Letter from Washington

May 2008
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Editor Oscar Bartoli
Oscarb1@starpower.net
www.ilgonline.com
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(Beyond the News)

Circulation 12,000 in Italian and English


Please, go to my blog: http://oscarb1.blogspot.com/


Open Letter to the Hon. Veltroni, General Secretary of Partito Democratico

Dear Hon. Veltroni:
So the Romans have turned their backs on the Center-Left. The change tsunami was embraced by the nation’s capital. Seen from the U.S the result was a given. Candidate Rutelli was a déjà vu. There was a bit of surprise at the optimism of the Rutelli clan on election eve, a factor we feel favored an increase in numbers of those who chose not to cast their ballots: “If he’s got the votes, why should we give up a trip to the beach just to vote?” There’s a desire for change and for security. This is the basic theme of the massive shift in the country. You chose to conduct a campaign along the lines of Anglo Saxon fair play. Perhaps your colleagues didn’t explain to you that here in the U.S. there is no fair play; they don’t take prisoners here. The so-called butcher departments work on over drive to find the opposition’s skeletons. It is also true that there aren’t any horrible incidents in the U.S., thank God, as seen in the Italian Senate a few months ago: pushing and yelling, documents thrown about and piles of baloney [associated with Prodi] drowned in champagne. But the fact remains that an electoral campaign is not conducted with fencing foils. Consensus in a mass market such as the American one is not achieved solely with television debates or shaking the hands of thousands of people. Votes are won by spending hundreds of millions of dollars to prepare 30 second video clips, usually attacking one’s rival, and airing them day and night on local TV channels. It’s a case of “gutta cavat lapidem” meaning the drop of water makes a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by often falling (via television). You might say that Italy is different. Says who? Twenty years of commercial television have changed Italian society.
My fellow Italian, Prof. Sartori recently wrote that you conducted your electoral campaign by speaking in crowded squares in 109 provinces to – we wish to add - in a very civically minded manner explain your platform. But crowded squares don’t mean votes. Berlusconi won votes by insisting on three obvious themes: security, taxes and the promise of a rosy future. And his message was pounded in by his media empire. The fact remains that, thanks to Walter Veltroni, there is the beginning of a political revolution that will simplify how Parliament operates. And for this the Italians (assuming they realize it) should be grateful for what you accomplished in a few short months. As demonstrated by the mayoral elections in Rome, the pendulum has swung to the right. Now it’s your job to re-establish the conditions for a counter swing. This will only be possible if you and your colleagues understand that you can’t use a pen knife to fight against someone wielding a big sword. Not understanding this was what limited the pr effectiveness of Prof. Prodi’s image, despite the fact that he is the one who long ago created Italy’s Democratic Party. As for you, no one is asking you to start a brawl. What we are asking is that you stick to simple and clear messages and make sure they hit their target. The Center Left is in need of massive doses of media vitamins because it has left itself go. Most of all it needs some self esteem.

Most sincerely,
Oscar Bartoli
Washington DC

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Reader’s Comments


Dear Dr. Bartoli,

I give Veltroni credit for having the courage to break, I hope once and for all, with the “old” philo-Communist Left and the Greens (by Greens I mean bourgeois Communists). And that’s not little. I fear, however, that the electoral results – disappearance of the Rainbow coalition – went beyond his expectations. Veltroni, none the less, is not without fault. First of all, I do not like his denying that he had been a Communist while in a political party, the Democratic Party, which is almost exclusively made out of former Communists (and a few former Christian Democrats). No one there admits being sorry about the past or repudiates, above all, the criminal ambiguity of its great leader. You say that Veltroni was too much of a gentleman in conducting his electoral campaign. I don’t think that damaged him, rather I appreciated it. Personally what I did not appreciate was his imitation of Berlusconi (who is better at it) and his daily recitation of one of what Veltroni called the “forty” lies during the campaign. Many of them were of an economic nature and he just isn’t up to it. In addition, Veltroni committed the mistake of joining up with the Radicals. Pannella, to whom the lay population is grateful for having fought and won important battles for a free country: free also from the influence of the Catholic Church, is a loose cannon and any alliance with him and his party spells doom. Above all, what disappointed me was Veltroni’s appearance in Naples in support of Bassolino (governor of Campania region). It smacked not of a personal relationship (that in this case was a political handicap), but rather of a quid pro quo for votes in the Naples region, which “strangely” ended up being in higher numbers than before. So now we have Alemanno’s victory in Rome, a truly surprising one despite all the Monday quarterbacking. But this too, in addition to being due to Rutelli’s ambiguities, is also the result of Veltroni’s not too great tenure as mayor of the city: especially in terms of law and order. Obviously the latest ugly incidents were a powerful tool. But if the New Left will not have any better luck in the future unless it goes after the multitudes of illegal aliens and their criminal organizations. Despite it all, I welcome Walter Veltroni as the leader of the New Left. His success, however, depends on embracing the men and women who want nothing to do with the Communist and Christian Democratic parties.

