Political Rights and Civil Liberties in Modern Day Italy

This is just a little more information of Italian rights, civil liberties and government organization in modern day Italy which I found on Freedomhouse.org.

The Italian government is an electoral democracy, where the president is elected for a seven-year term by Parliament and other representatives of Italy’s regions. Although elected the president’s role is usually ceremonial however sometimes politically influential. The president is also able to choose the prime minister, who is often the leader of the largest party in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies. The upper house is the Senate and both chamber members serve five-year terms. The president today is Giorgio Napolitano, a former member of the Communist party who was elected in 2006.

Although Italy has changed its government 50 times since 1945, corruption in politics remains a major issue in Italian government today. On the 2008 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, Italy came in at number 55 of 180 countries surveyed.

Current Prime Minister Berlusconi has faced many corruptions charges over the years, including ties to the mafia, however he has never been convicted. He has completely avoided trials and is now immune from prosecution due to the bill that passed which gives members of the government immunity from prosecution, needless to say, the bill was a diruption to the justice system that directly benefited Berlusconi.

In Italy freedom of speech and press is constitutionally guaranteed, however with Berlusconi’s return to parliament and 90 percent control over Italy’s broadcast media, you can see how the media could be influenced. The internet in Italy is mostly unrestricted, however the government does block foreign websites if they violate national laws, and they monitor websites in an effort to catch child pornographers.

Freedom of religion is also guaranteed by the constitution, although Roman Catholicism is the dominant faith, and the state grants privileges to the Catholic Church.

Other freedoms Italian citizens have include, academic freedom, freedom to assemble and form social and political associations. One area in which Italy differs majorly from the united states is the judicial system which has long trial days and influence of organized crime.