November 4, 2024
The Tension Between Politics and the Judiciary in Italy
Europe Politics

The Tension Between Politics and the Judiciary in Italy

by Andrea Soglio

For almost 40 years, Italian politics has had to deal with the “difficult” relationship with the judiciary. And the week just ended is nothing more than yet another confirmation. In fact, we began on Tuesday with the clash between the Court of Rome and the Government on the issue of the first migrants transferred to the identification center for repatriation in Albania. As soon as, amidst a thousand controversies, the first 12 men arrived at their destination, the appeal presented by one of them was accepted by a judge who established their immediate return to Italy.

At the center of the decision was the definition of “safe country”. On the one hand, the Government followed its famous list of nations defined as “safe” for the repatriation of illegal migrants, a list that, however, for the roman judge, has no power and meaning given that, as stated in the provision, “each case must be evaluated individually…”. A decision that put Giorgia Meloni in great difficulty, exposed to a figure that is certainly not positive, and that has given strength to the opposition parties. And here is the accusation of the government parties (of the right): the judge is not independent and free but is aligned with the left.

An accusation that has regained strength, and perhaps even confirmed, with what was published today by the newspaper «Il Tempo» which was good at uncovering an email sent by one of the judges of the Supreme Court, Marco Patarnello, to a list of judges of Magistratura Democratica, the current of magistrates most aligned with the left that is part of the National Association of Magistrates. In this email the well-known magistrate writes that Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister, must be fought: «We must find a remedy, united. Undoubtedly the attack on Justice has never been so strong, perhaps not even in the times of Berlusconi.

In any case today it is a much more dangerous and insidious attack for many reasons. First of all because Meloni has no judicial investigations against her and therefore she does not act for personal interests but for political visions and this makes her much stronger. And it also makes his action much more dangerous, having as its objective the rewriting of the entire Justice system and not simply a safe conduct».

Phrases that have turned into gasoline that ended up on the fire of controversy that certainly did not need further force.

In fact, for 40 years the relationship between Justice and Politics has been the biggest problem existing among Italian institutions. It all started with the investigation of the early 80s called «Tangentopoli» that brought to light the system of financing of the parties erasing an entire Political Era, the so-called «First Republic». The clash then further ignited with the arrival in politics of Silvio Berlusconi, who ended up at the center of dozens and dozens of investigations (one of these closed with the conviction for tax evasion) some of which have not yet been closed. Suffice it to say that last week the possibility of reopening the trial on the «Ruby» case emerged.

This is the sixth branch of a proceeding that in years of investigations and hearings has not led to anything concrete and that today some judges would like to reopen 16 months after the death of the leader of Forza Italia. Without forgetting that also last week the former Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, leader of the League and now vice president of the Council, appeared before the judges of Palermo in the trial in which he is accused of “kidnapping” for the famous affair of the migrants on the ship of the NGO Open Arms and who, precisely by decision of Salvini, were not allowed to disembark in Italian ports.

The Italian Constitution says that the country is founded on the balance of three powers: the legislative one, in the hands of Parliament; the executive one, in the hands of the Government, and the judicial one, managed precisely by the judges. The balance between these two powers is now ruined and finding a point of agreement or a solution seems impossible also because on the one hand the judges can investigate politicians but the politicians cannot control judges. For years, more than 10, there has been talk of a Reform of the Judiciary but in fact at the moment we have only managed to act with measures of little depth and effectiveness. So the problem remains and it is no coincidence that among the institutions of the country, Justice is the least loved and appreciated and it certainly does not help to see in Parliament several former judges who in the end have made the transition from one power to another. “Coincidentally always in left-wing parties…” say the supporters of the Government…

 

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