Italy and economic crisis

The magazine TIME has crowned a protester as "Person of the Year" in its famous cover. This is the tip of the iceberg: this year the protests have spreaded in many Countries to collect more and more people and exceed boundaries. Every Country has its problems but people equally dissent and as TIME write in its Introduction about these people "They literally embodied the idea that individual action can bring collective, colossal change.".

The covers drawing is inspired by a real photo of a girl named Sarah Mason who took part to Occupy L.A. Her brown eyes forward courage and pride together. The photographer is Ted Soqui, almost a new Robert Capa, whose blog cointains the girl's name and many other photos and details about that manifestation.

We live an age of trouble: in Western Countries there are protests mainly caused by the economic downturn. These pacific movements having different names depending on the country in which they are, e.g. "Occupy Wall Street" or "Occupy L.A." in USA, "Occupy London" in UK, "Indignados" in Spain or Italy. Despite different names all of them are united against the growing unemployment and economic inequality in Western.

But not only. In Libya Gheddafi had been deposed and killed, Tunisia and Egypt are in profondous political changes, in Syria the establishment uses the army against the protesters, in other Arabs Country citizens protest or have protested more or less deeply against their governaments. 

In past days Italy has also been in the eye of the storm because its debt  has influenced "Euro crisis". This crisis is very serious because can undermine the same European Union and her main achievement, the Euro currency. Sure the crisis dont involves only Italy but also Greece, Portugal and Ireland but those countries are Union's "economically peripherals" compared to Italy.

Germany and France have pushed for reforms in Italy as they have previously done for Portugal, Ireland and Greece. Italy debt has reached a very risky level and that has stated a very large market speculation over Italian bonds. Mr. Berlusconi's Governement has shown powerless and divisions in front of this crisis so parliamentary majority has melted like snow in the sun.

After Mr. Berlusconi has resigned (under a popular festive happening), Italian President Mr Napolitano has called Mr Mario Monti to form a new Governament to try to save the Country (and the Euro) from the brink. Mr Monti not elected in Italian Parliament has quickly shaped a new Governament without politicians as members.

A Governament of people not elected is a strange "being" because in theory politicians must be accountable to citizens. Nevertheless the main Italian politic Parties deliberately did not want take part to this Governament: Nobody want to be the responsible for the unpopular measures that this Governament should set in the coming months.

Sure to call new elections could represent a serious risk for Italy's debt so the Country needed a rapid reply to market speculation. The main political parties are in trouble and divised in three alignements: centre left, center right and the so called third pole. This mexican stand off favours the Monti's solution. 

Economic crisis is really serious but Italy has anyway many deep problems about which there are certainly the political corruption, a widespread tax evasion and a lack of competitiveness in public and private sectors. 

These problems stem from many reasons, as hystorical as cultural, including for example the Italian Legislation. Italian law is very "hypertrofic" with a boundless number of laws that make our judicial system very inefficient with all consequences easy to imagine for businessmen and citizens. The legitimate demand of many people for a more legal certainty testifying an actual and persistent legal uncertainty in Italy. It's not a puns!!!

In this contest many people retain privileges stopping changements and reforms. Economic crisis effects and subsequent search for solutions highlight precisely this situation and It's no coincidence that many books speak about this question: e.g. "La Casta" or "La Deriva" are only two of various books about these problems of Italy.

I could talk at length about Italian problems or about privileges of many people in Italy but I am very very busy. Sure I think might be more interesting write some questions:

"What's the cause? Privileges or inefficient laws?".
"Why it's so difficult prove politicians fault?".
"Why tax evasion is so widespread about Italian businessmen and citizens?".