"Eyes wide shut" at next G8 summit, but somebody is unfit to lead

Definitely a good career!

TODAY:




BEFORE (in 2001):

TOO BIG TO JAIL, POLITICALLY

When it comes to politics in Italy, size matters and sex is everywhere. Some people are too big to jail, politically.

If it's true that Worst revelations about Berlusconi 'still to come' one could wonder if Italy can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Instead of defining the core problems, explaining their origins, emphasizing the dangers, and addressing them directly, what do we get in Italy? A Prime Minister in prostitution probe.

Do you remember when Berlusconi suggested to legalize brothels?

Karl Marx wrote History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

PS: the text above is freely adapted from economic and financial text issues discussed around the world but Italy, which unfortunately is busy with something else.

Problem solving

It happens quite often in any public and political debate, not only about economics, that people tend to invert the causal relationships of facts and logic variables. There are also logical fallacies like correlation proves causation as correlation between two variables does not automatically imply that one causes the other. Politicians and lawmakers normally do not understand these concepts.

It goes without saying that the wrong identification of a problem and cause-effect relationship leads to the wrong solution or problem solving approach.

Financial Times reminds us that "Optimism is not enough for a global recovery". For instance "Instead of solving the problems to generate a recovery, the political strategies have consisted of waiting for a recovery to solve the problem. The Europeans are relying on the Americans to generate growth. The Americans are relying on the Chinese, who in turn are waiting for the rest of the world".

There are also countries, like Italy, in apparent decline, where the debate among politicians (for instance Berlusconi, Tremonti or Brunetta) or the public debate among voters is more similar to the Dr. Frankenstein pointing out to Igor that he needs to fix his hump, the latter being the figurative representation of present political debate, economy state, debt, international image and reputation, etc.

Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (he could be Silvio Berlusconi): You know I'm a rather brilliant surgeon. Perhaps I can help you with that hump.
Igor (he could be Tremonti, Minister of Economy and Finance in the Italian government or Berlusconi's lawyer Ghedini): What hump?

[Frederick and Igor are exhuming a dead criminal]
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: What a filthy job.
Igor: Could be worse.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: How?
Igor: Could be raining.
[It starts to pour]

Italy is in a filthy mess. But it is about to get worse. A major storm is on the horizon. (This text is not really original and was adapted from here).

Do Italians deserve this? Is Berlusconi fit to lead the G8?

The Italian G8 Presidency plans to put forward a proposal for the establishment of an international ethical legal standard with which all countries will be bound to comply. Such a method will make it possible to establish as convergent a network as possible of legal systems governing financial affairs, in order to safeguard savers and citizens. Tremonti highlighted the need to bring ethics back into finance. In Tremonti's view, transparency, conduct and features are the keys to overcoming the financial crisis.

Look who's talking, there's the pot calling the kettle black!

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Italy and The Fundamental Laws of Human Stupidity

What we read during these days about Italy and its government is simply appalling as people continue to ask questions here and here, but nobody replies.

I would like here to suggest Professor Carlo Maria Cipolla's five fundamental laws of stupidity to analyze the Italian case. Professor Cipolla divided the society in 4 groups of people on the basis of:

• Benefits and losses that an individual causes to others.
• Benefits and losses that an individual causes to him or herself.

Graphically, the idea is represented by this:

• Intelligent people (top right)
• Helpless / Naive people (top left)
• Bandits (bottom right)
• Stupid people (bottom left)

Cipolla further refines his definition of "Bandits" (B) and "Helpless People" (H) by noting that members of these groups can either add to or detract from the general welfare, depending on the relative gains (or losses) that they cause themselves and society. A bandit may enrich himself more or less than he impoverishes society, and a helpless person may enrich society more or less than he impoverishes himself.

It would appear that in the bottom right quadrant, the B could also stand for Berlusconi:



I do remember that on 4 April 2006, less than a week before the upcoming political elections in Italy, during a speech given at the National Chamber for Trade, Berlusconi stated that he holds "too high esteem of the Italians' intelligence to think that there are so many coglioni (literally "testicles", a vulgar term often used about people considered stupid) around voting against their interest".

I wonder if Mr. Berlusconi studied the book of Professor Cipolla, although he omitted to place correctly himself in the quadrants.

On the other hand, according to the Third Basic Law of Stupidity, a stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses. This is exactly happening voting for Berlusconi's government and parties. We still do not see any gain for Italians but we are seeing losses such as Italy negative economic growth, debt and deficits increases, country international image being tarnished, let alone apparent losses in taxpayers money as state flights are being used to fly singers and other guests to private parties in Sardinia and to carry out election campaign by Government's members.

Under these circumstances, Italians voting Berlusconi would appear helpless people (with perhaps some overtones of stupidity of area H1) as they take an action and suffer a loss while producing a gain to somebody else.

In a country which is moving downhill, I would add clearly like Italy, Professor Cipolla writes that "the fraction of stupid people is still equal to å; however in the remaining population one notices among those in power an alarming proliferation of the bandits with overtones of stupidity (sub-area B1 of quadrant B) and among those not in power an equally alarming growth in the number of helpless individuals (area H in basic graph). Such change in the composition of the non-stupid population inevitably strengthens the destructive power of the å fraction and makes decline a certainty. And the country goes to Hell."

Is Italy going to Hell?

Papi chulo does not reply to questions

When I listen to this music I think of Italy's Prime Minister Berlusconi and his parties.

Is he "papi" and is he chulo?

G8 Summit in Abruzzo: the case for "Shooting Silvio's" government

I have recently read that PLAYBOY magazine is for sale. I believe that Berlusconi should buy it so he can have all girls he wants and replace the owner Hugh Hefner who is 83-year-old! Italy's Prime Minister will not need to look elsewhere for pleasure or have to explain relations with teen. Everything will be transparent and Berlusconi will not have to answer anymore to the 10 questions asked by La Repubblica.

If Berlusconi can manage PLAYBOY's bunnies he will have economies of scale and synergies with its own media empire and his sake of pleasure.

Having said that, I contend that there is a cogent case for shooting Silvio's government before G8 summit in Abruzzo next July. Italy cannot afford to offer the world sad images of destruction (by the earthquake in Abruzzo) and destruction of its image (by its Prime Minister Berlusconi).

Berlusconi should not be shielded anymore, like in the Mills' corruption case, otherwise Italy will never move from its infection point, construed by Berlusconi's himself, to the turning point.

BERLUSCONI SHOULD RESIGN OR IMPEACHMENT for Italy's sake!
Once again as The Economist wrote he is and remains "unfit to lead" Italy and G8.