Guarini Institute presents "Italy Against Itself" by Alexander Stille

By Giorgia Chillè

 ROME, Feb 26 - Alexander Stille, the San Paolo Professor of International Journalism at Columbia University

and Affiliated Fellow at the American Academy in Rome, spoke about Italy’s economy and politics at JCU in February. 

In his discussion called “Italy against Italy,” presented by the Guarini Institute, the journalist and author said there is a psychological crisis affecting the Italian people because they perceive the state as weak, inefficient and corrupted. The splendid economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s that placed Italy at center stage is long gone and since the 1970s Italy has declined irreversibly, he said. Today, he added, Italy sits at the bottom of almost every table in the EU, except when government corruption, tax evasion or organized crime are rated.                        

Stille blamed the left, right, liberal and conservative, governments. He said politics in Italy spins around the so called “casta” system, defining politicians as untouchables, preventing any change, expulsion or charge. Instead governments remain focused on “party benefits” or individual benefits. Stille pointed out how issues such as poverty in the South, organized crime, immigration, education and alternative resources have never been confronted with determination.                

Stille, who was not afraid of declaring a pessimistic view, also explained that Italy’s communication system is monopolized and sends demagogic messages. The domination of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi both in politics and in the media has not been tackled by the parties of the left that are unable to offer any kind of alternative, he said. He added that the Italian population is growing older and the young generation of students Italy each year searching for better opportunities, tired of dealing with a system of seniority and kinship instead of meritocracy.

 Asked if there is any hope at all for Italy, Stille said there is a chance that the European Union will start pressuring Italy. However, comparing the current economic crisis and World War II and thinking about an eventual rebirth of Italy, Stille said it is rather unlikely because today there is a deep-rooted illegal and corrupted system that is very difficult to destroy. Stille, who was a correspondent and contributor for the New York Times and for La Repubblica, has written several books that explore the important controversies of Italian social and political life. 

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