People From Italy

"Molti sono che temono l’infamia, e pochi la coscienza."

"Niuno dee essere in una medesima cosa avvocato e giudice."

"Il nobile cavallo coll’ ombra della verga si regge; è il malvagio appena si conduce cogli sproni."

"Malvagio è il consilio che non si puo mutare."

"La lagrima della femina è condimento della sua malizia."

"Alia poverty poche cose fallano, ma all’ avarizia tutte."

"Principio d’ammendamento è conoscere lo fallo."

"But those who are involved in politics know that, for better or worse, they are stripped of everything. And I am also opposed to the idea of gagging information: there is a risk that citizens will no longer be able to know who they can trust and who they cannot. :*Abruzzo: un modello virtuoso (Abruzzo: a virtuous model), December 10, 2008."

"The Internet is a free space where anyone can express their thoughts without having financial means or a membership card in their pocket. It is a space that gives hives to those who believe that the only freedom is to serve him. The freedom of servants. [...] I deeply believe in the Internet as a tool for democracy and I will do everything I can to prevent it from being controlled. The Internet is also more important for the country's development than oil. It moves information, processes, data, intelligence. It should not be controlled, it should be developed."

"After all, we saw it in the USA, where Obama and McCain thanked each other and began working together immediately. But here we are not in a civilized country; here we need to remove the tumor. Now the problem is no longer even Berlusconi, it is the “Berlusconis.” They have infiltrated all levels of society, like a virus. The model is catching on, it is being replicated everywhere."

"Mr. Prime Minister [Berlusconi], or rather Mr. President Videla, you are truly a model head of government Argentina. You have humiliated and continue to humiliate the Parliament every day with coups that violate every rule of parliamentary democracy. Just a few minutes ago, you promoted and carried out the latest provocative act promoting an anti-democratic drift, namely the appointment as president of the RAI Supervisory Commission of a person chosen by your majority. I say this to those listening live: this parliamentary majority has had the arrogance to choose even who should represent the opposition. This is typical behavior of Argentine dictatorships."

"Tangentopoli never ended; on the contrary, it became a way of life that Italians learned to live with thanks to distorted models imposed by the political class and celebrated by an increasingly less independent media. :*La mia storia attraverso Tangentopoli (My story through Tangentopoli), September 16, 2008."

"(About Fabio Salamone) the magistrate of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Brescia who repeatedly investigated me, bringing a myriad of charges against me, all of which were later dismissed by the judges “because the facts did not exist.” Of course, in the end I got justice, but those accusations were taken up and relaunched by others who had an interest in building a mountain of wickedness against me that I had not committed, with the aim of discrediting the work I had done as a magistrate and thus—by some insane transitive property—rendering irrelevant the filth I had uncovered about them. :*Capitolo 1: La vicenda Salamone (Chapter 1: the Salamone affair), September 2008."

"[...] deaths at work are no surprise; ThyssenKrupp, with its endless list of deaths, the latest just today, is just the latest episode. Penalties must be severely increased and the number of inspectors increased. Anyone who causes the death of a worker through negligence must end up in jail without any reduction in sentence and without any pardon. :*Buon 2008 (Happy 2008), December 31, 2007."

"What is most striking about the events surrounding magistrates Luigi De Magistris and Clementina Forleo is that the investigations they were conducting have been completely obscured. No one talks about Why Not and Unipol anymore. We are going beyond the metaphor of the finger pointing at the moon. Here, they have made the moon disappear altogether and left us only with the finger to look at. :*I processi scomparsi (The disappeared trials), December 4, 2007."

"Two years to carry out Mani pulite and four to defend myself from the consequences."

"The management of Rai, an offshoot of the government, on the one hand boycotts highly rated flagship programs such as Report by Gabanelli, Annozero by Santoro and Ballarò by Floris, while on the other hand devising failed strategies such as TivuSat and promoting biased reporting by individuals such as Minzolini and Vespa, who are to journalism what the electric chair is to human life."

