Used for the first time by Enrico Berlinguer in the '70s at the time of the "historical compromise", and taken up again over the following decades, in the third millennium this word seems to have become taboo. At least for the Italian press and public opinion, which, even in a phase like this, where the caretaker government led by Monti is tightening their belts a lot, could hoard it. Or should they, according to the French newspaper Le Monde, who entrusted the analysis of the question to two Italian professors, Caterina Froio and Pietro Castelli Gattinara, PhD students in Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute of Florence.
The magic word is "austerity", and its absence in the language of newspapers and television broadcasts has caught the eye even beyond the Alps. "Let's analyze the government's economic maneuver: what are we talking about?" ask the two professors in an editorial published in today's Le Monde.
“We are talking about a series of reforms that the new government was forced to launch under pressure from the markets and international institutions – argue Froio and Castelli Gattinara -. Neither more nor less than what has already happened in Greece, Spain or Ireland. These are unequivocally the now famous ones 'austerity measures' invoked by France and Germany and supported by Barroso and Van Rompuy, as well as by former premiers Papandreou and Zapatero”.
But taking a look at the Italian newspapers, there is no trace of either austerity or austherity. It is written of “structural reform packages”necessary and inevitable. And therefore, in terminological mystification, what was regularly used to describe Greek or Spanish situations is now "disguised", calling it by other names: reforms, restructuring measures, the Italy-saving package.
But if it's the same thing, why use different words? “A careful review of the foreign press on 4 and 5 December – say the two Florentine scholars – forced us to make this reflection. While everyone, even our newspapers, agreed in the highlight the tears, however inexplicable, of Minister Fornerohowever, notable theminological differences emerged in dealing with the news of the Monti manoeuvre”.
In fact, La Repubblica headlined: "The maneuver: tight pensions, Irpef unchanged" and Corriere della Sera relaunched "Stretta pensioni. Super tax on houses. No Irpef increases, super-cuts to politics”, or again La Stampa: “Here is the 'save Italy' decree, pensions, VAT, cuts to politics, housing. All measures point by point. While Le Monde wrote: "Le gouvernement italien adopte un nouveau plan d'austerité", The Guardian: “Italian cabinet prepares to adopt austerity measures”, the BBC: “New Italy austerity plans agreed”, and the Wall Street Journal: “Monti unveils austerity plans”.
“The Italian press – it is written in today's Le Monde – did what in social sciences it is called 'framing', Or a process of selectively influencing the perception of the meanings that an individual attaches to words or phrases, in a way that encourages certain interpretations and discourages others. As Wittgenstein says, language is the means (medium) of construction of reality. Therefore, the Italian media compose a different reality from what it is, and which instead they have not hesitated to represent when talking about Greece or Spain".
In short, Le Monde accuses us of being aseptic and uncritical. To pay attention to the "particular" (pensions, assets, etc) and not to the whole. To decontextualize and somehow legitimize the situation. Usual critical attitude of the foreign press in speaking of Italy or truth? At this moment we tried to search Google news for the word "austerity": of the first 4 news items that appeared, zero concerned the Monti manoeuvre, one each for the Greek and Spanish measures. Yes, Le Monde is right: in other countries there is austerity, not in Italy at all.
