Through a
secret letter, the European Financial Dictatorship (EFD),
demanded from Berlusconi to privatize water, among other things. "The
Berlusconi government adopted several proposals of the ECB letter.
However it did not include the liberalization of water services."
From
epsu.org
:
With
many actions and including civil disobedience, the Italian
organizations that form the Italian Water Movement forced the Italian
government of former European Commissioner Mario Monti to withdraw a
proposal to liberalise water services 19 January 2012. The Italian
people spoke out in large majority (>90%) against the
liberalization and privatisation of the water services in June 2011.
However
the European Central Bank demanded that Italy do exactly that and
have a “comprehensive, far-reaching and credible reform
strategy, including the full liberalisation of local public services
and of professional services. This should apply particularly to the
provision of local services through large scale privatizations”.
This was part of a secret letter signed by Trichet and Draghi, the
outgoing and incoming Presidents of the ECB, in July 2011. The secret
letter argued for many other measures to be taken including public
service workers pay freezes, public employment cuts and labour market
flexibility to mention a few. Measures such as liberalization of
public services are called structural reforms in Euro-speak. EPSU
has argued that the ECB has no mandate for such detailed policy
advise, and that it violates the democratic will of the Italian
people.
The
Berlusconi government adopted several proposals of the ECB letter.
However it did not include the liberalization of water services. This
triggered European Commissioner Oli Rehn to write to the Italian PM
“Could further information be provided to explain which
reforms are envisaged in the water sector despite the outcomes of the
recent referendum ?” as part of his letter seeking
clarification of the many measures the Italian government was
proposing.
So, this is
probably another reason for which the EFD wanted to get rid of Berlusconi:
Alan
Friedman, a Financial Times correspondent at the time, was
investigating the revolving doors that connect businessmen and EU
officials that participated in Berlusconi's expulsion.
As
Friedman reveals: “President Napolitano, as far back as 2011,
so, six months before the government fell, had secretly begun talks
with Mario Monti, the former European Commissioner, and with a big
banker, Corrado Passera, who was the chief executive of the biggest
bank in Italy, and he was already planning a new government, a new
government policy, a new economic program.”, and “Carlo De
Benedetti, the former Olivetti chief, an Italian billionaire, told me
how in the summer of 2011, Mario Monti, the former European
Commissioner, came to visit him at his house, in the Swiss jet set
resort of St. Moritz. And what he came to ask him was advice, saying
'I had this offer to be available to take over as Prime Minister.
What should I do?' Former Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, of Italy,
told me he had a similar conversation with Monti, also asking for his
advice.”
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