Viva Zapatero!

---

When l saw them at the theatre,

l never imaged l'd be one of them.

Then it just happened.

l am a buffoon.

My last television appearance

caused a terrible uproar.

Demonstrations, insults, protests.

This can be a source of honour

to someone in my field.

But the applause

wasn't only for me.

lt was also for Silvio Berlusconi

and mostly to the people

who allowed him to go so far.

Before being elected he swore

he would never take advantage of his

overwhelming power over the media.

But less than a year later,

he delivered his ''Sofia Edict''...

The use that Biagi...

..the other guy ?

Santoro... okay, but the other one ?

..and Luttazzi

have made of public television,

paid for with public money,

is criminal.

You work for a public service !

Control yourself, Santoro !

Right, l work

for a public service,

not for you, Berlusconi.

l've been inviting Berlusconi

on the show for two months,

but he won't come.

l've even written letters

but he won't reply.

lt's a pity, because my first question

would be about his past.

l'd ask him:
''Berlusconi,

where did you get your money ?''

Because no one knows.

But luckily,

this book has just come out:

it's called ''The Scent of Money''

and sheds light on this mystery.

Tonight's guest is the author,

Marco Travaglio.

l think the new administration

has the duty of

preventing this from happening again.

After the Travaglio interview,

four lawsuits were filed:

one by Silvio Berlusconi

for 20 billion,

one by his party,

Forza ltalia, for 1 1 ,

and his two corporations, Fininvest,

for 5 and Mediaset, also for 5.

A total of 41 billion.

l've been trying to go back

to work for over two years.

l've done everything

humanly possible.

l've been through every court in ltaly

and even been proved right.

A magistrate has requested

that l be reinstated in my job.

l haven't heard from anyone since.

Mr. Sacc sent the letter

that terminated my contract

with advice of delivery,

which is the thing

l find most offensive.

l was fired

by advice of delivery !

So l wouldn't be able to say

no one told me !

To make sure

l really knew l was fired.

- l, on behalf of my electors...

- You're only one person !

Yes, our coalition,

Casa delle Libert !

We believe it's a matter of freedom

to not have to hear

someone compare us to the Mafia,

or Berlusconi to Mussolini,

on public TV.

Biagi did a show

in which l was present,

so l can tell you

l heard him compare

Berlusconi to Mussolini.

That cannot happen,

it's a matter of freedom.

Why can't it happen ?

Why can't someone compare

Berlusconi to Mussolini ?

Why can't someone compare...

at 8:
30 p.m. or 12:30 p.m.,

or 6:
30 p.m. or midnight...

Berlusconi to Mussolini ?

Santoro had been a successful

talk show host for 15 years

and was replaced by

a Berlusconi employee.

Enzo Biagi, the most

popular journalist in ltaly,

a RAl employee

for more than 40 years,

the one who announced

the end of fascism and Nazism,

was replaced by someone

from Berlusconi's press office.

The only questions

allowed now are like this...

ls Kerry's defeat and Bush's victory

a lesson for the Left ?

God willing...

Current affairs shows

are full of recipes.

ln ltaly, the production of

olive oil is very important,

even in Lazio.

Oven-baked pasta,

a classic ltalian family recipe.

From starter to dessert:

foie gras.

And a certain Bruno Vespa

has been entrusted

with 90% of

the in-depth analysis of the news.

The Virgin Mary crying blood

is quite shocking as it is.

When did your daughter

first see the Virgin Mary ?

- The 2nd of February.

- The day the statue of Mary cried ?

You mean the tears ?

No,

the statue crying is one thing,

the vision of

the Holy Virgin is another.

lsn't this whole thing surprising ?

No, because...

..it goes along with

the other things that are happening.

ls it serious ? What does it mean ?

lt means that...

..there's no real opposition...

l don't mean

regarding the basic ideals,

l mean daily life,

the protection of our citizens,

the freedom of the people.

So why didn't the previous

centre-left government

pass a law to protect its citizens

from Berlusconi's overwhelming power

over the media ?

And when asked

for an explanation,

why did they always seem annoyed ?

This has been said

at least 100 times now.

As in all of human behaviour,

mistakes happen.

A law like that

would have looked like

He'd just lost

the 1996 election

and his coalition was saying

that Berlusconi was washed up

and they wanted

to bet on another horse.

At that stage,

to attack him

with a law on conflict of interest,

would have been a risk...

not worth running.

lt was a mistake.

The effects of that mistake

were devastating to our country.

One of them is that the parliament

is constantly bogged down

with Silvio Berlusconi's dilemmas.

People protest but

the opposition is never behind

the organization of those protests.

They actually react hostile

to mass mobilization.

One law Berlusconi made for himself

is the notorious Gasparri law.

lt guarantees Berlusconi's right

to keep his monopoly of ltalian TV,

removes the requirement

he give up one of his three channels

and enlarges his possibilities

of future gain and expansion.

So when Paolo Ruffini,

the general manager of RAl 3,

chosen by the opposition among

a list the majority felt cozy with,

asked me

to do a new satire show,

l decided to dedicate the first

episode to the Gasparri law.

And to make it known l wouldn't

go along with the current trend,

l called it ''RAlot''.

Four days before it was to air,

a press conference took place.

Ruffini expressed

his satisfaction of ''RAlot''.

l'm especially pleased

with this show.

lt explores satire with intelligence

and innovation.

The writing skill

is really exceptional here.

But the same person,

a few hours before transmission,

called and said he'd decided

to cancel the show.

We went into this little room

and he asked me

if l wanted to sit down !

And then he said:

''They've cancelled the show.''

l thought it was a joke.

He said that the political climate...

probably wasn't appropriate...

it wasn't right, it was too risky...

l was extremely perplexed.

My collaborators and l

scheduled a press conference

to protest this injustice.

Ruffini changed his mind again

and the first episode was aired.

Ladies and gentlemen, good evening !

l chose to appear with a sword

as to say if it's my turn

to kick the bucket, l'm ready.

You know that ltaly

is ranked 53rd worldwide

for freedom of information.

Has anyone mentioned that on TV ?

Was it on the news ?

No.

lf it had been,

we wouldn't be in 53rd position.

Minister Gasparri,

many say your law

legitimises the existing monopolies

instead of solving problems.

lt's beneficial

to Berlusconi's corporation, Mediaset.

That's paranoia.

There was always someone at school

who got straight F's

and said

the teacher had it in for him.

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