Cordially,
Giovanni Celletti


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Hi, Oscar:

I believe it was to be expected. I wasn’t even surprised by the votes won by the Northern League and the Italy of Values parties. Normal people seek normality in an irrational world. A change was to be expected. Rome goes to the Right. But I don’t think Alemanno will be a terrible mayor. I think the people want solutions to every day problems. The air is heavy with so much fear and mistrust. That’s why people vote for the Right. The Democratic Party is a very good party, but it includes the Radicals. When faced with Di Pietro and the Radicals I asked myself: what do they have in common? I don’t know, but I feel that only moderate parties are good for Italy. The far Left has made one mess after another. And so it has disappeared. Even from Gubbio, dear Oscar. I have Communist friends who have said, “Please, we don’t want to have anything to do with them…. We are voting for Berlusconi…” You look at them and think, “It’s a miracle.” For the better or the worse, we shall see. But the Communists used to be the most rigid ones. When did they ever change sides? So we shall see. I am certain that Berlusconi won’t want to screw up. He said so. But he should relax and not govern while thinking about when he’ll be gone and what the history books will say about him. He should simply govern and think about needed solutions. Men, women, young people, they are all worried about their families, safety etc. If he does well, the history books will say so. But as they say, “A journey of a thousand miles must start with a single step.” A British Special Forces motto goes, “Those who risk, win.” In any event the defeat of the far Left was to be expected. Perhaps that’s not so obvious to those in the midst of electoral campaigns but, believe me, it was to be expected.

Yours truly,
Anna Maria Polidori
Gubbio

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Your comments were very much to the point and I share them. We really need to compare ourselves to other great democracies. Who knows? Maybe one day we will live a less mediocre country, one that is less self absorbed and drifting from reality – in all ways. A banal example: Have you ever taken a cab in Rome? Compare it to New York, Frankfurt, London, Paris or Madrid.

Franco di Jorgi
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Great analysis of a not unexpected failure!

KPFade
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The situation was not “completely” unexpected. What wasn’t known was the degree to which the media influenced the masses. In fact, after this month’s electoral results, the situation is clearly overwhelming. Ignorance is widespread and delusions about the new government are rampant. I hate having to live here… even though I do not envy the Americans because they are the ones who foisted globalization on us.

Cordially,
Beatrixforever

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Dear Bartoli:

I don’t consider myself a political expert or an arrogant person, simply a realist. However, as many policy wonks confirm, this was a protest vote due to a series of mistakes. I am also of the opinion that the incompetence, even from the Prodi “baloney” image point, of view had a lot to do with it. Sorry, but it’s true and I’m not the only one to say so.
Antonio De Luca
Florence

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Dear Mr. De Luca:
Italy is a democratic country. The electoral body has made its choice. Perhaps it has chosen well because, once offered a serious alternative accompanied by the elimination of small personal political parties that made it impossible to implement any type of political agenda, people voted according to their conscience. The Right has a an overwhelming mandate and now it has to prove that it can solve the country’s problems. Everything else is just a bunch of hot air.
Cordially,
OB


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Dear Oscar:

Pen knife vs sword????? It’s obvious that you can’t or won’t see the reality of the Italian people who are ready to change sides when motivated by valid and sometimes urgent reasons. The déjà vu and the sleepless nights have lost out in Rome. The power of the media (scratch an itch) has little to do with it.

Bartolomeo Ghione
Florence


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You know what our politicians need, Mr. Bartoli? They need men such as you who are experts in communicating. It’s not enough to be good and have great plans; one has to know how to communicate in the clearest and simplest way possible. Unfortunately, ad libbing and not projecting the correct image do not communicate anything or even worse risk sending the wrong message. Either you can do it or you can’t.

