Things are not going at all well for Italy’s centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani. Once clear favourite to replace Mario Monti as prime minister, he’s now fighting for his political survival. Parliamentary elections in February denied his alliance enough votes to govern alone and the upstart Five Star Movement led by comedian-blogger Beppe Grillo rejected offers […]
Posts Tagged ‘Italy’
Can you be a fascist, Paolo Di Canio, without being a racist?
Apr 2nd, 2013 by Carl Packman.A lot has been made of Sunderland Football Club’s new manager Paolo Di Canio’s previous comments and actions, that have been expressly fascist in nature. The accusations, that Di Canio now call “ridiculous and pathetic”, include giving roman salutes to A.S. Roma fans (who are known to have a wide Jewish following), a recorded interview […]
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Italy shows the weakness of the European left
Feb 28th, 2013 by Ben Folley.The latest general election to take place in Europe, this time in Italy, seems to confirm that the political left across the continent will continue to suffer if it fails to present an inspiring alternative to austerity. I say seems to – Italian politics and its shifting party names and electoral alliances makes it difficult […]
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Grillonomics: the ideas behind the Italy’s no.1 political party
Feb 26th, 2013 by Tom Gill.Beppe Grillo and his Five Star Movement have emerged as the single largest party in Italy’s elections held 24-25 February. But what do we know of his policies? Here’s a recent analysis by economist Vladimiro Giacché which originally appeared in Italian at MicroMega. In dealing with the economic programme of the Five Star Movement we should […]
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Italians say No to Monti
Oct 29th, 2012 by Tom Gill.As many as 150,000 Italians marched through Rome Saturday in what was dubbed “No Monti Day,” in reference to the unpopular policies of unelected Prime Minister Mario Monti that are sending the country into a downward spiral of recession. Trade unionists, leftwing parties, teachers, hospital staff and other workers, non-governmental organisations, artists, members of Italy’s […]
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Italy: teachers and students protest over cuts in 90 cities
Oct 14th, 2012 by Tom Gill.Italian students staged demonstrations Friday in 90 cities to protest against ‘the sale of public schools and destruction of universities’ in action that coincided with a national teachers’ strike. ‘We are demonstrating to state our total opposition to the draft law 953 which would scrap students’ representatives in school boards and would enable private companies […]
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Italy’s splintered radicals unite to fight for labour rights
Sep 14th, 2012 by Tom Gill.Ever since the dissolution some two decades ago of the Italian Communist Party, once western Europe’s largest, Italy’s radical left has been splintered and weak. Today you have two communist parties (Communist Refoundation and the Party of Italian Communists) a green-radical left party (Left Ecology Freedom party, headed by the Governor of Puglia, Nichi Vendola) and […]
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Italy’s heritage up for sale
Aug 14th, 2012 by Tom Gill.Italy’s government has unveiled a fire sale of some real gems of the country’s heritage. Some 350 historic buildings in the capital and historic towns across the country are to flogged off, including Castello Orsini di Soriano in Cimiano, Palazzo Bolis Gualdo in Milan and Palazzo Diedo in Venice. €42 billion worth of property is being […]
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Italy’s death industry is thriving
Jul 5th, 2012 by Tom Gill.A survey of Italy’s economy tells a grim story. The country is now in its fourth recession since 2001. Manufacturing is in free fall. Fiat, the country’s largest industrial company, closed one car plant last year. And CEO Sergio Marchionne is now threatening to shut others. Youth unemployment is at record highs of 36%. Yet […]
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Italy passes hire and fire labour ‘reforms’ but no hope of jobs or growth
Jun 27th, 2012 by Tom Gill.The government of Mario Monti has passed labour ‘reforms’ that will make it easier for employers to fire workers. The vote, after months of haggling in parliament, came as workers and their unions protested against the measures that seek to dump the costs of an escalating crisis of the global banking sector and the Euro […]
