Amnesty, disease or symptom?
It has probably already been said everything (or almost everything) that had to be said about a potential amnesty from a criminal and constitutional law point of view. The dozens of opinions published in recent weeks have seen a heated debate over whether a potential amnesty would fit into the 1978 Constitution. Everyone will know what they defend, what their motives are and whether they do so in conscience or in self-interest. In particular, I am with the thesis defended until yesterday by many of the members of the Government in office, led by the President. Amnesty will be or will not be, but it certainly should not be. But beyond the debate on whether a potential amnesty is appropriate, I want to reflect on a growing phenomenon that worries me because it affects something much deeper: Citizens’ trust in democracy. I am referring to the progressive normalization of arbitrariness as a way of doing politics. What we have recently come to call “changes of opinion”, when ours do, or “lying”, when others do. That a political leader defends a position today and tomorrow the opposite is not much less a novelty, except for someone newly arrived from the planet Mars. Of course, changing your mind is healthy and smart people do […]