Glass-Steagall Debate in Italy: The Timing Is Right

A local debate in Alba (Piedmont) organized by a Movisol supporter on Saturday, Nov. 12 turned into a national political debate on Glass-Steagall and American statesman Lyndon LaRouche’s “Four Laws,” and on the paradigm shift after the U.S. elections. The main speaker at the conference on Glass-Steagall was Liliana Gorini, Chairwoman of Movisol, LaRouche’s movement in Italy. She explained to the audience, and the many parliamentarians and state legislators attending, that it was thanks to the LaRouche PAC mobilization since 2008 that Glass-Steagall was introduced in many U.S. state legislatures; in the U.S. Congress; included in both the Republican and Democratic Party Election Platforms, and was also endorsed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump, Gorini told the assembled Italian political leaders, was elected for two reasons, expressed in his Charlotte, North Carolina speech October 26th. First, because Hillary Clinton would have led to World War III, by imposing a no-fly zone in Syria, and second, because 90 percent of the U.S. population is sick and tired of Wall Street and the existing establishment, and wants Glass-Steagall and a new credit system to revitalize the real economy.

“I happened to be in the U.S., in Boston, when the crisis exploded in 2008, and I saw on the news on TV how many citizens were calling their congressman with this message: ‘If you bail out the speculators, we will not vote for you,'” Gorini said, adding that, “It should be no surprise to anybody that Hillary was voted out; she was paid by Wall Street; endorsed Wall Street openly, and vehemently opposed Glass-Steagall.”

Gorini also quoted U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s speech at the AFL-CIO, where she rejected very clearly Trump’s racist statements, but also said that she is ready to cooperate with him on Glass-Steagall, and against free market treaties.

“Glass-Steagall is the only way to get that unity of the country everyone calls for, after such an harsh campaign, and the same is true for Italy, where there are eight bills for Glass-Steagall at the Italian Parliament, introduced by all parties, from left to right, including the Italian Democratic Party. It is high time to vote for them,” Gorini said.

All the speakers who followed Gorini responded to this, and were speaking to Gorini’s remarks, starting with a state legislator of the Democratic Party, Paolo Allemano, who said, “I did not know Movisol, but I have learned a lot today, particularly about the U.S. I caught the polemical reference to the many bills on Glass-Steagall and the Parliament, including one by the Democratic Party. I believe the timing is right to discuss them.”

Next to speak was a member of Parliament of the Five Star Party, Laura Castelli, who is a member of the Finance Committee at the Parliament, and who turned to Gorini and said, “I have good news: the Five Star Party has introduced an amendment on Glass-Steagall to the debate on the Italian budget, and it will be discussed in three days. We worked a lot on derivatives in the Budget Committee, and when we asked for figures about the derivatives exposure in Italy, we were told that we are not allowed to get them. This gives you the clear picture of how the system is collapsing. We not only demand Glass-Steagall, but also a national bank, nationalizing the Banca d’Italia. The clause added to the Italian Constitution about a balanced budget (Article 81), imposed on us by Europe, cannot possibly be respected, and even the Renzi government had to admit it. We do hope that this debate will go on and lead to change.”

Marta Giovannini, also a member of the national executive committee of the Italian Democratic Party, sent a message from Rome in support of Glass-Steagall. After the conference all politicians, and also the non-elected citizens attending the conference, thanked Gorini for the valuable information on the LaRouchePAC campaign, and said they appreciated very much what she said at the end, calling on each citizen to mobilize for Glass-Steagall, as citizens in the U.S. did also on the JASTA (Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act) law, and to start kicking ass and calling politicians and mayors instead of complaining about the situation in coffee shops.

As Roosevelt said in his Fireside Chat, “Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work.” The conference was covered in the glossy weekly IDEA, in the Gazzetta d’Alba and Targato Cuneo, which has a large readership.