photo courtesy of Album di Calca

A small businessman set himself alight in Oderzo, out of sheer desperation. He was the twentieth in the recent chain of suicides in the Veneto Region. A woman died of exsanguination in Naples because she was selling her blood just to stay alive. Just a few short years (months? days?) ago, if we happened to read about events such as these, we would only have paid scant attention because it was the kind of thing that could only have happened in some faraway Country. In places like Bangladesh, Cambodia or Bolivia. Or perhaps in that period just after the War ended. Distant horrors that happened in other places and in different times. Today they have somehow become everyday events here in Italy. Things that just happen. Things like this. This unquestioning acceptance of social decay has crept up on us, one step at a time. The Italians have become like rabbits hypnotised by a serpent, by a fear of what the future may hold in store. They remain totally immobile, waiting for the inevitable to happen. The Country has turned into a game of Monopoly played with weighted dice. For a citizen of this Country, the inevitable is a stay in Prison, the payment of inheritance Tax or the curse of something going wrong. The political parties have helped themselves to our public services, our electricity company, our stations, the drinking water providers and every last bit of available land suitable for construction. Bersani lives in one of those modest little houses of Vicolo Corto and Vicolo Lungo. All the rest of them belong to Mr. Anemone and to the Government. Berlusconi owns the whole of “Parco della Vittoria” and “Viale dei Giardini”, as well as the better known Villa in Arcore and Palazzo Grazioli. Any unfortunate player who happens to land on any piece of real estate will merely increase his load of debt. In order to play, every Italian must get into debt with the State to the tune of 30,000 Euro at the time of his/her birth. All those different, multicoloured banknotes are shared out equally at the start at the start of the game, but within two or three throws of the dice they all inevitably land up in the pockets of the Italian monopolies. The bank always wins and the bank dictates the entire game. For some time now, Italy has no longer been founded on hard work, but on capital. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. The concepts of the welfare State and solidarity have become swearwords, which are even capable of arousing hatred. You can only play Italian Monopoly if you have an income, a job, some savings, or if you still have some money. Without it, you are nothing, mere meat to be charred or blood to be sold. The State is dead in our Old Country Monopoly game. Is this supposed to be a Welfare State or not?