ROME — When they vote this weekend, Italians can choose among any number of convicted felons or the odd TV go-go dancer on the ballot. Not to mention the personal friends, relatives and, in one case, the physical therapist of party leaders putting together potential governments. Crime does not disqualify you from running for office in this country, nor are qualifications necessarily necessary.
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Another stained ballot for the Italians
Today la dolce vita is largely for politicians, many of them corrupt. Public indignation has become acute.
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Campaign season for the election of Italy's 62nd government in 63 years has highlighted the long line of unresolved problems undermining the country, thwarting important change and stymieing what was once a fabled icon of culture.
A beautiful, romantic country of olive-dappled landscapes and cobblestoned piazzas famed for its food, fashion and bella figura, Italy is today a land awash in corruption, economic decay, political ennui, rampant impunity and a fast-declining standard of living. Inflation is among the highest in Western Europe, growth the lowest. Record numbers of people report feeling poorer than ever.
The conduct of business is a murky and frustrating experience -- unless you're the Mafia, now the largest business in Italy, accounting for 7% of gross domestic product, according to the Assn. of Italian Industrialists.
The judiciary rarely functions: Cases can languish not for years but decades. Italian Parliament members are the highest-paid in Europe but, in the opinion of many people, the least effective, a self-perpetuating elite that seems hellbent on taking the country down with it.
"With its byzantine and decadent style of politics, Italy is at a point of no return," says sociologist Luca Ricolfi, author of a scathing critique titled "The Art of Non-Government."
Lack of accountability trumps civic duty every time. And don't expect national elections taking place today and Monday to change things.
The man leading the polls is Silvio Berlusconi, a flamboyant billionaire tycoon who, at 71, would be prime minister for the third time. Although he brought a measure of stability, he is widely accused of ruling to enrich himself, his media empire and his cronies.
Berlusconi heads a slate that includes his physiotherapist and an unrepentant Fascist, as well as several center-right women who Berlusconi said last week were "surely prettier" than leftist women. Among them is one of the voluptuous dancers normally featured in skimpy clothing on his television networks.
