6 - Courts Enforcing Political Accountability

Summary

On October 6, 2009, the Italian Constitutional Court quashed the so-called lodo Alfano, a statute hastily passed by the right-wing parliamentary majority in July 2008, just after winning the parliamentary elections. The statute had the effect of freezing all criminal proceedings against the highest state officials: the president of the Republic, the presidents of the two chambers of Parliament, and the prime minister. In fact, the actual goal of the statute was to suspend all the criminal charges brought against Berlusconi. The reaction of Berlusconi and his allies to the decision has been to denounce the court's leftist propensities and call for radical reforms of the judicial system. Without doubt, the court's decision was by no means favourable to Berlusconi, as it is likely that in the near future he will have to confront several criminal proceedings. However, in the recent past it was a criminal investigation that opened the way for the return to power of the Italian tycoon.

In January 2008, the justice minister of the center-left Prodi government, Clemente Mastella – together with his wife and twenty-three members of his small party – was put under investigation. The charges were several, ranging from extortion against the chief executive of the Campania region to various administrative illegalities. As a consequence, the minister resigned, denouncing the investigation as a “persecution.” After some days, the weak twelve-party government led by Romano Prodi collapsed, opening the way to new elections. Thus, in April, the center-right coalition – led by Silvio Berlusconi – which had ruled 2001–2006, was returned to power – with a stronger majority. Although the Prodi government was far from stable, the judicial intervention was the trigger of the crisis.