Why Italy Could Use More Common Sense

This has got to be a tough time for many Italians. From afar, it seems like the country is falling apart in more ways than one. The earthquakes that have been rattling the Italian north are just the most tangible, and deadly, signs of that malaise.

Another sign is the huge match-fixing scandal roiling the waters of Italian soccer. It recently erupted in all its ugliness, with some top level players arrested on charges that they conspired with a shadowy betting syndicate to alter the course of several games. Prosecutors say the whole scheme was directed by a Singapore-based tycoon.

The reaction of one Italian coach, who works in Ireland, was emblematic of how many in Italy view such scandals. “As an Italian,” said Giovanni Trapattoni, “the first feeling is that we are mocked abroad. We are always linked with illicit dealings.”

Another recent scandal that’s generated some mocking commentary around the globe is the one known as Vati-leaks. I know, technically the Vatican isn’t Italy. But humor me.

Vati-leaks is centered on allegations of corruption at the Holy See. The documents that were leaked came from the Pope’s own household. And the leaker it turns out, was a member of what the Catholic Church calls the Pope’s “family”: the butler.

But if the butler did in fact do it, few think he acted alone. He’s now promising to cooperate with investigators. Maybe the good butler will lead them to someone higher up, like a cardinal, who might be behind all the intrigue. The Vatican says it’s all part of a vicious personal attack on the pontiff.

Before all of the above, it was the economy that most worried Italians. Sure, it’s not as bad as in Greece or Spain. But Italy’s economy is in serious peril, overwhelmed by high levels of government debt and high unemployment. Young Italians despair about ever being able to make a decent living.

The government of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi collapsed because it was unwilling to make the hard decisions needed to keep Italy from becoming the next Euro basket case. But Berlusconi wasn’t alone in his denial. Most Italian politicians, on both the right and the left, were equally guilty. Many Italians were left with a sense that the whole political system had failed them.

That’s why the country is now in the hands of technocrats, led by current Prime Minister Mario Monti. Italians simply needed some common sense leadership to steer them out of the mess.

Monti and his ministers don’t mince words. They will say if benefits promised to union workers in the past are now too onerous for the Italian state. If employment rules have the effect of keeping young workers out of the work force, they try to change them.

So leave it to Mario Monti to say the common sense thing when it comes to that soccer match-fixing scandal. He suggested that Italian soccer should just stop for 2 or 3 years. “It’s not a government proposal,” he said, “just something I wish for as a fan who loved when soccer was just soccer.”

But it seems to be about more than just soccer to me. I think Italy needs to stick to its common sense cure, and apply it liberally whenever humans fail to do the right thing.