A political crisis was the last thing Italy needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet a personal conflict between the leader of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi, and the previous prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, led to the collapse of the coalition in mid-January. President Sergio Mattarella then...
The clock struck 10:25 am on August 2, 1980, when a bomb exploded at Bologna’s Central Train Station. The attack plunged the city, known at the time for its left-wing politics and home to one of the oldest universities on the continent, into chaos. One of the deadliest terrorist attacks in...
The regional election held in Emilia Romagna on January 26 was not simply a local affair. The election saw the incumbent governor, Stefano Bonaccini, of the center-left coalition’s Democratic Party (PD), take 51,4% of the vote — a win that will have far-reaching consequences in Italy and...
Italy joined the eurozone in 1999 under the leadership of Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema of the Democratic Left party. This fateful participation, which entailed the complete loss of independent monetary policy, is undoubtedly the main cause of the disappointing performance of the Italian...
The trajectory of Italy's Northern League party is a case study of the complex ways in which perceptions of regional, national and ethnic identity operates in the contemporary politics of the radical right. If you visited Venice in the spring of 2006 during the Italian elections, you could see...
The two parties that are about to form the next Italian government are driven by a profoundly anti-democratic culture. Everywhere from Paris to London, Brussels to Lisbon, people want an opinion about Italian politics. This is not something new. Being Italian, you get used to this kind of...
The most disturbing thing about the agony of political parties is that Western democracies have no other viable model to work with. Keeping track of politics in Italy has always challenged the talents of even the most seasoned pundit. Business Insider sums up the current situation: “Italy's...
Italy's economy has been underperforming due to a wide array of structural problems within the system. Italy is the third largest economy in the eurozone, and its nominal GDP represents the 12th largest in the world. However, Italy's economy is smaller than it was in 2008 and is still grappling...
Italy's myths about fascism are not just widespread, but dangerously wrong. Forlì is an ordinary kind of town, well off the tourist track, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northeast Italy. Its streets are quiet, and it boasts few of the architectural gems that characterize Italian cities. It is...
Immigrants don't have one bit to do with Italy's ailing economy — in fact, they're key to reviving it. Italian elections are always complex affairs, but the upcoming March 4 vote is one of the most bewildering in several decades: the right is resurgent, the left embattled, and the issue...
