Friday, September 12, 2003

FORZA ITALIA

Ryan, the worst blogger in the world (tm), has had a running battle with the running dogs of conservatism over moral equivalence. (Incidentally, I had a similar experience with Howard Owens over Hamas, the IRA and the Maquis.)

Well, here's another one. Boris (I wonder how he'd deal with this week's Friday Five) Johnson MP (publisher) and Nicholas Farrell (editor) seems have fallen in love with controversial Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi in the Spectator. You may recall that Berlusconi hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons when he compared a German MEP to a Nazi Concentration Camp officer. (Incidentally, Larry Hovis, one of the stars of Hogan's Heroes 60's Nazi PoW camp comedy , died this week.)

In his latest gaffe, the PM said that Mussolini had an unfair bad press. You know the stories about running the trains on time. Even my Italian next door neighbours on Long Island came out with that pearl. But, now he denies that Mussolini was responsible for any deaths of innocents (ignoring the rape and pillage of Ethiopia, summary arrests and executions of opponents and general nastiness) and that Jews were sent to holiday camps (and not concentration camps).

"Mussolini did not murder anyone. Mussolini sent people on holiday to confine them [banishment to small islands such as Ponza and Maddalena which are now exclusive resorts]."

So, he was a nice liberal democrat this Mussolini geezer. Elections weren't necessary because he was so popular. The judges did his bidding and the press kow-towed. "Exclusive resorts", like Robbin Island and Alcatraz.

So were does this put Berlusconi in the moral equivalence league table? He may not be a Saddam, although you could see him making similar excuses for the Iraqi leader. Frankly, I couldn't care. What worries me more is that buffoons like Johnson and the odious Nicholas Farrell seem happy to pump up this fat shit:

"When Berlusconi makes his so-called gaffes, he is, I feel sure, speaking from the heart. He comes across, therefore, not as a politician but as a human being. How unlike the baleful Alastair Campbell."

Moral equivalence! Moral equivalence!

"The forces of political correctness trashed my Musso book because I have dared to challenge received wisdom in Britain [ed: and the rest of the world] that the dictator was nothing but a grotesque buffoon — punto e basta. As I point out, grotesque buffoons do not hold power for more than 20 years more or less bloodlessly, as Mussolini did — even in Italy. "

Wrong. What about the buffoon clan in North Korea. What about Suharto, Marcos, the Revolutionary Party (sic) in Mexico, the Colorado in Paraguay?

Why then, were Italians so pleased to see the back (or ringing neck) of Il Duce. Because he was an evil despot? Because he ruined his country? Because he locked up, beat, tortured and killed those who disagreed with his imperial delusions? Because he hung around with that Charlie Chaplin character?

Actually, I do care. Berlusconi isn't much better than Mussolini. In his world, he would prefer to ignore elections, have the judges under his control and the media parrot his intolerance and stupidity (well, most of it does already; he's working on closing down those that don't dance to his tune). He may never descend to the same barbarity that Mussolini did, but he is certainly no friend of democracy and remember that his first premiership was propped up by some very nasty neo-fascists.

:: Posted by pete @ 12:44