The B-side and the F-word

It will surprise few people who know and love Italy that the most important news item at the moment (other than the football, obviously) is the Lato-B controversy. Literally the 'B-side' it is a matter of whether the contestants in the Miss Italia contest should have to turn round and show their bottoms while dressed in swimsuits. On the one side, if I can put it that way, this is as close as Italy gets to feminism, whereas on the other a well known photographer and judge in the competition has issued a separate title to the young lady with the best bottom, the prize being a modelling contract for some jeans (if I can find out the details of this I shall make the information available to those who want it). The poor winner, Silvia Battisti from Verona, did not win the best bottom section and to make matters worse many people are saying she is too thin and that the third placed contestant, Ilaria Capponi from Salsamaggiore, Lazio should have won. Many of the people complaining are of course from Lazio. It seems only a matter of time before the matter is discussed in the gravest terms in parliament. I thought Miss Umbria was nice.

So it is all the more surprising that the second most important news item (sorry, third) is to do with politics and the constitution. A well known comedian, Beppe Grillo, has started to rail against the political class, its cost, its corruption and its self-perpetuating nature. Recently it has been observed that Italy's parliament costs as much as Britain, France and Spain's combined, and the presidential Airbus was seen to go south from Rome to Campania to pick up one Clemente Mastella the justice minister and his son, then head north to Milan for a football match. They were on a massive junket at the taxpayers' expense. Italian MPs get free entry into football matches and to the cinema, and recently one was heard proposing that they should get free ice cream, because the heat was making it difficult for him to think.

So Grillo's proposals, from his movement which is roughly called the F-word (it is V in Italian) are these: that nobody who has had a criminal conviction should be an MP (currently around 10% of Italian MPs have been convicted of a serious crime), and that people should vote directly for their MP rather than him being appointed on the party list system. Not so radical, you might think. But this is revolution by Italian standards. Grillo is very popular, although ironically he is of the left and his movement is highly damaging to Prodi's left-leaning coalition.

It seems likely, although on the face of it hard to believe, that Berlusconi will start campaigning on an honesty ticket. Watch this space, this one will run.