A journalist and translator in Rome, Frederika Randall has written about Italy for The Nation and other US publications for nearly 30 years.
The sad truth is that disarming and defeating Silvio Berlusconi remains the country’s first priority.
The Eurocrisis will finally bring an end to the era of Berlusconi—but his sour legacy will endure.
In a decisive set of referendums, Italian voters have rejected legal immunity for political leaders, nuclear power and the privatization of water—and dealt a direct blow not only against Berlusconi but against the neoliberal worship of the market.
Can an openly left-wing, openly gay politician from the South revive an Italy in deep malaise?
The WikiLeaks revelations of Silvio Berlusconi’s bromance with Vladimir Putin have raised new questions about whether their close ties stem from “personal investments.” But the growing popular protests in Italy, echoing those in Britain, France and Greece, are primarily against savage austerity measures that have favored the wealthy.
Corruption scandals, a threatened gag order on journalists and investigators, and persistent allegations of Mafia ties—not to mention the long recession—have weakened Italy’s prime minister.
African immigrant workers have been protesting mafia operations as well as nativist racism.