Czerulf: Italy – Napolitano pushed into extra time

Giorgio Napolitano needs to go into extra time

Italy has witnessed a dramatic week. The Italian parliament was called in to elect a new President of the Republic. In normal times this could have been a straight forward affair, since the post is of mainly representative nature. But these are not normal times. With the economy in free fall, the unemployment rate on a level not seen in two decades and the trust in the political class on an all-time low, the President is now regarded as the only institution able to hold the Italian Republic together, not a minor assignment by any means. The task has fallen again onto Giorgio Napolitano‘s (age 87) shoulders.

Joschka Fischer – Europe’s Winners and Losers

Thinking in categories such as ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ hardly help to find a compromise.

Joschka Fischer, former Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany, knows how to attract attention. Deploying pithy headlines such as Europe’s Winners and Losers for his latest article on the European crisis for Project Syndicate does just that (here). With our curiosity sufficiently stimulated let’s have a quick look at the article.

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.