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  • Italy's ruling Partito Democratico (PD), until only recently Italy's largest single party with about 40% of the electorate, has split into two, raising serious problems for future governing. Said one commentator here, "In a situation like this, only Beppe Grillo can smile."
  • Change comes slowly in Italian politics -- consider the postwar decades of Christian Democratic stasis while it faced off the old Communist party. But hints of change are now in the wind, and forthcoming city administrative elections this Spring will be the political equivalent of the American primaries.
  • New York City and Italy have a great deal in common, starting and ending with self-destructive electorates; voters who are intent on putting into office people who, in one way or another, hold them in contempt. In both democracies, The People are generally too ignorant and self-absorbed to notice that the pain they feel is self-inflicted. How does this happen?
  • On November 25th, the primaries of the Democratic Party (PD) will take place and they have never been more important. All the electors can choose between Pierluigi Bersani, Nichi Vendola, Matteo Renzi, Bruno Tabacci and Laura Puppato: here is how you can vote from New York.
  • Facts & Stories
    Judith Harris(August 13, 2012)
    Ferragosto – the name derives from the original Feriae Augusti summer festival proclaimed by the Emperor Augustus – is a major holiday celebrated on August 15 when all of Italy shuts down, and streets are deserted. This peak of summer holidays is what the media pros call “the silly season,” when reporters are allowed a long leash for gossip in the absence of hard news.
  • Facts & Stories
    Judith Harris(July 27, 2012)
    The upward surge of the spread to today's 506.48 for 10-year bonds (but 519 at the opening of the markets) has reignited interest in holding elections this November, six months ahead of schedule. The emergency premier Mario Monti reportedly told President Giorgio Napolitano Wednesday that, "My government has done what it could." Whether or not these were Monti's precise words, they definitely express a darkening mood.
  • Facts & Stories
    Judith Harris(April 13, 2012)
    Umberto Bossi, founding father of the Northern League, resigned as head of his party last week. After 30 years of blaming Rome of robbing, it turns out that some in Bossi's entourage were themselves stealing from the till, and on the grand scale. Bossi's son Renzo, who purchased a university degree with public funds, was no exception.
  •   Elena Luongo
    “The Democratic Party must become the party of the people, of a united people, of common people who embrace modern ideas and progress. You Italians living abroad are among our greatest assets and we are willing to support your requests” The leader of the Democratic Party, Pierluigi Bersani, meets the Italian community in New York at the San Cono club in Williamsburg, Brooklyn