FF MEPs abstain on Berlusconi Censure Motion

Het-Field

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1021/eu.html

The motion focused on free press and access in italy.

An interesting story, as the motion was defeated by three votes. Of course, the three key votes were Aylward, Crowley, and The Cope.

Donegal's finest defended the move on isolationist, De Valera style grounds. The Cope cliamed he didnt want to interfere in the workings of another country, in spite of the fact that his EU affiliation (the European Liberal Demoractic Reform Party) is staunchly in favour of a free press, and rejects Berlusconi style politics.

Another black day, as Ireland's "Natural Party of Government" votes with its conservative conscience again.

dresden8

Berlusconi is rich.

FF do not trouble the rich with the problems of the world.

Euro_Kraut

Do we know how the other Irish MEPs voted on this issue?

schween

How Berlusconi is in office is a shame on Italy and those who voted for him.

Shame on FF for supporting him.

Scofflaw

Euro_Kraut wrote: »

Do we know how the other Irish MEPs voted on this issue?

On the same amendment:

For: Harkin (Ind), de Rossa (Lab), Alan Kelly (Lab), Nessa Childers (Lab)
Against: Jim Higgins (FG), Gay Mitchell (FG), Sean Kelly (FG), Mairead McGuinness (FG)
Apparently Absent: Joe Higgins (SP)

One could equally well have said that the Fine Gael votes sunk the thing...

cordially,
Scofflaw

RealityCheck

Scofflaw wrote: »

One could equally well have said that the Fine Gael votes sunk the thing...

However, The 3 FF amigos voted against their own political grouping which obviously raises more eyebrows than FG who voted with their political grouping.

What grouping does Mr Berlusconis party belong to? I'd imagine it might be the same as FGs?

marco_polo

RealityCheck wrote: »

However, The 3 FF amigos voted against their own political grouping which obviously raises more eyebrows than FG who voted with their political grouping.

What grouping does Mr Berlusconis party belong to? I'd imagine it might be the same as FGs?

Right you are.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_People%27s_Party

While I detest Silvio, was there any actual point in tabling the motion?

prinz

Freedom of information in Italy....... when did the vote become a vote on Berlusconi?

Joe Higgins absent. Gotta love that. I suppose it's only to be expected seeing as how he doesn't recognise/respect the Parliament because the left is outnumbered and all that. Good man Joe.

Edit: Berlusconi is a circus clown.

evercloserunion

What's FG's excuse I wonder?

free to prosper

I presume the FG and FF were against EU interference in the

internal affairs of Italy.

Fair play to them. Pleased that motion was defeated.

National democracy must be defended against EU interference and attack.

evercloserunion

free to prosper wrote: »

I presume the FG and FF were against EU interference in the

internal affairs of Italy.

Fair play to them. Pleased that motion was defeated.

National democracy must be defended against EU interference and attack.

Typical.

We should support the right of corrupt politicians to attack freedom of the press... for democracy!

Plotician

Isn't something like 10% (at least) of Italy's GDP generated by the Mafia? I'd say any interference would be more against their culture than anything else - looks like the Murphia were 'sympathetic'!

marco_polo

Plotician wrote: »

Isn't something like 10% (at least) of Italy's GDP generated by the Mafia? I'd say any interference would be more against their culture than anything else - looks like the Murphia were 'sympathetic'!

Exactly, Italy is a complete basket case. It is going to take alot more than an meaningless scolding from the EP to change things. They have been downgraded to a 'partially free press' rating and 73th position by Freedom House, which is an astonishingly low position for a first word European Democracy.

http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14560942

Can anyone name a single other European country where the electorate would accept a Prime Minister that controls about half of the countries media? Just trying to even imagine it happening practically anywhere else in the developed world is impossible. The widespread tolerance of rife corruption is something I just do not understand about Italian society.

Lame Lantern

I have no issue with MEPs representing the sitting government's political party remaining painstakingly neutral in Europe, even when it comes to somebody as visibly crazygonuts as Big Sil.

nesf

RealityCheck wrote: »

However, The 3 FF amigos voted against their own political grouping which obviously raises more eyebrows than FG who voted with their political grouping.

What grouping does Mr Berlusconis party belong to? I'd imagine it might be the same as FGs?

What I find amusing is that we bitch *a lot* about the party whip system here and how politicians always follow their party, yet when some MEPs diverge from their political groupings position we give out about it.

Scofflaw

nesf wrote: »

What I find amusing is that we bitch *a lot* about the party whip system here and how politicians always follow their party, yet when some MEPs diverge from their political groupings position we give out about it.

Well, only when we disagree with it...

amused,
Scofflaw

BlitzKrieg

Does anyone have the full details of the extent the motion would have been implemented on Italian national law. Just wondering cause I would have assumed something so close to Berlusconi's own influence would have been stopped dead in any of the other three institutions

nesf

BlitzKrieg wrote: »

Does anyone have the full details of the extent the motion would have been implemented on Italian national law. Just wondering cause I would have assumed something so close to Berlusconi's own influence would have been stopped dead in any of the other three institutions

I imagine it was fairly toothless.

BlitzKrieg

I was thinking it would be, most I assume is that it applied to freedom of the press from other european countries to have access to the italian market, which makes the Cope's argument rather weak since its a market issue more so then a national issue.

It would be like banning The Sun from being sold in Ireland.

Though I'd love to ban the Sun personally from all countries...