I am disappointed (but wholly unsurprised) to learn of Prime Minister Berlusconi’s latest offensive to undermine courts and the rule of law in Italy.
In changing the electoral rules to favour his own political parties, he has once again shown a flagrant disrespect for the fundamental principles of both parliamentary democracy and oversight by an independent judiciary. This disrespect was historically a key element in fascism as well as communism.
I would like to assure you all that the health of Italy’s democracy is not just a national issue, it is very much a European concern and one that non-Italian European Liberal Democrat MEPs have taken up alongside and in solidarity with our colleagues from Italia dei Valori whose stand we applaud.
Respect for the rule of law is a key requirement of EU membership, and Berlusconi would do well to remember that. We in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) in the European Parliament will continue to speak out against Berlusconi’s attacks on Italian law and democracy.
Sarah Ludford MEP
