Sunday Round-Up - April 28, 2013

This is the weekly selection of news and opinion from sources outside the US mainstream media. Today we look at the failure of gun control legislation to pass the US Senate and at Italy's new government formed after two months of electoral paralysis.

Gun control fails in US Senate

The rest of the civilized world is still shaking its collective head about the failure of background check legislation and practically any other meaningful Federal legislative action to reduce gun violence. Two of the most thoughtful commentaries come from The Guardian (UK).

In his article, Gary Younge writes that atrocities like the Boston bombing are hard to tackle, but gun crime isn't. The UK should know. With their stricter gun laws, their per capita gun death rate is less than 3% of that in the United States (0.25/100,000 per year in the UK vs. 10.2/100,000 per year in the US). [Wikipedia] Comparing the Boston marathon bombing with the Newton shooting of 20 children and 6 teachers, he notes: "The contradictions in the political responses to the two tragedies and the issues they raise could not be more glaring or obscene."

In a somewhat similar vein,Michael Cohen questions why America loses its head over "terror" but ignores its daily gun deaths. Referring to the lockdown in Boston following the bombing: "So for those of you keeping score at home – locking down an American city: a proper reaction to the threat from one terrorist. A background check to prevent criminals or those with mental illness from purchasing guns: a dastardly attack on civil liberties."

 

Italy (Finally) Forms New Government
 

In February, Italy held its general election. The popular vote was close. The center-left Italy, Common Good coalition picked up 29.5% of the popular vote and center-right Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom coalition picked up 29.1%. The third place finisher was a new anti-establishment political party Five Star Movement headed by Beppe Grillo.  Five Star Movement came in with an astounding 25.5% of the vote! What's notable about this is that Beppe Grillo is a "comedian, actor, blogger, and political activist" [Wikipedia]. The "five stars" of the movement are a reference to five key issues: public water, sustainable transport, development, connectivity, and environmentalism. The coalition of the previous prime minister, Mario Monti, received 10.5% of the popular vote.

 

Now, two months after its divided elections, Italy finally has a new Prime Minister. Enrico Letta of the center-left Democratic Party will be the 25th person to hold the office. Letta's next step will be to form the Cabinet and assign the various ministries. According to La Repubblica, Letta stated his hope that the new government will be a "government of service to the country" and looked to make institutional and electoral reforms to prevent a reoccurrence of the paralysis resulting from the February election. This is about the fortieth cabinet formed in Italy since 1946. The new prime minister responded to a question regarding the center-right People of Freedom's conditions for forming a government: "This government will be born, but not at all costs."

 

President Obama and Congress please take note: Austerity has failed to revive the Italian economy. The jobless rate of young people (15-24 years old) there is now at 35%. Retail sales dropped for the 8th consecutive month. 25% of the people voted for a comedian.