No doubt the newspapers will devote dozens of pages to the fallout from the decision by the Court of Cassation to confirm the criminal conviction of Silvio Berlusconi for tax fraud, but especially on the decision to ask the Court of Appeal to rule again on a ban from public office. Certainly, in no other western democracy would a political leader survive a criminal conviction for tax fraud with his career intact, but in Italy the political rules are different. Yet although the politics may become complicated from now on, the principles surrounding the decision are simple. The principles apply to any democracy: 1. Equality before the law. The law should be blind as to a defendant’s background, power or nature. 2. Independence of the judiciary. If the decision is now challenged in Parliament or by political parties—which is less likely for a while given the deferral of a decision on banning him from public office, but still possible—then that will be tantamount to bringing about a constitutional crisis. 3. Political office and power bring public responsibilities. Berlusconi and his supporters will argue, as they always do, that he is being unfairly targeted for political reasons. If the decision, now made at all three levels of justice, were to have been shown to be politically distorted, ignoring evidence for political reasons, then of course they would have a point. But given those three levels of decision, and the lack of any evidence of distortion, their argument now amounts to the claim that as a political leader Berlusconi is being pursued for crimes that others get away with. Yet democratic logic works the other way round: as lawmakers and law enforcers, it is vital that political leaders are held strictly to account, even if it does not prove possible to convict others. Political leaders, especially prime ministers, should be expected to set an example. They must be held to account by the laws they themselves make and have a duty to enforce. 4. The wisest response by Berlusconi and the PDL will be to accept the decision. After all, Berlusconi can still control his party from outside Parliament and even return later. He can relish the life of a self-defined martyr. But if he or the party fight the decision in any way, Enrico Letta would have to immediately announce the end of his coalition government. If Prime Minister Letta takes any other course, then he too will in effect be challenging the judiciary and bringing the constitution into serious question. President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano would have to insist on the fall of the government. 5. That need not mean immediate elections. But if it does, then that would, in democratic and constitutional terms, be a good thing. A paralysed government is no government at all. 6. In fact, it is hard to see how elections this autumn can be avoided. Can the PD really continue in coalition with a party led by someone convicted of tax fraud? Stranger things have happened in Italian politics, but still… Bill Emmott
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 12:06:50 +0000
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