Moral freefall

A law was passed in the Italian senate today that permits doctors to denounce illegal immigrants to the authorities. It might not pass, as it may be deemed unconstitutional, but so what, the damage is done. There is really no benefit whatsoever to this law, whatever way you look at it. It’s not going to do reduce the number of illegal immigrants in Italy, it’s just going to make them less healthy (and presumably the Italians who come into contact with them).

This is about appearing tough, laying down the law, showing that the administration means business when it says it’ll clean up the streets. But frankly the message to me sounds more like: we’re so intolerant that we’re going to pass a measure that will mean fellow human beings will not seek medical treatment for fear of being deported. Lovely. In fact, it’ll probably make things worse: it’ll put off real reform, while the damage to community relations will surely be far more costly than than the few illegal immigrants who happen to be troublemakers and end up in the surgery of a GP who reports them (and I suspect that there won’t be many). In any case, which illegal immigrant is more likely to be so desperate for medical treatment as to risk it: the 22 year-old purse-snatcher or the mother who is concerned that her baby has caught something life-threatening (probably brought on from living in appalling conditions?)

This really is deplorable. Italy has been in recession for nigh on two years, massive structural reform is required to fix it (although the credit crunch has given politicians a good excuse), infrastructure is in tatters, there’s no Italian university amongst the top 150 in the world, fewer Italian women occupy important positions in business or politics than any other developed country, and so on and so on. And yes, there is no immigration policy. Yet the administration seems hell-bent on populist gestures like this one rather than rolling up its sleeves and getting to work.

I won’t say I’m surprised, although it’s still disappointing. It’s all part of a string of developments under this administration that halts progress that little bit more. There are hiccups in most countries. People can become a bit less tolerant and worse off during times of difficulty, but by and large, social progress has been pretty constant in most places around the world. More people are getting an education, the gap between rich and poor is diminishing, women are breaking through the glass ceiling, minorities are increasingly tolerated, while the rule of law and respect for others’ rights gets stronger.

Not in Italy. The prime minister, with a string of convictions behind him and who spent his previous five years in power trying to get them quashed (it helps when you manage to reduce the statute of limitations on one crime you’ve been convicted of and to de-criminalise another), hardly leads by example. Nor does an administration that has reduced spending on education and R&D or that hires 32 year old showgirls as ministers. But the Lega Nord, who proposed and sponsored this new law, really are the worst of the bunch. A posse of populist, ignorant, narrow-minded, vile little men who try to impose their pathetic bigotry on the rest of the country. And lo and behold, it seems to be working.

Right, rant over: rational and impartial (and relevant) hat comes back on tomorrow.