Deutsche Welle, 28 April 2013
The cabinet formed by Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta is a combination of left- and right-leaning party stalwarts, independents and newcomers. But, the mix could also be a recipe for power struggles.
The cabinet formed by Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta is a combination of left- and right-leaning party stalwarts, independents and newcomers. But, the mix could also be a recipe for power struggles.
Their term
in office began with a major shock. While Enrico Letta and his ministers were
taking their oaths, shots were fired outside Chigi Palace, the official
residence of Italy's prime minister.
The
shooter, who according to initial reports was a deranged man in a suit and tie,
injured two police officers and one pedestrian. He attempted to flee
immediately after the attack, but was caught and suffered injuries. Nothing is
yet known about his motives. The swearing-in ceremony was carried out according
to plan, despite the disruption, but the cabinet ministers appeared upset by
the incident.
A wide
spectrum
Italy's new
head of government managed to combine old and new when forming his government.
New faces can be seen in the 21-person team, which includes seven women. One of
them is newcomer Cecile Kyenge, a Congolese-born doctor and human rights
activist and Italy's first black minister. She was given the post of
integration minister.
Another
newcomer is German-born Josefa Idem, a former canoeist and winner of multiple
Olympic medals. She is now sports and equal opportunities minister.
 |
| Cecile Kyenge is Italy's first African-born minister |
The burning
question now is whether the justice reform deemed urgent by Berlusconi will be
among the new government's top priorities. For Enrico Letta, the most important
issues to tackle are unemployment and the financial crisis.
"Small
and mid-sized businesses are the heart of our economy," Letta told the
press. "The young university graduates who move abroad because they can't
find work here is an emergency that we need to deal with."
Skepticism
and cautious optimism
The key
positions of labor minister and economics minister have been assigned to
independents. Anselmo Soffri, who lives in one of the most productive areas of
the northern Italian Lombardy region, sees this as a stroke of luck.
"They
will finally do something for the economy," Soffri told Deutsche Welle.
"There are all these factories facing closure and nobody is helping them!
Some business owners have committed suicide because they didn't want to fire
their employees but weren't able to pay them anymore either." He has
little faith in the politicians' ability to solve the country's grave economic
problems.
Homemaker
Rodolfa Pannetti, who was randomly asked about her views of the new government,
put her finger squarely on the crux of the matter: "Letta said that his
government would prioritize the needs of the people of the country. It should
always be like this anyway - that's what a government is for. Let's hope that
this one holds out for a while - the internal rivalries are very
noticeable."
 |
| Some are skeptical about the new government's ability to effect positive change |
Rivals under one roof
Indeed, the
new cabinet brings together people of very different political convictions. A
left-wing economic development minister needs to work together with a
right-leaning infrastructure minister to achieve the right conditions for
increased productivity and competitive capacity. This is no easy undertaking,
but Italy badly needs some kind of economic impetus.
Meanwhile,
Berlusconi is pleased with the current political constellation. Although only a
quarter of the population voted for his party alliance, he still gets a say in
the new government. Apart from having five PDL ministers in the cabinet, the
party presented Letta with an eight-point plan and, according to PDL spokesman
Renato Brunetta, he accepted all the proposals. "In this regard, we've
achieved a significant victory," added Brunetta.
At the same
time, Letta's ruling Democratic Party is presenting the new government as
"the only possibility" - and putting up with derisive comments coming
from the media owned by Berlusconi.
Related Article:
Related Article:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.