Peer Reviewer 1:
The Reporter's Notebook is factually accurate and fair. Nothing is misrepresented or unclear. There are no significant events or developments relevant to the topics addressed by the author that were not included. I don't think the readers would need additional background information. The context is clear, and the structure is logical and comprehensive.
Peer Reviewer 2:
The Reporter's Notebook appears accurate in offering a realistic reference frame of the state of corruption and governance in Italy. Piercamillo Davigo and Grazia Mannozzi's book Corruption in Italy (La corruzione in Italia) is a relevant source of objective information.
Unfortunately, after a period of widespread social condemnation of corruption related to the Clean Hands (Mani Pulite) investigations, at present this issue is no more perceived by public opinion and politicians as important for the effective functioning of institutions. Moreover, in the last 15 years, several (questionable) legislative changes in the Italian criminal system have made it difficult to put on trial and condemn those who give and take bribes. In particular, several trials have been invalidated by prescription.
Corruption is therefore increasing, but it seems that political institutions are not completely committed to tackling it and are postponing a comprehensive and fair reform of the criminal system. This long-awaited reform should, hopefully, increase the effectiveness of judicial decisions and the capabilities of anti-corruption agencies.
Peer Reviewer 3:
The article is fairly clear and accurate and the facts covered are correctly presented. Mani pulite (Clean Hands) was an exceptional event: for the first time citizens were able to see that that the justification 'everyone does it (i.e. the defense line adopted by almost all the accused) does not make a crime less serious. But after a few years, the widespread social impression is that anti-graft crusaders were only able to wipe out a group and not a whole system.
Corruption is a real cultural problem: it is present at all levels and in all fields. Power is used to consolidate social and political relations and sometimes it is not exercised by means of undercover payments but through the exchange of favors: politicians win votes and consensus by redistributing favors, e.g. hiring, making fake appointments and awarding service contracts. (See the denunciation book by Gian Antonio Stella 'La Casta' (The Caste)). The public interest is managed on a patronage basis, thus leading to a weak and inefficient economic system with debts and redundant workers in big state enterprises, such as the post office, the railways or the national air-carrier Alitalia.
Some laws actually punish such behaviors, but in some cases there are no adequate monitoring systems to apply them. Laws can be easily bypassed using tricky systems (i.e. recruitment selection criteria can be short-circuited thanks to laws allowing public organizations to recruit external advisors to accomplish some types of activities). A recent example is the scandal occurred in the Municipality of Milan, where 90 advisors were recruited for astronomical amounts (and, according to the prosecution, in the absence of real needs.)
Discontent is becoming widespread amongst the public opinion, partly because the economic situation has been worsening over the last few years, and partly because the widespread impression is that a few privileged have the power and exploit it to their own profit going unpunished, although vicious administration is for the entire world to see. This theory is further corroborated mainly by books (La Casta, quoted above), documentaries (e.g. Report, broadcast on a national channel) or satirical television broadcasts (e.g. Striscia la Notizia), while the law actually seems not to be willing to deal with such scandals.
The situation is particularly difficult in southern Italy, where politics and criminality were able to establish a strong relation. Criminality often sets outs the rules to be followed by the economic and social system, as pointed out in many denunciation books (such as 'I complici' (The Accomplices) by Livio Abbate and Peter Gomez or 'Gomorra' by Saviano) or the documentary La Santa (The Saint) by Enrico Fierro and Ruben H. Oliva about the Calabrian Mafia 'Ndrangheta.
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