Cordially,
Donato and Isabella Laureani
Rome


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Dear Oscar:

Once again you are right! In an Italy so little well informed about the people it votes into power (on both sides), the Democratic Party missed a good opportunity to the voters’ eyes. I’m not talking about digging through garbage, but tackling the big problems in the light of day. Currently, when I watch the news on TV, it seems as if all of Italy’s problems are caused by immigrants. I hope Luxembourg doesn’t think the same way or I, as an immigrant, am in big trouble! I didn’t hear any talk about a serious attack on the Mafia or on corruption. I didn’t hear any support for the judiciary, which I as a simple citizen must obey, but the politicos can demonize. The worst thing is that when one tries to deal with these issues one is always accused of being a demagogue or a populist! OK, so it may be so, but when are they going to take on these problems? Because, while hiding from accusations of demagoguery and populism, the Mafias and the corruption are left to run wild. The politicians’ only credo is to gain power and not to help the people. Enough with Antonveneta, Alitalia, Cirio, Parmalat, Unipol, RCS…. ENOUGH! We no longer have any credibility! We can’t blame AirFrance of wanting to take away all our tourists and send our planes to Africa and then wonder why it pulls back from making a deal. Unlike me, you don’t live in Italy. Do you know what my colleagues from the rest of Europe say when they come to visit me? They say we are a joke. Thanks to our politicians, on all sides, we are considered Europe’s clown! What upsets me the most that the price is paid by my family and friends who have to live in Italy.

Thank you once again for all you do.

Beatrice Pacioni
Luxembourg


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Dear Oscar:

Once again kudos on your insightful comments on Veltroni. I’d like to add that the tsunami that hit the Left was for the most part foreseeable. As I have previously noted, once the ideologies were (finally) swept away, the people voted taking many things into consideration and no longer those imposed by ideological dogmas. Veltroni undertook, I believe perhaps in good faith, many, too many changes. And let’s not talk about Rutelli: from radical to democrat of the let, then a conversion on the road to Damascus to Catholicism while still hanging out in Rome’s better social circles, etc. I met Pasolini when I was young and even though I did not share many of his ideological certainties, I must attest that his criticism of the Left of the time, meaning the Italian Communist Party and its exegetics and descendants, was correct. They had, and have, lost any practical point of reference by solely running after power. For work reasons I spent some time in government offices and saw the low down transactions made by everyone and mainly for personal goals. The best at this, after the fall of the so-called first republic, were the heirs of the old Italian Communist Party, Veltroni included. The people understood and in voting punished them harshly. As for Prodi, it’s obvious that ambition and thirst for power made him lose sight of the objectives that a government such as his should have had in the forefront. I do not agree with you that they didn’t do enough to get their message across. Unfortunately we understood it too well and the result show it. Let’s see what the new government will do. “Spes ultima Dea,” Hope is the last Goddess, but those of us trying to be free and proper, it is all we have.

Very cordially,

Giovanni Bartoli


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Dear fellow Bartoli:

I respect your point of view. I only disagree with your opinion of Prodi. I know him well and I can assure you that he is not driven by a thirst for power. He can, however, be criticized for surrounding himself with so-called friends who then screw him. And he keeps on going because he is too good a person. To be a politician one has to be a real son of …. Otherwise, give it up. And so, did Prodi .

Oscar

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End Credits

In the provocation laden and amateurish landscape of current Italian literature, which somehow manages to find publishers, we wish to alert our readers to the novel “Titoli di Coda” by Maria Rosaria Petti, Iride Publications (16 euros). A spy story set in New York during a December 1999 United Nations conference featuring a lecture by the author Alice Bassette Stein, it is a fascinating story that involves the narrator, Prof. Filippo Maselli. Contrary to the American tendency of coming up with novels that are really film scripts, Maria Rosaria Petti’s book is noteworthy not only for its vast cultural backdrop, descriptive technique and finely penned language, but also and perhaps mainly for its poetic embrace. In our opinion, the book is one of best to emerge from Italy’s suffocating literary world.

