National mourning e state funeral per Silvio Berlusconi: a decision that is causing a lot of discussion. The journalist and writer also spoke on the matter Conrad Augiasspeaking to the microphones of Tuesday, talk show di La7 led by Giovanni Floris.
Augias “Berlusconi aggressively divisive”
“Do you agree with the idea of national mourning?” Floris pressed. Augias’ answer was dry: “Frankly not”. The writer, who thinks like Tomaso Montanari and Rosy Bindi added: “I understand a state funeral for a former prime minister, but national mourning for a political leader who has been so deeply, deliberately and aggressively divisive is not good.”
“There is no doubt that a part of history disappears. No leader that I remember lasted 30 years, nor did he have such a profound effect on the country’s customs ”, Augias always reflected.
“No liberal revolution he promised”
And again: “It is difficult to take stock a few hours after Berlusconi’s death. By framing it historically, it can be done. So let’s pretend we’re not June 13, 2023 but ahead of a year. He had promised one liberal revolution, but there has never been, beyond the electoral slogans that everyone uses”.
“The heavy shadows of mafia I’m not interested in the origin of his fortune – Augias always reasoned -. I’m also of little interest in the heavy suspicions about certain sentences that seem to have been written by his lawyers rather than by the judges, certain disorders of private life which, however, undermine the principle by which public officials should serve with discipline and honour, as stated in article 54 of the our Constitution. Well, all these things he didn’t do, but it doesn’t matter. If we want to judge it historically, it is on the historical results that we must dwell”.
“If we evaluate all politicians in this way, no one would be saved”, Floris underlined, accepting Augias’ prompt reply: “Ciampi and Pertini were great unifying representatives, for example. study program e Ciampi together they brought us to the Euro, our good. Let’s imagine Italy outside the Euro, with the Lira, during the financial and economic storms of recent years”.
“Berlusconi was a model, Mussolini was too”
“Berlusconi has removed forms from political communication, this is bad because democracy thrives on forms; like rites for the church. If you insult your opponents, you vilify the institutions, you say that taxes are the state that puts its hands in your pockets, a very unfortunate phrase inherited I fear from Meloni who called taxes state money… Here all this means removing forms and making the democracy”, the thrust of the writer.
“I touch a dangerous key, but I do it ad hoc, I’m talking about models and not about fascism. Also Mussolini it was a model, the first from which many other tyrants were inspired. Berlusconi ditto, there is no doubt that Trump you look like him, Boris Johnson you look like him. Great innovator from this point of view”, concluded Augias.
Photo source: ANSA