By Daniel Pagan
From an empire that once ruled Europe to an instable republic, Italy is Europe’s sick man. The Italian economy is faltering behind other European economic powerhouses such as Spain, Parliament is full of corrupt and squabbling politicians and senators. Even a former prime minister who ordered a Mafia hit on an Italian journalist is allowed to serve in the Parliament. Italy has seen sixty-two governments for the previous sixty-three years. Its free media is being gutted and left for dead in the back alleys, thanks to the controversial Italian media mogul, Silvio Berlusconi. However, you know Italy is in big trouble when it re-elects the same man, Berlusconi, for the position of Prime Minister.
Prime minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi is Italy’s richest man, estimated to be worth $12 billion according to Forbes magazine. He is a media mogul and founder of the biggest Italian private television network, Mediaset, with the three largest private television networks approximating half of the Italian national viewing audience. He also runs a business empire that spans advertising, insurance, food and construction. To top it off, he is the owner of AC Milan, the successful Italian football club.
If he is a successful business tycoon, would it not mean he could be successful at reforming the Italian economy and cutting down on bureaucracy in the government? That is a reason his supporters used for voting for him in previous elections. Yet, it is hard to say that Silvio Berlusconi is the right man for Italy, given his poor record with the economy and civil liberties. When he becomes the prime minister this summer, it will be his third time; Berlusconi led in 1994 and between 2001 and 2006. During these times, his government failed to work on necessary economic reforms. Instead, he wasted his time by squabbling with the judiciary, accusing them of being tools of the Left–perhaps as a result of them investigating Berlusconi’s business practices. While Silvio argued, the public debt rose quickly and the Italian Gross domestic product grew very slowly–0.3 per cent in 2003, compared to 1.4 per cent in 2000.
Media communication is where Silvio made his wealth, like the Asper family and Conrad Black in Canada. Even with his resignation from Mediaset, his family still controls the company. As the prime minister of Italy, he has control over the Italian public service broadcaster Radiotelevisione Italiana because his government can approve allies to the positions of RAI president and board of directors. Essentially, he has influence over 90 per cent of all national television broadcasting.
In Canada, a few conservative bloggers and partisans accused the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation of being a propaganda tool of the Liberal Party of Canada while some Liberal partisans charge Canwest Global Communications Corp. with being biased towards the Conservative Party.
If any Canadian politician had the same influence on the media as Berlusconi, the aforementioned partisans would shit bricks. Yet, in Italy, his control is just accepted as a fact of life. Yes, the Italian Left and magazines such as The Economist have constantly criticized him for gross conflict of interest and control, but the Italian population just accepts it as the way it is. Imagine if Izzer Asper, CanWest Global Communications Corporation founder, became the Prime Minister of Canada while retaining his media company and using his influence on the CBC to silence critics. That sums up Berlusconi’s powers in Italy.
The scary thing about Berlusconi is that there are real examples of him using his influence to shut down criticism. In 2002, NGO Reporters Without Borders reported that Berlusconi’s government pressured the State television broadcaster RAI to drop the political TV show, “Sciuscia,” and fire two journalists– Michele Santoro and Enzo Biagi– after they criticized Berlusconi. In reaction, Berlusconi accused these journalists of using television “as a criminal means of communication” and asked for their removal. Even comedians get fired for poking fun at Berlusconi’s media empire.
During the 2006 Italian election, there were complaints of blanket coverage favourable to Berlusconi. He received three hours and 16 minutes of airtime in one 15-day period compared to just eight minutes for Mr. Prodi, his rival–a clear violation of Italian electoral laws, which stated candidates should have equal airtime. With Berlusconi’s control over the private and public TV networks, journalists who report criticisms of Berlusconi and his friends’ find themselves at risk of losing their job–just for reporting the truth.
The only positive aspects of the Italian media are the big Italian newspapers, independent of Berlusconi and his media empire. Due to their independence, they have the freedom to be critical of him, such as La Repubblica pointing out Berlusconi’s many economic failures. However, more Italian people watch the television compared to newspapers, and news reports critical of Berlusconi are few and far between, thanks to his government pressures and libel lawsuits, such as Berlusconi threatening The Economist after it published reports of corruption.
His victory in the Italian elections last Mon. is mostly due to his influence over Italian TV and radio. The previous government’s failure to set up clear electoral rules to regulate the conflict of interest between media ownership and the holding political offices had worsened the situation. Berlusconi has succeeded in turning Italian media into a “his own reality show,” with multiple talk show appearances and journalists avoiding reporting on his friendship with the Costa Nostra mafia. Berlusconi controls what he wants the Italians to know. The state of Italian media and democracy should serves as a warning sign for journalists and politicians in other countries, such as Canada and United States of America. No matter what one man or a company’s intentions may be, ownership of media should not be concentrated in one hand. A democratic state’s health relies on the healthy of its free media. The alternatives, such as in Italy are too ugly to consider.