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  • Op-Eds

    Quirinal Palace horse trading begins

    Judith Harris(January 15, 2015)
    Former President Giorgio Napolitano left office definitively Jan. 14, returning to his home in Rome’s colorful, ancient Monti quarter, a stone’s throw from Trajan’s Forum. His departure after nine turbulent years in office was moving to watch as, in the great courtyard of the Quirinal Palace, he received the formal farewell salute of a horseback brigade in full regalia. Now, with that ritual behind, the less elegant horse trading to elect a successor begins in earnest. Two years ago Napolitano agreed to succeed himself only to break a long political stalemate. The question is whether that stalemate will be repeated, without a Giorgio Napolitano to smooth over a difficult transition
  • Op-Eds

    A Specter Haunting Italy

    Stanislao G. Pugliese(December 07, 2013)
    On the eve of what seems to be the end of the Berlusconi Era, historian Stanislao Pugliese, Distinguished Professor of Italian and Italian American Studies, looks at the past two decades of Italy's political history. He finds that, supposedly under siege by what he perceives to be a politically motivated judiciary looking into his corrupt business practices, Berlusconi resurrected the specter of communism -- but in reality his brand of unfettered consumerism has done more damage to the country’s traditional way of life than that which would have supposedly been inflicted by communism.
  • Facts & Stories

    Letta on the Crest of a Wave

    Judith Harris(November 17, 2013)
    Stormy seas lie ahead but for the moment Premier Enrico Letta is riding on the crest of a wave. With the now definitive splintering of former Premier Silvio Berlusconi's highly personalized political party, his formally reborn Forza Italia passes into the minority in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Thanks to Alfano's defection from Berlusconi, Letta hopes to remain in office until at least 2015. It is a victory for stability and, with luck, will postpone new national general elections even as economic problems continue to plague the country.
  • Op-Eds

    Berlusconi Video: "I Will Always Be With You"

    Judith Harris(September 19, 2013)
    His face drawn and pale despite the heavy pancake makeup, Senator Silvio Berlusconi addressed the Italian people in a video message in which he promised, "I will always be with you." The video was released on Wednesday, shortly after a 16-member Senate commission in Rome voted to strip the former Premier of his Senate status on grounds of his conviction in August by the Cassations court, Italy's highest, for tax fraud. At any rate, he declared, "I am absolutely innocent" and, despite the "planned aggression of the judges," it is possible to be a politician even if not in Parliament. Most importantly, however, in the video--which by all accounts was revised again and again before its release--he did not indicate that his "Freedom Party" (Partito della Liberta', PdL) would throw Italy into chaotic instability and new elections by its exit from the government.