Lega Nord after Bossi

Politics can be a rather dull affair. I am still a newcomer to Italy and by extension to Italian politics. My knowledge of its power mechanism is sketchy. What I know, or let’s say what I think I know, is what I read in newspapers or what I picked up at my local language school. My impression so far is that politics is generally less taken seriously here and quite entertaining, a drama that makes you laugh and cry in short succession.

What’s that spread?

The ‘spread’ has become something of a synonym of Europe’s debt crisis. There is barely a news program that does not mention it. It usually means disaster when it goes up and plain sailing when it goes down. But is that true? What is it anyway? And does it have any significance for our everyday life?

Elections – Europe is looking to France once again

On April 22 France will hold the first round of its presidential elections. Since the first voting is unlikely to provide any of the running candidates with an absolute majority there will be a ‘shoot-out’ between the 2 leading contenders on May 06. Polls suggest that François Hollande of the Socialist Party is leading the sitting President Nicolas Sarkozy by a slender margin. The race to the Elysée is far from over. All depends on who is making it into the second and decisive round and who attracts more votes of people who had previously backed unsuccessful candidates.

Streitkultur

Hinter uns liegen ereignisreiche Tage, Tage in denen ein kürzlich erschienenes Gedicht des Literaturnobelpreisträgers Günter Grass hohe Wellen schlug, auf nationaler wie internationaler Ebene. Auch ich hatte mich an dieser Stelle zu Wort gemeldet. In Hätte er besser geschwiegen? versuchte ich meine Eindrücke bezüglich der medialen Auseinandersetzung mit jenen kontroversen Zeilen, oder vielmehr mit deren streitbarem Verfasser, zu schildern. Die öffentliche Diskussion scheint sich seither etwas zu versachlichen. Fragen nach dem Inhalt, der Form, der Genauigkeit, der Qualität des Textes drängen in den Vordergrund, endlich möchte man hinzufügen.

Review: Interesting Times: A Twentieth-Century Life

Interesting Times: A Twentieth-Century Life by Eric J. Hobsbawm
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Interesting Times: A Twentieth-Century Life is the autobiography of Eric Hobsbawn. It was first published in 2002. My copy is of the paperback edition published and reprinted by Abacus. The first book I read by this author was The Age Of The Capital 1848-1875 which I picked up rather accidentally in the bargain section of my local book store. Well structured and written in an accessible style, it turned out to be a good introduction into the history of that period. It left a lasting impression on me in the way that I wanted to learn more about the author himself.