"Craxi was not a statesman, he was merely the founder of the system of illegal party financing, a hardened corruptor and corrupt individual who destroyed the Italian economic system by basing it on patronage rather than meritocracy. A system whereby public contracts and works ended up in the hands of the highest bidder rather than the most capable. A man in whose shadow, as in the worst of nurseries, the first-rate politicians who now lead Italian parties grew up."

"Italy is sinking with a GDP of -5% and a real unemployment rate of 10%, and they are toasting in the face of the citizens. :*“In the face of the citizens”, June 1, 2009."

"As soon as he took office, Silvio Berlusconi restored unrestricted access to state flights with the knowledge and premeditation of wanting to make extensive use of them for friends, showgirls, attractive Big Brother contestants, singers, friends, and VIPs to be transported wherever needed for a personal favor or a party in Sardinia, which today appears to be more of a sex tourism destination than the summer residence of a Prime Minister."

"They accuse me of persecuting a corruptor, of being a “sfascista” and anti-Berlusconi. I, on the other hand, feel like a partisan of the new resistance. I am in no hurry; time and the citizens will prove me right. :*‘’Le responsabilità di Draghi e Marcegaglia (The responsibilities of Draghi and Marcegaglia), May 30, 2009."

"A government that sees thousands of companies closing their doors every day, leaving just as many workers out on the street, and asks citizens, workers, and small business owners to take on the burden of solving a problem for which the state itself and its inefficiencies are primarily responsible, is not credible. :*‘’Le responsabilità di Draghi e Marcegaglia (The responsibilities of Draghi and Marcegaglia), May 30, 2009."

"The IDV is a popular party that arose spontaneously and does not want to be ideologically defined. It is opposing the Berlusconi government, with good reason, on economic, institutional, and judicial policy."

"There are two Pd, one in the territory where an alternative nucleus is being created with the Idv, and one in the political leadership made up of envy and dissatisfaction. We are involved in politics; it is not our fault if voters reward us. :*from ‘’I prefer to swim rather than drown‘’, May 29, 2009."

"Some battles must be fought even though we know they may be lost, but in the overall picture they are essential to winning the war. :*from ‘’Tutti insieme appassionatamente, contro la mozione di Idv (All together passionately, against the Idv motion), May 28, 2009."

"The PDL and Letizia Moratti have said no to the Anti-Mafia Commission for the control of contracts and supplies worth millions and millions of euros that will be invested in the 2015 Expo to be held in Milan. [...] Taking such a step, after the disturbing words of the deputy prosecutor of the National Anti-Mafia Directorate, Vincenzo Macrì, who in June last year described Milan as the “true capital of the mafia,” is an inexplicable act that raises suspicions that they want a free hand to manage even contracts of dubious assignment."

"Da Berlusconi un tipico discorso da vero e proprio ducetto: vuole azzerare la Costituzione e diventare il padre padrone della sua nuova azienda 'Italia'. Propone la riforma dei regolamenti parlamentari al solo fine di eliminare definitivamente quel che lui considera un inutile ingombro, ossia l'opposizione; pretende che vengano dati maggiori poteri al premier, cioè a lui, così avrà mano libera su quello che lui percepisce come una zavorra: la democrazia. Dopo il controllo dell'informazione, l'attacco all'indipendenza della magistratura, l'indebolimento del sindacato, ecco il potere assoluto, ultimo tassello per il compimento del piano di rinascita democratica della P2, di cui Berlusconi è un noto affiliato."

"I believe that Italian citizens have the right to demonstrate in a civilised public square. One may disagree with what we have done and are doing, but is it not our right, guaranteed by the Constitution, to say that we are not convinced by the actions of certain people? And can we afford, Mr President of the Republic, to welcome into this square some of us who disagree with some of your silences? Can we or can we not? Or are we subversives? We are ordinary citizens who allow ourselves to say to you, Mr President of the Republic, that you should be the referee, but that sometimes your judgement seems to us to be neither that of a referee nor that of a third party. Can we say that or not? We respect you, we have a sense of the institutions, we want to be at peace. [...] Respectfully, respectfully, but respect is one thing, silence is another: silence kills, silence is mafia-like, silence is mafia behaviour. That is why we do not want to remain silent."

