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Political tirade is surprise best-seller in Italy
by Francoise MichelThu Oct 11, 1:49 PM ET
Italy's presidency spends four times more than Buckingham Palace and senators retire at age 42: the country's summer best-seller is neither a thriller nor a love-story but an angry tirade against the Italian political class.
With more than a million copies sold, almost unheard of for non-fiction, "The Caste", written by two journalists from the leading daily Corriere della Sera, remains on the best-seller lists more than five months after its publication.
The subtitle of the book says it all -- "How Italian politicians have become untouchable".
Packed with figures, anecdotes and comparisons with other countries, the book notes that spending by the presidency, with its 1,859 employees, is four times Britain's Buckingham Palace, that a meal at the Senate restaurant is cheaper than at the municipal street cleaners' canteen, and that senators can retire on a comfortable pension at 42.
As for the government, Prime Minister Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition cabinet is made up of 103 members from nine parties, even more than the 98-member team of his right-wing predecessor Silvio Berlusconi.
Not that Berlusconi scrimped in other areas. He had 81 bodyguards during his last stint as prime minister, from 2001-2006.
Authors Sergio Rizzo and Gian Antonio Stella were as surprised as anyone by the success of "The Caste."
"It was bought mainly by families, so it reached a large readership, which is rare for non-fiction," Rizzo said at the Corriere offices here. "Its success reveals a need for change."
Italy has the most lawmakers per capita among large Western democracies: one per 60,371 compared with one per 66,554 in France, 91,824 in Britain and 112,502 in Germany.
"Like a frog, the Italian political class is swelling, swelling, until it explodes," the 51-year-old Rizzo joked.
"Italian politicians have lost their moral compass. Some situations have become unacceptable," he added.
The last major earthquake to shake up the Italian political class was the anti-corruption drive known as "Mani Pulite" (Clean Hands) in the early 1990s that implicated 150 lawmakers.
Commentators say the success of "The Caste" mirrors that of comedian and blogger Beppe Grillo, who has mounted a signature campaign against political sleaze.
But Rizzo bristles at the comparison.
"Beppe Grillo is a comedian, and he's doing very well. We did a journalistic investigation. We don't think, as he does, that these problems will be resolved in the street; they must be resolved politically," Rizzo said.
In any case, dissent is in the air, and Prodi's centre-left government responded by vowing to halve the number of lawmakers as it unveiled its 2008 budget late last month -- although of course that would necessitate bipartisan electoral reforms.
The budget calls for a 10 percent reduction in parties' electoral expense accounts and the elimination of 33,000 local councillors.
It also raises the altitude at which a town can be considered a "mountain community" and receive financial aid, but not by much -- just 500 metres (1,650 feet).
"These steps are not enough," Rizzo said. "But they show the start of a conscience. It's the first time that a government has tried to deal with an old evil."
In 1923, the dictator Benito Mussolini cut the number of government cars from 16 to three. Today the prime minister's office has a fleet of more than 100.
by Francoise MichelThu Oct 11, 1:49 PM ET
Italy's presidency spends four times more than Buckingham Palace and senators retire at age 42: the country's summer best-seller is neither a thriller nor a love-story but an angry tirade against the Italian political class.
With more than a million copies sold, almost unheard of for non-fiction, "The Caste", written by two journalists from the leading daily Corriere della Sera, remains on the best-seller lists more than five months after its publication.
The subtitle of the book says it all -- "How Italian politicians have become untouchable".
Packed with figures, anecdotes and comparisons with other countries, the book notes that spending by the presidency, with its 1,859 employees, is four times Britain's Buckingham Palace, that a meal at the Senate restaurant is cheaper than at the municipal street cleaners' canteen, and that senators can retire on a comfortable pension at 42.
As for the government, Prime Minister Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition cabinet is made up of 103 members from nine parties, even more than the 98-member team of his right-wing predecessor Silvio Berlusconi.
Not that Berlusconi scrimped in other areas. He had 81 bodyguards during his last stint as prime minister, from 2001-2006.
Authors Sergio Rizzo and Gian Antonio Stella were as surprised as anyone by the success of "The Caste."
"It was bought mainly by families, so it reached a large readership, which is rare for non-fiction," Rizzo said at the Corriere offices here. "Its success reveals a need for change."
Italy has the most lawmakers per capita among large Western democracies: one per 60,371 compared with one per 66,554 in France, 91,824 in Britain and 112,502 in Germany.
"Like a frog, the Italian political class is swelling, swelling, until it explodes," the 51-year-old Rizzo joked.
"Italian politicians have lost their moral compass. Some situations have become unacceptable," he added.
The last major earthquake to shake up the Italian political class was the anti-corruption drive known as "Mani Pulite" (Clean Hands) in the early 1990s that implicated 150 lawmakers.
Commentators say the success of "The Caste" mirrors that of comedian and blogger Beppe Grillo, who has mounted a signature campaign against political sleaze.
But Rizzo bristles at the comparison.
"Beppe Grillo is a comedian, and he's doing very well. We did a journalistic investigation. We don't think, as he does, that these problems will be resolved in the street; they must be resolved politically," Rizzo said.
In any case, dissent is in the air, and Prodi's centre-left government responded by vowing to halve the number of lawmakers as it unveiled its 2008 budget late last month -- although of course that would necessitate bipartisan electoral reforms.
The budget calls for a 10 percent reduction in parties' electoral expense accounts and the elimination of 33,000 local councillors.
It also raises the altitude at which a town can be considered a "mountain community" and receive financial aid, but not by much -- just 500 metres (1,650 feet).
"These steps are not enough," Rizzo said. "But they show the start of a conscience. It's the first time that a government has tried to deal with an old evil."
In 1923, the dictator Benito Mussolini cut the number of government cars from 16 to three. Today the prime minister's office has a fleet of more than 100.