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Theft of Personal Information

The U.S. is a country where people get a refund check 15 days after filing their taxes when they have overpaid. But the U.S. is also a country where personal information theft jumped 134% from 2002 to 2007. What’s worse is that the IRS refuses to recognize this and accuses the honest taxpayer of having unreported income. Trying to clear up the situation is often fruitless. And so begins the Calvary of the honest citizen caught between the theft of his personal information and IRS penalties. The theft happens when a person gets an email message purportedly from a branch of the IRS and demanding all kinds of personal financial information. Anyone who answers enters into one of the circles of hell.


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A Rebirth of Ford Motor Company?

Last car sales in the U.S/ were down 8%, while at the same time those of Ford, the eternal invalid of the three Detroit auto manufacturers, saw its sales go up by 23%. And it’s all thanks to Ford’s new CEO. His name is Alan Mulally. He is 62 years old and has spent his entire career at Boeing, which he completely restructured on the model of Toyota. He was brought over the moribund Ford in 2006, the company’s worst year. Mulally cut the workforce by one third: 46,000 workers in North America alone. He also decided to sell off the unprofitable luxury brands. So Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover went to India’s Tata. Even Volvo is on the waiting list. Mulally is also getting rid of regional manufacturing. If the Fiesta does well in Europe, there is no reason it shouldn’t also in the U.S. and will be launched here within the year. According to Mulally, Ford’s current manufacturing system is absurd; it’s as if Boeing made a different 737 for every country.


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Career Fair

There is a tradition in American society that takes place every year right before graduation at universities and colleges throughout the country and it demonstrates the respect given to work by employers and future employees. It is an example of civility and democracy that I have always admired for the ritual of employers and their representatives meeting college seniors on their campuses and offering them jobs. It’s a Career Fair that whatever the state of the economy never disappoints the young people who have worked so hard for this goal. Even though we are undergoing a period of economic recession, 120 out of last year’s 140 companies showed up for their annual appointment at San Diego State University, one of the most important and biggest schools in this part of California. The event celebrates meritocracy and stimulates young people to compete based on their pride in their hard earned academic achievements. These young people have sweated over their books and most have also worked while attending college. This American tradition is unknown to the Italian media, always ready to point out the country’s faults but never events such as this that could inspire some Italian companies and universities to hold job fairs. It just might give Italian college graduates confidence in the worth of their degrees and universities a way to showcase their faculty and their students’ academic prowess and, ultimately, give the country some hope for improvement. The current historical and political change in Italy calls for change and it can only come from the country’s youth. Italy must demand total commitment to their studies from its young people, no short cuts or favors allowed. But it must also acknowledge their achievements and do as is done in the U.S. and help them find jobs instead of forcing them to submit to a humiliating odyssey of uncertainty and needing recommendations

Massimo Seracini
San Diego, California


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Accordion Concert

Alessandro Gazza, born and raised in Lecce, in concert at the Italian Embassy in Washington DC wowed a crowd of hundreds of persons with his precious $30,000 accordion. Maestro Gazza performed pieces ranging from Scarlatti, Paganini, Solotarjow and Albeniz to Piazzola with incredible interpretative virtuosity. While for Italians the accordion is still relegated to country fairs, here the audience was mainly Americans belonging to the American Accordion Club, which has thousands of members throughout the country. At the end of the concert, and after the third standing ovation, the young Italian musician was approached by the world accordion champion who said to him with a smile, “I thought I was the best. But tonight I realized there’s someone else who deserves to be number one.” Many thanks to Maestro Gazza for showing a side of Italy, and in particular that of southern Italy, which is far from the stereotypes of the few and far between articles on our country in the American press.

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The Istituto Italiano di Cultura

is pleased to invite you to the presentation of the book

“Ed anche questa è America!”
(“And this too is America!)

by journalist Oscar Bartoli

May 21st, 2008 6:30 PM
Venue: Italian Cultural Institute, 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC
A panel of top professionals will illustrate their personal experiences in the US job market

Ennio Caretto Journalist
Daniel Alkon Scientist
Richard O’Neill Futurologist
Ali Safayan Medical Doctor
Guido Cervone University Professor
Giovanni Reggioli Orchestra Conductor
Enzo Torresi Venture Capitalist
Riccardo De Marchi Luiss University


At the end of the event the Author will sign the copies of the book that will be sold at 35% discount.
RSVP required by 19/05/08: iicwashington@esteri.it or (202) 518-0998 - ID required

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(Beyond the News)

Circulation 12000 in English and Italian
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Translation by Prof. Maria Enrico --- m.enrico@att.net
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