Italy, Europe, and Red Brigade terror

Matters are turning serious.

Italy’s labour minister Maurizio Sacconi has just warned that a rushed shake-up of the labour market – as demanded by the EU – risks setting off a fresh cycle of terrorism in the country.

Here is the story from Il Sole.

“We must stop creating tension over labour reform which could lead to a new wave of attacks. I am not afraid for myself because I have (armed) protection. I am afraid for the people who are not protected and could become a target of political violence that is not extinct in our country,” he said.

This is not exaggeration. The Red Brigades-PCC assassinated Massimo D’Antonna in 1999 and Professor Marco Biagio in 2002 for spear-heading labour reforms.

Opposition leader Pier Luigi Bersani praised Mr Sacconi for speaking out at last. “We are in deep trouble. If we ignite the powder-keg of social discord instead of cohesion we will do dramatic damage to the country.”

The EU has woven itself into this drama by presenting Italy with an ultimatum last week, giving the country barely 48 hours to commit to very specific and radical reforms. It is in effect taking sides in an intensely polarized debate within Italy. It is intruding in the most sensitive matters of how society organizes itself, in effect demanding ideological changes – in this case in favour of employers, and against unions – as a condition for further action to shore up Italy’s bond markets.

"We have three deaths in front of us: democracy, politics, and the Left," said Fausto Bertinotti, the elder statesman of Rifondazione Communista and one of Italy's great post-war figures.

"We are living in a neo-Bonapartist financial system. Not a single decision has been taken by the Italian parliament since the end of August except those imposed by the foreign power that now us under administration."

The two bones of contention are Article 18 protecting workers from being sacked for economic reasons, and “firm level agreements” that undercut the power of trade unions to craft deals across sectors.

Those of us in Anglo-Saxon cultures may find it remarkable that Italy still has laws that make it extremely hard for companies to lay off workers when needed. It is clearly a reason why the country has struggled to adapt to the challenge of China, rising Asia, and Eastern Europe.

But that is not the point.

Are such changes to be decided by Italy’s elected parliament by proper process, or be pushed through by foreign dictate when the country is on its knees? “Political ownership” is of critical importance. The EU is crossing lines everywhere, forgetting that it remains no more than a treaty organization of sovereign states. Democratic accountability is breaking down.

This is dangerous. It is only a question of time before the EU itself becomes the target of terrorist attacks in a string of countries, and then what? Will the Project start to demand coercive powers? Will it acquire them?

Eurosceptics have been vindicated. They warned from the start that EMU was a dysfunctional under-taking and that in order to stop it leading to calamitous failure, there would have to be ever deeper intrusions into the affairs of each state and society.

This is now happening at a galloping pace. We really will end up an authoritarian supra-national octopus if this goes on much longer.