Reform the law in Italy and who should pay for St Francis' wood


A wet Sunday in Le Marche but managed to harvest last of the 2nd sowing of French beans. Great guffaws when the magistrates were reported as threatening to go on strike as Berlusconi hots up his attempts at reform. Strike? Who would notice? Ancona our regional capital was reported as having the slowest courts in Italy last year by the Espresso - 10 yrs to get a case heard, if my memory serves me correctly. Which brings me back to the end of my last blog.

If labour productivity in this country is to be brought up to competitive levels then apart from wage restraint ( difficult in a country where take home pay in a factory can be lower than 1,000 euros a month ) and of course a freer labour market, investment in new plant is a must. Give a man a new machine that produces 50 widgets per hour as opposed to his old faithful that did 25 and obviously productivity goes up by100%. The small family run businessesthat are the backbone of the economy have thier own backs against the wall and realise that, even if they could borrow the money, workers are easier to sack than the bank manager when things go quiet. What's missing here is FDI ( foreign direct investment). When the first language on a P&G product is Greek you know something is awry. Greece after all is as much and economic basket case as Italy. So why Greece for multinationals and not Italy which has the lowest FDI in Europe and that which it has is high-tailing it for home? Answer: the legal system. Multinationals will not come here because contracts cannot be enforced within the lifetime of the product- if at all. If no multinationals come with the inevitable transfer of mangament know-how and technology , where is the new investment to come from? Who is going to employ gainfully the graduates ? Now if the law were to be reformed maybe things might look brighter- after all it couldn't get any worse. Cases such as the Perugia murder, and indeed any of Berlusconi's legal problems make Italy a laughing stock because of the sheer inefficiency and length of time. To be sure there's bound to be an element of self interest in Mr B's efforts but there could be collateral gains - again on the principle that nothing could be worse than the current farce. Magistrati l'Ultracasta by Stefano Livadiotti makes bitter sweet reading.

Now to lighter joke. The poor old National Trust called FAI here in Italy wants us all to contribute a few bob to keep St. Francis' wood going. They must be joking. This shady walk is part of a tiny monastry where St. Francis holed up for a bit of a think - very beautiful. But this supposed object of our charity is right next to Assisi. Go there after 8.30 am after Jan. 30th and you can't move for tourists. This town is making a fortune - if they can't shell out a few cents then what about the church itself. You can bet your bottom dollar that it was the state ( the taxpayer) that fixed up the cathedral after the last 1997 earthquake. It's time they put their hands in their own pocket. Only Marchegiani in Italy are supposed to have short arms and deep pockets, we don't need any rivals