Czerulf: Italy – Berlusconi, Imu and what comes next

Silvio Berlusconi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Flipping through the newspapers one could get the impression that things are going rather well in Italy. Relatively little space is attributed to the issues that mark the current crisis – a depressed economy, an unemployment rate that is rising month on month (specially among young people) and a political system that fails to address all these issues. One would expect that this mix of upsetting facts should dominate the headlines. Instead what keeps the nation moving like nothing else is the possible suspension (or abolition?) of IMU (Imposta Municipale Propria – a property tax) on family homes. Why is that?

Czerulf: Italy – PdL mobilizes in Brescia

Italiano: Silvio Berlusconi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The stage is set in Brescia (Lombardy). PdL will rally its supporters tomorrow in order to “defend” party leader Silvio Berlusconi against “iniquitous” persecution by the Italian judicial system. During the week Berlusconi got his 4 year jail sentence upheld by the appeal court in Milan (the reason is fiscal fraud in relation to the acquisition of broadcasting licenses by Mediaset). Berlusconi as usual dismisses all charges against him as being unjust and sinister.