for any glimpse into the workings of the outside world.

A stubborn belief is therefore prevalent, in Italy, that the rest of the world is gripped by a feeling of admiration and respect for all things Italian, and, as a result, the filtering down of critical comments, sometimes merciless, comes as a deep shock causing resentment and hostile reactions.

This state of isolation, of course, is not in itself the cause of the current political turmoil, but it does contribute continually, albeit subtly, to the general feeling of depression and frustration prevailing in a Country usually known for rather buoyant responses to situations of crisis. This fact should be a cause for concern and some anxiety, because the continued sapping of a people’s self confidence is often conducive to populist solutions, some of which already appear to be maturing outside of the accepted political arena.

Carlo Ungaro