Italian Right Trying to Out do Republicans
Well today is a busy day. www.healtcare.gov is open for business, the discretionarily funded US Federal Government isn’t. There is a political crisis in Italy (no that doesn’t happen every day anymore) and there are crises both in the Republian party and in the PDL (Silvio Belusconi’s party which he considers his as his shoes are his).
Berlusconi wants to vote no confidence in Prime Minister Enrico Letta and have early elections (whenever he loses an election he demands a rematch starting the next day). Just to make it clear that he thins his party exists to serve him, the issue is whether he be expelled from the Senate because he has finally finally been finally convicted of tax evasion.
Some of the legislators in his party who are tired of being treated as his servants are threatening to split the party and send Berlusconi’s rump …. party into opposition.
All this reported with great delight in Italy’s leading daily La Repubblica (where Berlusconi is especially hated because long ago he tried to buy the paper and fire the staff). But best of all, it isn’t even their top story. They lead with an interview with the Pope (not because they are Catholic but because their former director is the informal leader of Italian atheists)
Robert is there a possibility that Berlusconi could go to jail?
I don’t think There is a non negligeable chance that Berlusconi will go to jail. It is possible that at some point he will be fingerprinted and processed for an hour or so (very unlikely but possible). I think the chance of any serious jail time is almost exactly zero.
Now I have been wrong recently (I was sure he would manage to run out the statute of limitations clock on the charges for which he was finally convicted finally– most embarrassing a friend who lives in Newton was right on this one. — she tends to be well informed and make good predictions
The reason I am so sure is that Italy just doesn’t lock old people up for nonviolent crimes. If Berlusconi were recognized to be a common criminal, he would not be imprisoned. He certainly won’t be imprisoned for the tax evasion of which he has finally been finally convicted. The theoretical sentence is less than or equal to three years. This means that it really means probation and community service not prison (house arrest not prison if he refuses to perform community service as he will).
The fraction of Italian population in prison is about one tenth the US fraction. In this case no special treatment means no prison. I’d like to see Berlusconi in prison, but I have to say, I think that the Italian approach is right and the US approach wrong.
I see. Thanks.