Stories and News No. 1110
"Problem," the professor announces to his students, "which is also a story, but let's see it through numbers."
Because the numbers never lie*, the precious caption.
"Generalizing the proportions, but not too much, imagine living in a country of ten inhabitants and that you are represented, as minors, by those who don’t have the right to vote, three units."
"Does that mean that seven decide for us?" Asks a girl.
"That's right. Imagine now, always generalizing - but not too much, that on the election’s eve the main lineups in the field are the following: first, a so-called movement built on some promises, among all bringing citizens to power, in the name of honesty and transparency, as well as the discontinuity with the past. Secondly, a party aka League built on one promise among all, reducing the number of immigrants."
"Considering the country of ten inhabitants," one boy asked, "how many foreigners there are in proportion?"
"Rounding up," replied the teacher, "just one in ten. The third and final party is the self-defined democratic one, built on a series of failed promises, as it represents the defeated outgoing government."
"But are you talking about Italy?" Asked another
girl.
"No," replied the professor, "I'm talking about you."
But it will be understood at the end, the marginal note.
"Now imagine that, in the aftermath of the elections, the result was this: among the seven out of ten people entitled, two don’t go to the polls. Of the remaining five, let's assume that two voted for the changing movement, one for the anti-immigration League and one for the theoretically democratic party."
"So few?" Observes a student.
"Yes," Confirms the teacher. "However, imagine that the country - as the aforementioned party, self-defined as democratic and that the current electoral law allowed to rule the government thanks to certain alliances, despite what the real numbers say. In our problem, or story, let's say that the ball rightly ended up in the hands of the arithmetic winners and that’s what soon happens: the renewing movement, born and raised with the idea of interrupting any connection with the old parties, announces that it wants to ally with the highest bidder, that is, with those who share its program, despite this proposal concerns just two perfect examples of the past political seasons."
"What happens next?" Asks an intrigued young girl, as if she were listening to one of those improbable tales with a particularly implausible plot.
"What happens," continues the teacher, "is that, by not obtaining favorable answers, first the movement tries to negotiate with the xenophobic League, then turns on the democratic party, but then returns to knock the door of the League, and thus the new government was born."
"Professor?" Calls a boy from the last desk.
"Yup?"
"What's the problem?"
"Still generalizing, the problem is seeing you now in that country of ten people. The problem is knowing that your destiny will be decided by a so-called majority voted by only three of those ten. The problem is that those who have been voted by only two of them, the so-called winners, are silently undergoing the arrogance and brazenness of the man who has been voted by one in ten citizens, who nevertheless expresses himself every day as if he were the absolute leader, who leads a party under investigation for corruption, but who claims to continue even once elected to shamelessly lie, claiming to speak on behalf of the entire population, and taking advantage of the ignorance of that one poor fellow who voted him."
"What is the solution to the problem?" Asks a girl at the first desk.
The teacher observes the class, then he makes a careful overview of the faces of each of the students and with a strong hope, takes a breath, and responds.
"You are."
*At the last elections in Italy, on a total population of 60.5 million, the citizens with the right to vote were around 51 million. The turnout was about 37 million people and abstention saw 14 million voters out from the polls. According to the results, the M5s at the Chamber had 10.7 million preferences, the PD 6.1 and the League 5.7, while at the Senate M5s took 9.7 million votes, the PD 5.7 and the League 5.3.
Read more stories to think about
Buy my English Italian, dual language books
Listen my music band
Watch my last storytelling show with English and Italian subtitles Sunset
Storytelling videos with subtitles
"Problem," the professor announces to his students, "which is also a story, but let's see it through numbers."
Because the numbers never lie*, the precious caption.
"Generalizing the proportions, but not too much, imagine living in a country of ten inhabitants and that you are represented, as minors, by those who don’t have the right to vote, three units."
"Does that mean that seven decide for us?" Asks a girl.
"That's right. Imagine now, always generalizing - but not too much, that on the election’s eve the main lineups in the field are the following: first, a so-called movement built on some promises, among all bringing citizens to power, in the name of honesty and transparency, as well as the discontinuity with the past. Secondly, a party aka League built on one promise among all, reducing the number of immigrants."
"Considering the country of ten inhabitants," one boy asked, "how many foreigners there are in proportion?"
"Rounding up," replied the teacher, "just one in ten. The third and final party is the self-defined democratic one, built on a series of failed promises, as it represents the defeated outgoing government."
"But are you talking about Italy?" Asked another
"No," replied the professor, "I'm talking about you."
But it will be understood at the end, the marginal note.
"Now imagine that, in the aftermath of the elections, the result was this: among the seven out of ten people entitled, two don’t go to the polls. Of the remaining five, let's assume that two voted for the changing movement, one for the anti-immigration League and one for the theoretically democratic party."
"So few?" Observes a student.
"Yes," Confirms the teacher. "However, imagine that the country - as the aforementioned party, self-defined as democratic and that the current electoral law allowed to rule the government thanks to certain alliances, despite what the real numbers say. In our problem, or story, let's say that the ball rightly ended up in the hands of the arithmetic winners and that’s what soon happens: the renewing movement, born and raised with the idea of interrupting any connection with the old parties, announces that it wants to ally with the highest bidder, that is, with those who share its program, despite this proposal concerns just two perfect examples of the past political seasons."
"What happens next?" Asks an intrigued young girl, as if she were listening to one of those improbable tales with a particularly implausible plot.
"What happens," continues the teacher, "is that, by not obtaining favorable answers, first the movement tries to negotiate with the xenophobic League, then turns on the democratic party, but then returns to knock the door of the League, and thus the new government was born."
"Professor?" Calls a boy from the last desk.
"Yup?"
"What's the problem?"
"Still generalizing, the problem is seeing you now in that country of ten people. The problem is knowing that your destiny will be decided by a so-called majority voted by only three of those ten. The problem is that those who have been voted by only two of them, the so-called winners, are silently undergoing the arrogance and brazenness of the man who has been voted by one in ten citizens, who nevertheless expresses himself every day as if he were the absolute leader, who leads a party under investigation for corruption, but who claims to continue even once elected to shamelessly lie, claiming to speak on behalf of the entire population, and taking advantage of the ignorance of that one poor fellow who voted him."
"What is the solution to the problem?" Asks a girl at the first desk.
The teacher observes the class, then he makes a careful overview of the faces of each of the students and with a strong hope, takes a breath, and responds.
"You are."
*At the last elections in Italy, on a total population of 60.5 million, the citizens with the right to vote were around 51 million. The turnout was about 37 million people and abstention saw 14 million voters out from the polls. According to the results, the M5s at the Chamber had 10.7 million preferences, the PD 6.1 and the League 5.7, while at the Senate M5s took 9.7 million votes, the PD 5.7 and the League 5.3.
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Read more stories to think about
Buy my English Italian, dual language books
Listen my music band
Watch my last storytelling show with English and Italian subtitles Sunset
Storytelling videos with subtitles