Here is the new Miracle in Milan

Expo 2015, with 20 million visitors expected, a supposed contribution to the restart of our economy, is presenting us with a picture where…. even a certain Mr. Frigerio and Mr. Greganti are emerging from the haze of Bribesville. It feels like a sequel of the film “Miracle in Milan”..
We will never be able to shake off our shoulders the rating of being an “unreliable” country”, if a constant sense of precariousness is what fosters corruption; living in a state of emergency allows to bypass any correct control rules, thus favouring illegality. Has it not been a known fact for 5 years that Expo will take place in 2015? Then why wait until the last moment, and approve contract tenders with rule departures justified by urgency?
We almost take pride in the thought that “we are good, we manage to fix things up at the last moment anyway”. Let’s not delude ourselves. We are rather under the impression that operative decisions are purposely delayed in order to create a state of emergency, which then allows to do such things as we have before our eyes.
From the 1990 Soccer World Cup, through the reconstruction after the Abruzzo earthquake, all the way to Expo 2015, there has not been a single event without judicial repercussions: how is this possible?.
Emblematic of the Expo 2015 plans is the waterways system project, which was first presented as a characterising feature for Milan to be assigned to host the event, then cancelled due to time and money limitations, more recently brought back because “it could be done”, and now again placed in doubt, after the latest episodes of corruption.
Brazil is reminiscent of something similar, with the soccer world cup due to start in a month’s time, and the stadiums still to be completed. Could it be that, in addition to Nutella, we have also exported our construction techniques to this country?
The political world, which is supposed to represent us, is increasingly turning into a screaming spectacle, where the winners are not those with the best ideas, but those who are best at embellishing them and scream them loudest.
In the run-up to next Sunday’s European elections, we are witnessing the worst performances: someone rediscovers his love for animal welfare and exhibits his cute little dog (aptly named Dudù), someone would like to vivisect that dog ( Grillo), someone has himself filmed next to the Race bronzes to show his attention for culture and tourism, forgetting that they are kept in a museum that cost a fortune, with years of delay in construction and exhibitions still incomplete ( Renzi). These are just examples, which are, for once, worth generalising.
Italy is getting worse. After the war, during the 50’s, we were poor and poorly dressed, but good people. Now we are still poor, much more elegantly dressed, but maybe not-so-good people.