The continued influence of the Italian mafia

 

The considerable influence wielded by the mafia in Italian politics is a situation that has long been considered a taboo topic in the country. This is a case that is assessed by the article “All the Prime Minister’s Men” by Alexander Stille, who seeks to promote an understanding concerning the connections between the Italian state and organized crime. It assesses the manner through which individuals in the mafia had connections with members of Italian Prime Minister Guilio Andreotti’s government as well as himself. 

Moreover, there is an assessment of the impact that such relationships had on the social, political, and economic aspects of the economy to such an extent that it led to the advancement of the agenda of the Mafiosi. This article is pertinent because it allows for the development of an understanding of organized crime in the context of the mafia and the manner through which they are able to ensure that their activities are able to continue because of their influence over individuals within society and government. 

The case of the manner through which the mafia got involved in government through having their people within it ensured that they had the ability to not only inspire the fear of the public, which discouraged a significant number of individuals to testify against them, but in some cases, they were able to build considerable influence into instruments of the state. Law enforcement faced considerable challenges when it came to fighting the mafia. These included the unwillingness of witnesses to testify against members of these crime families because they had been intimidated. The influence that some of these families wield has become so great that they have essentially become untouchable as seen in the way that they had their men elected to influential positions, which helped them to achieve a high level of contacts that made the mafia among the main players in the state.