The chart-topping political debates in Italy at the moment are the economic crisis, crime and security, federalism, and illegal immigration - ranked in importance according to the particular peccadiloes of each political party. One interesting phenomena, which is tied to each of these issues in one way or another, is the issue of Italian emmigration.
Italian [...]
In the same week that Berlusconi’s much contested minister for education, Mariastella Gelmini, took a leaf out of Obama’s book and created a youtube channel to address students directly*, Silvio Berlusconi announced to the world that he would be seeking to sort out the internet at next year’s G8 summit which will be held (disgracefully [...]
Every December one of the most important car shows in Italy - and perhaps Europe - takes place in Bologna. For two weeks the city’s transport system is put under ever-more pressure as car-crazy enthusiasts flock to the city to see the latest glitzy models (in the traditional and automobile sense) on display.
Walking back from [...]
Last week, seemingly against the odds, Vladimir Luxuria won the Italian reality-tv game show L’Isola dei Famosi (a type of ‘I’m a celebrity, get me out of here’). What makes her victory worth discussing - outside of the tv pundity columns - is that she is a) transgender, and b) a former member of parliament [...]
Fannulloni is a word much in vogue in Italy at the moment, in part because of a headline-grabbing crusade by the Minister for the Public Sector, Renato Brunetta, against this seemingly large and well-deployed group. Fanulloni put simply means a layabout - and there’s plenty of evidence that the public sector is full of them. [...]
During a recent television debate between government spokespersons and students over the much contested educational reform decree, one of the students was briskly interuppted by his governmental interlocutor because he had not addressed her with the customary ‘Honourable’, a title automatically given to members of parliament (much like the British system).
Respect for the institutions of [...]
With the speed for which it is world-renowned, the Italian justice system is coming to terms with the words spoken by comedian/activist Sabina Guzzanti from the stage of Piazza Navonna during a protest staged on the 8th of July.
It appears that the Procura di Roma will ask the Minister for Justice Angelino Alfano (who was [...]
Gianfranco Fini, Italian deputy prime minister and leader of the right wing party Alleanza Nazionale, has pinpointed a new enemy in the never ending ‘war on terror’: pacifists.
At the annual meeting of AN’s youth brigade, Fini urged his members to be the “”vanguard of a great battle for peace against pacifism”. He continued, “Pacifism is [...]