Italy’s government is in dispute with part of the judiciary. The Meloni cabinet has decided to introduce a psychological test for all prosecutors and judges in Italy. A judges’ association, however, is threatening a strike.
Giorgia Meloni makes no secret of the fact that she doesn’t like parts of the justice system in Italy. The head of government believes that many judges and prosecutors are too left-wing and too ideological.
Meloni recently underlined her criticism in a television interview on Wednesday. In it, she blamed the judiciary for the fact that, for example, the government decision to quickly deport rejected asylum seekers has not yet been implemented. “A certain politicized judiciary has mobilized against this regulation,” criticized Meloni, “and has begun not to apply the regulation.”
Everyone should be tested
In the future, the government in Rome wants to put prosecutors and judges to the test. This week, the Meloni cabinet passed a bill that the left-liberal newspaper La Repubblica headlined: “Attack on the judiciary.”
The new regulation stipulates that prospective prosecutors and judges in Italy will have to undergo a psychological test from 2026.
The judges defend themselves
The judges’ association ANM is mobilizing against this and wants to call on its members to go on strike. Judge President Giuseppe Santalucia sees the government decision as an attempt to undermine the credibility of the judiciary: “I am convinced that it is a regulation intended to suggest to public opinion that judges need to be more closely monitored.”
The fact that Italy’s right takes on the judiciary has been a tradition in the country since Silvio Berlusconi. The four-time prime minister, who died last year, had already described many judges as “crazy” in a newspaper interview in 2003 and declared that the politicized judiciary in Italy was “a cancer that must be eradicated.”
A subtle counter-proposal
Meloni, who held her first government position as youth minister under Berlusconi, now wants to have all prosecutors and judges checked to see whether they are mentally stable. This is a vote of no confidence in the judiciary, says Italy’s best-known anti-mafia prosecutor, Nicola Gratteri. And he makes the provocative counter-suggestion that government members should also be checked to see whether they are normal.
If politicians believe that tests for judges are necessary, says Gratteri, “then I suggest that we introduce these tests for all public structures, including politicians and especially for those who hold government positions.” In addition, the anti-mafia prosecutor continues his provocation, there should be alcohol and drug tests for government members.
The Minister of Justice is irritated
Meloni’s Justice Minister Carlo Nordio reacts with anger to the outcry over the government’s decision. He doesn’t understand “how one can insinuate that this is a kind of lese majeste or an insult to the independence and pride of the judiciary.” Nordio was formerly Gratteri’s colleague and himself an anti-mafia prosecutor.
In his press conference after the cabinet meeting, the Minister of Justice referred, among other things, to experiences from his early years. When he started working in the justice system almost 50 years ago, Nordio said, he had to take a blood and lung function test and did not see this as an invasion of his privacy.
The Minister of Justice also defends the draft law he formulated by pointing out that in Italy there are already psychological tests, for example for police candidates.
The government trusts its majority
According to the draft law, the planned psychological tests for judges should be part of the application process in the future. The opposition has announced resistance to this.
But the government is united. The planned psychological test requirement is supported by all coalition parties, including Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, Matteo Salvini’s Lega and Forza Italia, founded by Silvio Berlusconi. The three government parties have a clear majority in both chambers of parliament.
Jörg Seisselberg, ARD Rome, tagesschau, March 31, 2024 7:41 a.m