"Since fifteen years a group of people has been using public functions to solve their own problems of justice; Go and reread the proposals of P2, go and reread all those proposals, they are exactly those of a justice system subservient to power, they are exactly those of an anti-democratic state where a caste rules over a people who are no longer citizens but subjects."

"Berlusconi cannot do much, apart from slandering and lying, against those who act according to the rules. He does not sue me because when I say something against him, I always have proof. I hope he sues me for defamation. But he won't."

"Berlusconi [...] is to politics what Fede is to information."

"Anti-Berlusconism is a false problem. We are anti-Berlusconism because he is the anomaly. They accuse us of only caring about justice, but it is he who cares too much about justice; it is he who created the Alfano ruling, the Consolo ruling, the Salvapremier ruling. [...] We are only trying to contain the damage."

"When there is a democratic emergency, you stay on the front line. You don't run away!"

"The wiretaps they want to limit show us a head of government who acts more like a pimp, busy placing showgirls who talked too much."

"So, when Craxi said, ‘We are all guilty,’ a deep silence fell. Everyone remained silent. Now, when Mastella accuses the judges, everyone applauds wildly."

"Berlusconi's politics as [...] Fede is information."

"Today, like it or not, Hamas is a force that has as its goal the overthrow of the State of Israel. With terrorism. Do not you talk to who has not abandoned terrorism and still does not recognize Israel. I would say more … What to talk should melt. The terrorist is a terrorist."

"I'll cut off my hand if Prodi falls for me... right here in front of you."

"Today, like it or not, Hamas is a force whose goal is to destroy the State of Israel. Through terrorism. You can't talk to people who haven't renounced terrorism and still don't recognise Israel. I'll say more. ... In order to talk to us, they should disband. A terrorist is a terrorist."

"(Addressing Fabrizio Corona) Listen, Corona, if you're innocent, I'm a woman!"

"There is still a creeping cross-party consensus on issues of justice. I experienced this first-hand when I was asked: “What would you like to do?” 'I would like to be Minister of Justice.“ 'No, no, it might actually work.” That's when I realised that Clemente was better."

"(Addressing Giulio Tremonti If necessary, I would question you too, for that matter."

"Are thieves, corrupt individuals, tax evaders, mafia members or those who – like me – uncovered them with the Mani Pulite investigation a disgrace to the country?"

"I was a judge and I applied the law. As a bricklayer, I tried to build my walls straight, as a policeman I tried to arrest criminals and as a judge I tried to bring people to trial when there was good reason to do so."

"I have nothing in common with Silvio Berlusconi: I only had to see him a couple of times in my life to realise that he is someone to be avoided. Politically, I consider him to be like AIDS: if you know him, you avoid him."

"The South [of ITaly] needs action, not clowning around."

"I am not a politician and I do not intend to enter politics. But can you rule out the possibility of dressing up as a woman tomorrow? Anything is possible! (17 December 1995)"

"When the law, due to obvious disparities in treatment, conflicts with feelings of justice and fairness, it becomes very difficult to do one's duty without feeling like an instrument of injustice. We have therefore informed the public prosecutor of our determination to request, as soon as possible, assignment to another and different position, in the performance of which there will be no jarring conflict between what our conscience dictates and what the law imposes. Signed Antonio Di Pietro, Piercamillo Davigo, Francesco Greco, Gherardo Colombo."

"(About the death of Giovanni Falcone) It was a tragedy, and the brawls show that the institutions have lost a battle. Falcone was killed for what he did in his life as a magistrate."

"Rather than corruption or extortion, we should talk about “environmental bribery”, i.e. an objective situation in which those who have to give money no longer even wait to be asked; they know that in that particular environment it is customary to give bribes or protection money, and so they comply."