Difference between revisions of "Tangentopoli (Italy)"

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The term ''Tangentopoli'' comes from the words ''tangente'', meaning ‘kickback’ or ‘bribe’ in Italian, and poli, from the ancient Greek word polis, meaning ‘city’ (De Mauro and Mancini 2000<ref>De Mauro, T. and Mancini, M. 2000. Garzanti Etimologico: i grandi dizionari. Milano: Garzanti Linguistica</ref>). It is commonly translated in English as ‘Bribesville’ (Clari and Love 1995<ref>Clari, M. and Love, C. 1995. Collins English-Italian, Italian-English Dictionary. Glasgow: Harper Collins.</ref>) or ‘Kickback City’ (Bareggi 2010<ref>Bareggi, M. 2010. Oxford-Paravia Italian Dictionary. Oxford and Milan: Oxford University Press and Pearson Italia.</ref>).

The term ''Tangentopoli'' comes from the words ''tangente'', meaning ‘kickback’ or ‘bribe’ in Italian, and poli, from the ancient Greek word polis, meaning ‘city’ (De Mauro and Mancini 2000<ref>De Mauro, T. and Mancini, M. 2000. Garzanti Etimologico: i grandi dizionari. Milano: Garzanti Linguistica</ref>). It is commonly translated in English as ‘Bribesville’ (Clari and Love 1995<ref>Clari, M. and Love, C. 1995. Collins English-Italian, Italian-English Dictionary. Glasgow: Harper Collins.</ref>) or ‘Kickback City’ (Bareggi 2010<ref>Bareggi, M. 2010. Oxford-Paravia Italian Dictionary. Oxford and Milan: Oxford University Press and Pearson Italia.</ref>).

[[File:Milano Tangentopoli.png|300px|thumb|left|´Si ruba ancora ma per sé stessi ecco perché Tangentopoli no è finita, ''La Repubblica'', 10 February 2012´]]

[[File:Milano Tangentopoli.png|300px|thumb|left|´Si ruba ancora ma per sé stessi ecco perché Tangentopoli no è finita, ''La Repubblica'', 10 February 2012´]]

The word was coined by the Italian media to describe the web of corruption that characterised the political and entrepreneurial scene in the city of Milan (''Treccani Vocabolario'' 2015<ref>Treccani Vocabolario online. 2015. ‘Tangentopoli,’ http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/tangentopoli/</ref>). This was revealed in February 1992 when Mario Chiesa, a member of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), was arrested on suspicion of accepting a bribe in order to promote a business deal (Guanci 2011<ref>Guanci, V. 2011. ‘1992, Tangentopoli,’ Treccani Scuola http://www.treccani.it/scuola/maturita/terza_prova/storia_contemporanea_in_immagini/1992_Guanci_Tangentopoli.html</ref>). The PSI disavowed Chiesa, claiming that he had been acting as a lone wolf and did not represent the party (''Corriere della Sera'' TV 2012<ref>Corriere della Sera TV. 2012. ‘Chiesa è un mariuolo’, 15 February http://video.corriere.it/chiesa-mariuolo/66cf2528-5800-11e1-8cd8-b2fbc2e45f9f</ref>). Chiesa retaliated by spilling the dirt on the political system as a whole. His revelations uncovered a web of corrupt relations between political parties, business and organised crime, and provoked a judicial investigation known as Mani pulite (‘Clean hands’) (Guanci 2011<ref>Guanci, V. 2011. ‘1992, Tangentopoli,’ Treccani Scuola http://www.treccani.it/scuola/maturita/terza_prova/storia_contemporanea_in_immagini/1992_Guanci_Tangentopoli.html</ref>). Soon it became clear that what had been going on was not an isolated event confined to Milan, but a nationwide system of political corruption (''Treccani Enciclopedia'' 2015<ref>Treccani Enciclopedia online. 2015. ‘Tangentopoli,’ http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/tangentopoli_(Dizionario-di-Storia)/</ref>). The term Tangentopoli accordingly came to denote a system based on tacit agreements whereby entrepreneurs paid bribes to politicians as an informal ‘tax’ to obtain public contracts, and politicians then used the money to fund their political parties (Della Porta 2015<ref>Della Porta, D. 2015. ‘Tangentopoli,’ Treccani Enciclopedia Italiana http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/tangentopoli_%28Enciclopedia-Italiana%29/</ref>). In its broadest sense, the term became synonymous with any kind of widespread political corruption (''Treccani Vocabolario'' 2015<ref>Treccani Vocabolario online. 2015. ‘Tangentopoli,’ http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/tangentopoli/</ref>).

The word was coined by the Italian media to describe the web of corruption that characterised the political and entrepreneurial scene in the city of Milan (''Treccani Vocabolario'' 2015<ref>Treccani Vocabolario online. 2015. ‘Tangentopoli,’ http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/tangentopoli/</ref>). This was revealed in February 1992 when Mario Chiesa, a member of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), was arrested on suspicion of accepting a bribe in order to promote a business deal (Guanci 2011<ref>Guanci, V. 2011. ‘1992, Tangentopoli,’ Treccani Scuola http://www.treccani.it/scuola/maturita/terza_prova/storia_contemporanea_in_immagini/1992_Guanci_Tangentopoli.html</ref>). The PSI disavowed Chiesa, claiming that he had been acting as a lone wolf and did not represent the party (''Corriere della Sera'' TV 2012<ref>Corriere della Sera TV. 2012. ‘Chiesa è un mariuolo’, 15 February http://video.corriere.it/chiesa-mariuolo/66cf2528-5800-11e1-8cd8-b2fbc2e45f9f</ref>). Chiesa retaliated by spilling the dirt on the political system as a whole. His revelations uncovered a web of corrupt relations between political parties, business and organised crime, and provoked a judicial investigation known as Mani pulite (‘Clean hands’) (Guanci 2011<ref>Guanci, V. 2011. ‘1992, Tangentopoli,’ Treccani Scuola http://www.treccani.it/scuola/maturita/terza_prova/storia_contemporanea_in_immagini/1992_Guanci_Tangentopoli.html</ref>). Soon it became clear that what had been going on was not an isolated event confined to Milan, but a nationwide system of political corruption (''Treccani Enciclopedia'' 2015<ref>Treccani Enciclopedia online. 2015. ‘Tangentopoli,’ http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/tangentopoli_(Dizionario-di-Storia)/</ref>). The term Tangentopoli accordingly came to denote a system based on tacit agreements whereby entrepreneurs paid bribes to politicians as an informal ‘tax’ to obtain public contracts, and politicians then used the money to fund their political parties (Della Porta 2015<ref>Della Porta, D. 2015. ‘Tangentopoli,’ Treccani Enciclopedia Italiana http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/tangentopoli_%28Enciclopedia-Italiana%29/</ref>). In its broadest sense, the term became synonymous with any kind of widespread political corruption (''Treccani Vocabolario'' 2015<ref>Treccani Vocabolario online. 2015. ‘Tangentopoli,’ http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/tangentopoli/</ref>).

[[File:Milano Italia Mani Pulite.png|300px|thumb|right|Tangentopoli scandalo dell tangenti 1992 manifestazioni anti tangenti manifestazioni di solidarieta con il pool mani pulite.]]

[[File:Milano Italia Mani Pulite.png|300px|thumb|right|Tangentopoli scandalo dell tangenti 1992 manifestazioni anti tangenti manifestazioni di solidarieta con il pool mani pulite.]]