VicenzaPiù - Notizie, Inchieste, Analisi su Vicenza e provincia

A friend of mine from the Deep South near Naples assures me that his part of Italy was better off under the Bourbons. A thriving economy and a trade surplus. There seems to be a lingering discontent with the Italian state in these parts too. A discontent that is often distorted by hypocrisy, shrill and vulgar language bordering on hate talk, with a particular vehemence towards immigrant communities.
It was therefore with some scepticism that I saw a stand vaunting a banner with the words ‘Stato Veneto' in one of the little alleys connecting Piazza dei Signori to Corso Palladio.

Still, it was a nice day, and I felt like a chat, and although Mr. Coviello doesn't want a pound of flesh if I'm late to press, he does want my Anglo-Saxon musings punctually. He who pays the piper calls the tune.
I glanced at the leaflet. The words ‘immigrato', ‘extracomunitario' and ‘mussulmano' were all notable by their absence, so encouraged, I went on reading. Their basic tenet was that Veneto pays more tax than it receives, that it is legal to have a referendum offering the choice of an independent Veneto, so let's do it. They broach the Scottish referendum programmed in 2014 as an example. ‘If they can do it, why can't we?'
I'm not sure how and if I would vote in such a referendum. Being a man of culture rather than an entrepreneur I felt their leaflet a little one-dimensional. Man does not live by bread alone. Perhaps my own ideal would be some form of loose federation of Italian regions rather than mini-states, however it seems to me a subject worthy of debate. Italy may have run its time, frontiers are not eternal - an independent Ireland or Slovenia were once unthinkable. It is hard for Italians who have travelled little outside Italy to know the terrible damage inflicted on their image by Mr. Berlusconi. If Italy - and let's face it, the 150th birthday was not perceived as a celebration by any except the politicians - were to disintegrate, Mr. Berlusconi would be seen by history as the reincarnation of Nero. He treated the Italians as idiots, and I got tired of being asked all over Europe during my summer travels how on earth people could vote for him.
Any credibility the stalwart Lady from the Lake's (a little linguistic riddle, and there's another one later) party still had after the heady days of Clean Hands, also evaporated when they threw in their lot with the Cavalier's antics, and even protected the PDL's alleged mafia protector, Senator D'Utri, in parliament.
The pariahs who make deals behind our backs are unlikely to favour such a debate. Indeed, as VicenzaPiù tries to host one about what went wrong at AIM in the Marghera affair, the current boss Colla, a surprisingly slippery customer considering his name means glue in Italian, has reinforced his letter warning us to keep quiet about the AIM trial, with a solicitor's letter threatening legal action. The GDV stays silent on the sidelines, as we are berated for interviewing the people involved, allowing readers to come to their own conclusions. It does seem incredible that the Vicenza public - AIM belongs to us - must pay a lawyer to try to prevent us from knowing what went on behind our backs when the company bought the Marghera platform leaving us with the bill, both in the form of local taxes and the price we pay for their services. Would an independent Veneto make these people more accountable? Or would the backroom boys continue to rule the roost?
As I write I learn from another article that despite the levels of smog being well over the EU limit most days, that anti-almsgiving crusader Tony From the Pub (a slang term for pub is watering hole; interested readers may consult this link, to understand to whom I am referring) has sanctioned the cutting down of hundreds of trees in the town, which offered at least some mitigation to the problem. As the article points out, even if the trees are ill, it seems scarcely the opportune moment to cut them. I am, however, encouraged by the number of people mentioning the automobile as Vicenza's prime woe. Variati and his cohorts seem indifferent to what is becoming a growing clamour -see how many references there are to the subject in the current edition of our newspaper.
Berlusconi fobbed us off with reality TV as the national debt spiralled, Tony From the Pub slashes century old trees as the city's children breathe in the exhaust fumes, Variati looks on, silent about anything that matters. Has the Italian model got a future? Could an independent Veneto provide space to real commitment in politics? It seems a question worth asking.
On which philosophical note, I congratulate Italy on beating Scotland in the Six Nations rugby, thus avoiding the Wooden Spoon. Is there a moral there, I wonder? The other people in the Drive-In weren't interested: they watched the all-Veneto derby in which the madmen gave the cat-eaters a soccer lesson.