Recent news from my home country had me seriously worried about the sanity of its government and the future of Italian society in general.
Truckers, again, barricaded the barricable and put a stranglehold on the whole economy. Gas stations ran out of fuel, supermarkets started running out of supplies and all major roads were blocked. Those responsible transporters who wanted to work had their physical incolumity threatened or violated, their tires cut or stolen and generally prevented from doing their job.
Most Italian transporters are independent workers, i.e. they bought their puller and do contract work. Most Italian transport is done on wheels rather than rail or sea. Many Italians fail to realize the challenges posed by an open and free market. All but few Italians expect the government to do something to shield them from anything that might hurt them.
Recent hikes in the price of oil (coupled with Italian gas companies hiking their prices tenfold) had the price of gas skyrocketing. Competition by cheaper East European truckers is eroding the Italians' business base. The rest is details.
Now I am the first to recognize that the trucker's job is a hard one, the initial investment is enormous and the price of gas is a major cost factor. However you bend it, no good reason is good enough to justify the choking of a country for a strike. One can interrupt service, and this is legitimate. Those who have a speck of intelligence and civic responsibility will deliver essential fuel supplies and medicines.
What definitely sickened me was the weak response of the Italian government to this kind of terrorist activity. It appeased and negotiated and appeased again. The outcome is further anti-dumping measures and safeguards against gas price increases. No defense of the citizen was carried out, no attempt was made to enforce people’s right to work if they so wish, no guarantees of people’s right to travel freely were shown. The truckers had an easy ride and will not face the consequences of their misdemanors.
Once legitimate requests and protests degenerate into terrorism as they did in Italy, the State should cut off all negotiation and restore legality by all means available, as it is mandated to do by the very essential concept of statehood. The laws, the police forces and the Army exist for a purpose.
The State of Italy, with the current administration incapable of any strong decision making necessary to overcome the tough times the country faces, is in a vegetative coma. Judges play politics, politicians meddle with justice, self-employed workers strike asking for government meddling, the job market is stagnant, special interests dominate the scene, rights are walked over and no-one gives a damn.
Every country needs an Iron Lady at some point in its life. Italy needs one now. I pray that someone with Margaret Thatcher’s decisiveness and moral strength comes soon on the Italian political scene to restore the legitimacy and presence of the State on the territory.
I miss Maggie.
2 comments:
Italy's per capita PPP GDP is $31,051, Canada's is $35,514, so at first glance we have better standard of living.
However when you factor in hours worked (1717 in Canada vs. 1523 in Italy) it becomes a wash. Add the Italian three-hour wine-filled lunch that we Canadians hear about and it starts to tilt in Italy's favour.
Which might be understandable if all were equal, but Canada has such bountiful natural resources compared to Italy, not to mention a relatively docile labour movement and lack of functioning Communist party, that I'm thinking we're doing something wrong.
Italian labour is harder than Canada, and safety at work is a dream. There are more than three work-related deaths in Italy per day. Someone kisses his kids goodbye in the morning and doesn't come back.
Furthermore, the three hour lunch (or lack of work altogether) is a perk of the public (see Government-employed) sector. Whoever isn't in the draconian inefficient and rude public administration gets an hour for lunch (if any), no permanent contract in sight and is subject to the whim of his or her boss day by day.
Moreover, a large percentage of Italy's work (i say about 30%) is done cash-in-hand. This means no rights, no pension, no insurance and no certainty. This also doesn't figure in the GDP.
Italians get the rough deal, believe me. The government employees rub it in by being the most inefficient sector. The privatized post office fired half of the staff. It now works better than before.
the Italian labour market is in a rut. Draconian laws forbid flexibility but also discourage hiring. Pension uncertainty prevents people from retiring. Youngsters are unemployed, helped by an education system that's an ivory tower, professional orders elevated to a mafia and few employers ready to go beyond the exploitation of cheap labour stage.
I've never done it, but I bet if you worked in Italy for some time you'd envy any Canadian.
Post a Comment