Italy’s Prime Minister Berlusconi recently announced his resignation. With the amount of political turmoil worldwide, this alone isn’t surprising. But driving home from work, I happened to turn to NPR’s Marketplace when I hear correspondent Heidi Moore ask, “Who picks the leader of Italy? The voters elected Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The bond markets want someone new. They don't have confidence that he'll cut back on spending. So who really runs the show? Here's a hint: Berlusconi is on his way out.”
This is followed by an expert who restates the cliché, ”When you run up a lot of debts, you're beholden to the people who loan you the money.”
Moore summarizes the piece with, “The good news for Italy is that it's in better financial shape than Greece. But until it gets a leader the market trusts, it will have to keep paying higher interest rates.”
That’s the good news? That Italy’s democracy is a façade. A sham, a parlor trick played on unknowing citizens by financial markets. Market selects the candidates, population elects from pre-selected candidates, when winner performs poorly, Market step in to remove politician until next rigged election.
There was neither discussion nor mention of how democracy is being eroded by this action. In Ms Moore’s defense, the show is called Marketplace so political punditry is not the focus. However, shows on National Public Radio should discuss its news in a context that is relevant to the public. With the growing Occupy Movement, teabaggers crying foul about government finances, more and more Americans concerned about Wall Streets influence over Washington, one might expect this commentator to show insight or perhaps concern when a financial market overtly usurps democracy. Instead of predicting the next investment bubble, Marketplace should stop living in one.
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