Silvio Berlusconi succeeded in pushing a law through the Italian Senate that restricts the use of wire-taps by investigating magistrates. As the magistrates will now have to prove that a serious offence has been committed before they use this surveillance method they will be much less likely to unearth corruption among the political class in Italy. Investigators will be in a catch-22 situation.
Another recent example for politicians abusing their excessive discretionary powers is the interference of French President Sarkozy in the negotiations about a sale of the French newspaper 'Le Monde'.
These cases demonstrate the undemocratic symbiosis between the executive and legislative arms of government that is common in our pseudo-democracies. The so-called 'Parliamentary System of Government' is further corrupted by the ability of governments to control the appointment of judges - in effect selecting the referee in the political game.
Under a system of direct democracy the shenanigans attributed to the two politicians are unlikely to win the approval in a public referendum or under a constitution which places more emphasis on the separation of powers.
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