Berlusconi’s personal war is not only personal

Italy is facing once again a internal political power struggle between the judiciary system and the legislative one. No wonder that Silvio Berlusconi is at the centre of attention and, guess what? The governing body of the Italian magistrates is accusing him – as usually – of trying to dodge a trial.

The CSM (Superior Council of Judiciary) has labeled as “irrational” and anti-constitutional a decree aimed at speeding-up the work of the Italian judiciary system by suspending for one year all trials for crimes committed before mid 2002, except those in which violence , Mafia, serious crimes and workplace accidents are involved.

The decree is clearly intended to make the very slow work of the Italian magistrates a bit faster by allowing the most serious trials to have priority.

Unfortunately, this decree, if approved, is going to have an effect on Berlusconi’s political life as a Prime Minister. The point being David Mills, a English lawyer. Berlusconi is in fact charged of having paid 600.000 dollars to Mr. Mills in 1997 to withhold information that could have been incriminating for Italy’s Prime Minister.

The “Mills affair” was supposed to expire this year, but a Milan based court has ruled out that the case went on at least until 2002. This fact could therefore extend the trial for another two years.

“A President of the Council spending more time in taking care of his trials that the problems of his country is something inadmissible” Said “Il Cavaliere” yesterday, during a meeting. “This decree is necessary. I am going ahead, I can count on citizen’s consensus, the people are with me, if they think they can stop me, they’re wrong”.

With a few simple words the Italian Prime Minister has explained what is going on:

He was elected by a large majority of the voters to be the President of the Council. The judiciary system has always been against him for one simple reason: the Italian constitution was written and approved by communists and the entire school system is left-wing oriented. This means that every single judge who got his degree from a public university is quite probably a leftist or, at least, anti-Berlusconi.

Besides this, consider the fact that the CSM cannot label a decree as anti-constitutional because that power belongs to the Constitutional Court – not only: since the decree is still under approval by the lower house of Parliament, the CSM (like all other judiciary institutions) cannot interfere in this process.

That is why our Head of State (and former communist) Giorgio Napolitano, wrote a letter to the chief of CSM, Nicola Mancino, in which he pointed out that: “ the CSM cannot express opinions about the unconstitutionality of a decree”.

Napolitano also called for a better “distinction of roles, reciprocal respect” and for a better “sense of measure and loyal cooperation”. A former communist defending Berlusconi is something quite unusual. However, the Security Decree, once approved will have a positive effect for every citizen, since the worst crimes will have priority.

There is more at stake, though: this power struggle between the judiciary and the legislative branches of the Italian government could affect the future of the country and the one of its citizens.

If we allow the magistrates to decide what is right to do or not ,whenever they want to and regardless of the constitution, than what is the purpose of elections? We could ask the CSM to govern the country.