On 17th February 1992 a member of the Italian Socialist party was arrested after being caught in flagrante cashing in a bribe in Milan. The arrest set off what became known as the “clean hands” investigation, causing the collapse of the first republic party system in Italy
3 comments
For more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mani_pulite
The picture above was taken during a famous protest, whereby bystanders hit PM and leader of the Italian Socialist party Bettino Craxi with a shower of coins and chanted “Bettino, vuoi anche queste?” (Bettino, do you want these as well).
Mr Craxi was found guilty of corruption and later fled the country to escape arrest, spending his exile in Tunisia.
I condemn all the parties involved and what they did, though I can’t shake the feeling that *they* had at least an idea of what they were doing. If you watch old televised/parliamentary debates you can notice a property of language and clarity of thought (even though it was all about robbing the citizens blind!) that would be jarring today; e.g. during the question time Craxi managed to defend himself quite well despite his very obvious misgivings.
Also watch the footage of him being interrogated by Di Pietro, the prosecutor, and appreciate the difference!
We replaced a bunch of well-read crooks and thieves with a gaggle of quasi-illiterate crooks and thieves…
… and the rise of Silvio Berlusconi, the man that has been the center of italian political scene from 1993 to 2016