PRESS RELEASE
Italian Senate Finance Committee Chairman Endorses Key Aspects of LaRouche's New Bretton Woods
Oct. 25, 2008 (EIRNS)—In a public debate today, Sen. Mario Baldassarri, head of the Italian Senate Finance Committee, endorsed key aspects of Lyndon LaRouche's New Bretton Woods proposal, including the idea of freezing speculative claims. Baldassarri was one of three speakers at a conference organized in Ascoli Piceno by industry and labor organizations under the umbrella of Confapi, an association of small and medium sized industries. The other two speakers were Claudio Celani, co-editor of the EIR Strategic Alert Service, and Alfonso Gianni, former Undersecretary of State of the Prodi government (2006-08).
Before a packed room of a 100-plus audience, including local authorities, Celani gave the keynote presentation, explaining how LaRouche had forecast the collapse of the financial system during his visit to Ascoli Piceno in October 2000, on the basis of a long-term forecast centered on his "Triple Curve/Typical Collapse Function" analysis. He then compared the nature of the current collapse crisis with the 14th Century collapse of the Venice-centered Lombard banking system, and explained LaRouche's four-step solution. Celani also showed the large infrastructural projects that must be implemented in the context of a reorganization of the financial system. LaRouche's solution has been adopted by Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, and Tremonti's campaign has been adopted by President Sarkozy of France. This has brought about a consensus for a new Bretton Woods conference, but it is too soon to say whether the outcome will be positive or not.
Alfonso Gianni insisted that the current crisis, unlike that of 1929, is a crisis of the real economy AND of the financial system. This means that we need to adopt a new system of development, and we need a reorganization of the system starting from a fixed-exchange-rate system. Gianni agreed that we need state-financed large projects, and insisted that they must be environmentally safe.
Senator Baldassarri, himself a leading economist, blasted policies based on linear economic models, saying that the economy is a "living" thing. He recalled his personal acquaintance with LaRouche, and explained that he has filed a Senate motion written in collaboration with LaRouche's representative Andrew Spannaus. He is now seeking bipartisan support for the motion, which will be discussed in a Senate debate to be held soon. In the course of the debate, Baldassarri endorsed Celani's specification that any reform of the system must go through freezing speculative assets, and that a continuation of the current government bailouts would ignite hyperinflation. Both Celani and Baldassarri had mentioned the historical case of Germany 1922-23 as a tragic mistake to be avoided today.
Although both Baldassarri and Gianni praised Keynes' 1936 analysis of the Great Depression, they agreed with Celani that a new Bretton Woods system must be based on the principles of the Treaty of Westphalia, as an agreement among sovereign nations.
During the discussion, a critical view was expressed by all speakers against the Lisbon Treaty, and different views emerged on the issue of nuclear power. The whole conference was videotaped and will be soon posted on the Movisol website of LaRouche's Italian collaborators. The regional news program will broadcast a report and two local newspapers will cover the event.
