When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
LA STAMPA

Mario Draghi As Savior: Broken Democracy, Italian-Style

Draghi arrives to meet Italy's Head of State
Draghi arrives to meet Italy's Head of State
Alessio Perrone

Of Italy's 58 prime ministers since World War II, you probably don't remember the name Lamberto Dini. He took office on Jan. 13, 1995, several months after uncertain general election results, as the country grappled with an ongoing corruption scandal and billionaire businessman Silvio Berlusconi"s recent entry into politics. The Italian establishment had turned to Dini, a sullen-faced economist and former Bank of Italy official, to lead a new government — and essentially save Italy from itself.

This week, it was the turn of another so-called "Super Mario."

Mario Monti filled that role 16 years later. A financial storm had battered Italy when the economics professor and former European Commission dashed to Rome in November 2011 to be appointed senator for life, then prime minister. This week, it was the turn of another so-called "Super Mario": former head of the Central European Bank Mario Draghi. Credited around the world of global finance with having saved the euro single currency in 2011, Draghi has been asked to take over from Giuseppe Conte — another technocrat who's formed two governments since the last election, in 2018.

Lamberto Dini in 1999 — Photo: Cezary P.

Reactions to the news that Draghi could soon be approved for the role by parliament ranged from delight to frantic excitement. La Stampawarned it was the "last call" for Italy. La Repubblicahad all the hottest gossip about the totoministri. The right-leaning Il Foglio speculated about the "dietrologia," the backroom political machinations needed for Draghi to form a government.

For me, having been born in Italy but lived most of my adult life abroad, I've spent the last year getting reacquainted with Italian politics — and figuring out how to explain to foreign friends and foreign readers. I had forgotten the peculiar ways in which it is narrated back here at home. Every action seems decisive, every discussion heated, every moment pivotal. Will Draghi be able to form a government? Who will support him? Will Italy be rescued?

Don't get me wrong: This is a critical time for Italy. But focusing on these machinations distracts the deep-rooted sickness in Italian democracy, in which populist parties routinely leave the dirty work to technicians who fade away with the next election. Ours is a country where crisis is perpetual, and in constant need of being "saved" — so it changes government every other year.

Will Draghi be able to form a government? Who will support him? Will Italy be rescued?

Indeed, though we have accumulated more new leaders and reshuffled government coalitions than any of our neighbors, prime ministers who were actually elected by the people are increasingly rare. If he is confirmed by parliament, Draghi would be the sixth straight prime minister not to be chosen by Italian voters. And who was the last prime minister elected? It was Silvio Berlusconi — in 2008.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

food / travel

When Racism Poisons Italy's Culinary Scene

This is the case of chef Mareme Cisse, a black woman, who was called a slur after a couple found out that she was the one who would be preparing their meal.

Photo of Mareme Cisse cooking

Mareme Cisse in the kitchen of Ginger People&Food

Caterina Suffici

-Essay-

TURIN — Guess who's not coming to dinner. It seems like a scene from the American Deep South during the decades of segregation. But this happened in Italy, in this summer of 2023.

Two Italians, in their sixties, got up from the restaurant table and left (without saying goodbye, as the owner points out), when they declared that they didn't want to eat in a restaurant where the chef was what they called: an 'n-word.'

Racists, poor things. And ignorant, in the sense of not knowing basic facts. They don't realize that we are all made of mixtures, come from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. And that food, of course, are blends of different ingredients and recipes.

The restaurant is called Ginger People&Food, and these visitors from out of town probably didn't understand that either.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest