Battling an Image and Reality, Berlusconi Takes on the Mafia (Real and Fictional)
ROME — It seemed a spirited defense of his nation’s reputation: calling organized crime groups “a terrible pathology,” Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday criticized movies and television shows that fictionalized the Mafia for giving Italy “a negative image abroad.”
Such shows, he said, were “an ugly trend” that he hoped would end soon.
Yet if anyone can help stop the trend, perhaps it is Mr. Berlusconi himself. His Mediaset company, Italy’s largest private broadcaster, showed “The Sopranos” to great success on one of its pay channels, while its Canale 5, a free channel, has shown “The Boss of Bosses,” a 2007 miniseries about the Sicilian Mafia boss Salvatore (Totò) Riina, and “The Last Godfather,” a 2008 program about the Sicilian boss Bernardo Provenzano.
In baroque Italy, where image and reality are so intertwined that the term hypocrisy seems inadequate, many did not even blink. “Those are the typical things you say when you go in an area with high Mafia density,” said Gianluca Nicoletti, a radio commentator. Besides, he added, “I don’t think he said it with great conviction.”
In his 2006 best seller “Gomorrah,” on the Camorra, or the Neapolitan Mafia, Roberto Saviano recounts how some real members of the Mafia model their style on that of fictional mobsters.
Mr. Berlusconi made his remarks at a news conference in the southern Italian city of Reggio Calabria, where his cabinet unveiled an ambitious 10-point plan for fighting organized crime. They chose the site to demonstrate the presence of the state in Calabria after the ’Ndrangheta, or Calabrian mafia, threatened bomb attacks in recent weeks against magistrates and the president of Italy.
Read the rest of this article over at The Dispatch
Related posts:
- Berlusconi vows to beat Mafia pathology Reggion Calabria, Italy – Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday...
- Witness links Berlusconi associate to top mobster PALERMO, Sicily (Reuters) – The key witness in a Mafia...
- Berlusconi blames author for giving publicity to mafia Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has accused best-selling author Roberto...
- Berlusconi coalition partner accuses Mafia of Plot A key coalition partner in Silvio Berlusconi’s Government said yesterday...
- Court upholds Mafia conviction for Berlusconi ally (Reuters) – An Italian appeal court upheld a conviction for...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
I love Berlusconi. He’s got the libido of Bill Clinton without the lies; he’s an in-your-face playboy in his seventies. God Bless him and Viagra. This Mafia play is a loser for him, but sounds good. First, aside from the fact that his companies have aired mob films and TV shows, but denying the impact of those criminal groups Mafia, ‘Ndrangheta, Camorra, and Sacre Corona Unita on Italian civilization would be like Americans refusing to show cowboy movies. It’s history…even current history. His reaction to the threats in Calabria during a presidential visit reminds me of Mussolini’s reaction when he was told by a local Mafia boss in Sicily that he, Il Duce, didn’t need troops to protect him as long as he was with the Mafioso. Mussolini felt his control so challenged that he set “supercop” Cesare Mori on them like a mad dog, and practically wiped out the Honored Society before the Allied invasion of Sicily saved them. It was pretty dumb to make threats during the visit. ‘Ndrangheta guys will know better next time.