Merkel gets back at Berlusconi

The (unfortunately) irrepressible Silvio Berlusconi recently made a disparaging remark about the feminine charms of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. To be precise, he called her a culona inchiavabile, an unfuckable fat ass. This of course is in line with his usual refinement and tact.

In the video, we see comedian Maurizio Crozza impersonating Merkel and answering her distinguished Italian colleague. At the end of the video, she asks if they have put asterisks in the obscene words. Then she specifies that culona inchiavabile is not the obscene part (nein, nein, nein, nein, nein!), but "Berlusconi" is. Danke schoen!

Want to read about Berlusconi?

Want to read about Berlusconi? I don't. I can't even remember when I reached the saturation point with this fellow. Must have been at least ten years ago.

But in case you do, the British weekly The Economist has an article out about him with the elegant title "The man who screwed an entire country." We Americans have a lot to learn from the Brits where tastefulness is concerned. Of course maybe they mean it quite literally, in reference to his romantic pursuits. He even kissed the hand of Colonel Gheddafi, who isn't even Italian. But I think that little tryst has come to an end.

Iabba Dabba Du! Buon Compleanno, Antenati!

One of the joys of my childhood was The Flintstones. Google's doodle today reminds us of an important event- the fiftieth anniversary of Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty, Bam Bam and Pebbles. Oh, and Dino.

Like almost everything else America has come up with, the Italians have adopted this cartoon prehistoric family, which they usually call "Gli antenati" (the ancestors.) However, when I moved to Italy in 1962 I underwent abrupt withdrawal from my Bedrock habit. At the time, Italy only had two TV stations, RAI 1 and RAI 2, both state-controlled. There was limited programming beginning only in the afternoon, with children's shows- "La TV dei Ragazzi." Along with being in Italian school and my little next-door neighbor Anna Maria Tartaruga (wonder where she is now?), this is how I learned Italian. The Flintstones and a slew of other American programming came to the Italians by the late 70's, courtesy of Mr. Silvio Berlusconi, and his private TV's. A lot of the hostility of the Italian Left to Berlusconi comes from his perceived role in the (further) Americanization of Italy.

(in the clip, Fred sounding like Fred, but Wilma not sounding like Wilma)

I took a peek at Il Fatto Quotidiano

As I said yesterday, I was going to take a look at the new Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano and I was finally able to access the pdf file of the first edition (yesterday's).

It was pretty much what I expected. Heavy and tendentious. Although it has some prestigious names such as Furio Colombo, Paolo Flores D'Arcais, and Antonio Tabucchi (whose novel Sostiene Pereira- Pereira Declares- I can heartily recommend) its content is predictable. The people behind this think they're part of a new, better Left. They're not.

I wish them success but I think the seriosita' (meaning "seriousness" in the negative sense, something like self-important solemnity) and the redundancy (La Repubblica has already cornered the market on Berlusconi hatred) does not bode well.

Italians continue to be ideological and self-righteous. What the country needs, and needs right now, is concerted action to address its serious problems. These problems cannot all be the result of Silvio Berlusconi. And I'm no admirer of his.

Berlusconi and Italian TV

This rientro (the period after the end of the summer vacation season) has been marked by conflict between the administration of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who made most of his mega-money with the media (nice alliteration), and the remaining parts of Italian TV that are not seen as being in line with what the Italians like to call, somewhat melodramatically, the "regime."

Various roundabout but not entirely subtle ways have been employed to forestall or even eliminate popular and well-made programs on current events such as Michele Santoro's Annozero, Giovanni Floris' Ballaro', and Milena Gabanelli's Report. Now these are all good and important programs, and I advise those of you who want the real inside deal on the increasingly less Bel Paese to check 'em out online.

Of special interest to those practicing their Italian is the program by Milena Gabanelli (in the photo), Report, with a user-friendly site and full transcripts for the videos.

Di Pietro apologizes for Berlusconi

Antonio Di Pietro is an Italian politician and former cop and prosecutor. He became famous in the early '90's for his primary role in the Clean Hands investigations in which, with outstanding courage and integrity, he took on the widespread corruption in his country.

And now, from the pages of the British left-of-center daily The Guardian, comes an article of his in which he apologizes for Berlusconi. He gives a good, succinct account of Berlusconi's wrongdoing, all of it accurate.

But. I've always strongly believed that you cannot and should not apologize for someone else. Not only that; those who do so strike me as advertising their own superiority. And my point here with respect to Berlusconi is that the average Italian is not morally superior to him. Many Italians think they are, for two reasons. One: denial and lack of insight into their own behavior- there is no Italian word for the English "insight." Two: the average person (not only in Italy) often doesn't do the dirt of the very rich and powerful because they don't have the means, but they manage plenty of injustice on a smaller scale, often quite damaging.

The comments section of online publications is quickly becoming an integral part of such publications (except for this one). One of the commenters exonerates Italians by saying that Berlusconi diabolically shaped Italians over the years with his control of the media, creating a monster-public that was ripe to be manipulated. I've heard that one before. No, no. Another of my strong beliefs is that adults are ipso facto responsible for their behavior. No blaming your momma, your poppa, Society, or Silvio Berlusconi. This is also simply not correct in the case of Italy. Director and writer Pier Paolo Pasolini famously was analyzing the degraded social condition of Italy in the early '70's, before Berlusconi's admittedly vast influence.

And what would be a realistic basis of comparison? Before his control of the country, the Italians had decades of a near-monopoly by the deplorable Christian Democrats ("Christian" "Democrats"). And before that twenty years of Benito Mussolini. Objectively speaking, Berlusconi is an improvement over both.

Italian proverbs- fra moglie e marito non mettere il dito

Have you ever been tired of something even before it started? I'm already tired of Prime Minister Berlusconi's impending divorce.

The proverb says: fra moglie e marito non mettere dito. Literally, do not put your finger between wife and husband- butt out. But here it seems to be "that lady" (as B. is now calling his wife) who is encouraging the world as a whole to be a buttinski. Not long ago, after one compliment too many to a nubile young lady, Veronica Lario complained via the left-of-center Repubblica, demanding a public apology. Which Silvio complied with. Now he has gone so far as to attend the eighteenth birthday party of a pretty blonde who calls him "papi." This time the septuagenarian head of state is not apologizing, so the lady is filing for divorce. "Berlusca" maintains that the attractive former actress is being manipulated by his rivals on the left. A vast left-wing conspiracy.

Another proverb comes to mind: i panni sporchi si lavano in casa. Dirty laundry should be washed at home. But apparently Veronica is a rule-breaker and is challenging the long-held Italian male's light-hearted attitude to adultery. And using her husband's own tools (the media) against him.

We are not amused- or are we?

First Michelle Obama towers over her and then hugs her. Then Prime Minister (and second richest man in Italy) Silvio Berlusconi yells across the room to get Obama's attention, in Her Majesty's presence. Later, Buckingham Palace clarified that it was in fact amused and took Berlusconi's behavior as a joke.

I don't side politically with Berlusconi, but I do think that Italians make too much of his misbehavior, with silly claims that he makes them ashamed to be Italian. As they would themselves say: i problemi sono ben altri (they have different- and worse- problems).

Get a look at the incident by searching You Tube with the words "Berlusconi" and "Regina"- you'll see numerous comments left by disapproving compatriots.