I keep re-reading this article, and I still can’t stop shaking my head in disbelief:
Italy’s Supreme Court has ruled that nepotism is an offence, despite the almost universally held belief that it is impossible to get a job in the country without a “raccomandazione” or friendly word, from a relative.
That’s right, the Supreme Court in Italy has actually decided that nepotism is illegal. They even sentenced the offenders in the case to 14-21 months in prison.
The husband tells the story of a guy he met here in Milan who said that on a form he was filling out to join an Italian business organization there were three – and only three – boxes you could check to indicate your status with your company. They were: (a) Business Owner, (b) Manager, or (c) Son of the Business Owner. There is no apology for this, it’s just the way things are done here.
So how will this new ruling actually change day-to-day life and business practice in Italy? I doubt anything will change at all, frankly. Things may change slowly, so that eventually the idea of hiring someone is based only 50% on who they know rather than the current 90%+ (or so it seems), but I don’t think nepotism is going away in Italy anytime soon.
What’s interesting is that the Telegraph, which ran the original story about the Italian Supreme Court ruling, also ran an opinion piece which said:
While it is of course wrong to divert public contracts or places on the state payroll to family members, we cannot help feeling that nepotism makes Italy more Italian.
It is as if France were to proscribe strikes or Spain to ban the siesta. Italy is the most clannish nation in Europe.
While this is true to an extent, there’s a difference between hiring your cousin’s kid to work in your corner bar and arranging for a government position for the wife of a city mayor. Nepotism isn’t just black or white, it’s a matter of degrees. The question for me is where Italy will eventually land on the grand scale.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Jessica,
I see that you are ‘discovering’ Italy!
On the same subject, did you know that until recently those working in a bank had a right to pass their jobs to their progeny?
Or, if you live down near Naples, and your father who worked for Fiat passes away, you as a son or daughter have the right to a position in the company.
And they wonder why many southern Italians head up north to work.
While Italy certainly did not invent nepotism, it is very good at it!
I recently wrote about a related issue on my blog:
http://www.blogfromitaly.com/raccomandato-its-who-you-know/
It’s all perfectly ‘normal’ here in the Living Museum!
All the best,
Alex
Thanks for the comment, Alex – I think my favorite part about that article was this: “More than 100 cases of nepotism were discovered in Tuscany’s hospitals this month, while three university heads and more than 115 professors are also accused of favouring members of their families.” – I was thinking, is that all?!?!? (Well, that’s all they “discovered,” anyway…)
You’re welcome Jessica! I’m with you on the number of cases! Big time nepotism is to be found with in RAI, according to good old Grillo.
Plenty to ‘discover’ here, as you are discovering!
Cheers,
Alex
In my country, italy, if your father was a Carabiniere ( the famouse polices-men9 You have more rights to enter to work as carabiniere. and that thing is just form many many times…Nepotism with mafia are ( but i think these are the same things) the bad comportments in my Country, and if mafia’s affiliates are few persons ( i think not more than 50,000 to count also camorra and ‘ndrangheta; nepotism is as normal comportament do from 80% of population. That because… because is too hard to explane, in that moment i’m doign a search about the really and unofficial history of south of italy: I’m founding incredible things, as just wrote in my blog on the last post.
Is there a similar page for Ireland ?
Cronyism is rife. The entire country is run by networks of pals. The bankers play go to Portugal with their biggest customers. The bankers play golf with the banking regulators. The construction tycoons bribe the politicians. The state employees go to rugby matches with the bankers. etc. etc.
And as we are discovering there is a lot of nonsense in the US where Wall Street and the regulators and the rating agencies were all in bed with each other.
It is a wonder any real work gets done at all.
Italian nepotism is innocent and entertaining by comparison. But I never bought a FIAT car, so I would probably not be as experienced in having to deal with the after affects of seeing unsuitable people in positions of authority !!!