Return of the Lira? Italian general election, 2018

[Ginger Yellow]

Salvini now trash talking Juncker and claiming Italy will seek damages from Eurocrats who talk up the spread.

Parlo con persone sobrie, che non fanno paragoni che non stanno né in cielo né in terra.

[Nefertiti2]

Mimmo Lucano the mayor who revived his town using pro- migrant policies, and fought the Mafia whilst so doing has been arrested

[Lang Spoon]

Italy, fucking hell. Them and the visegrad states making sure Britain’s Cuntishness will be seamlessly replaced post Brexit.

[Nefertiti2]

https://twitter.com/anpibrescia/status/1048606941046607872?s=21

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

The row keeps building.

I'm impressed that political parties in Italy are still able to blame the EU for the consequences of Italy's bankruptcy, and are able to use this to keep pushing the sort of policies that made Italy bankrupt in the first place.

[ursus arctos]

You really shouldn’t be surprised

Lowest level of newspaper readership in the G7 (even including la Gazzetta), Berlusconi-controlled television being by far the most influential source of “news”, pervasive corruption at every level, and a culture that has assiduously avoided confronting unpleasant realities in myriad spheres for decades.

The Ponte Morandi may turn out to have even more symbolic import than it already has.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Judging by MS5, Italians have a worse internet than everywhere else too.

[ursus arctos]

Lack of command of other languages doesn’t help

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Well all the Italians who work in the excellent Pizza kitchen in my local supermarket in Galway all have excellent english......oh wait.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Judging by MS5, Italians have a worse internet than everywhere else too.

M5S are the political equivalent of wanking on the bus. It's horrendous self indulgence, and indicates a complete breakdown in understanding of how society is supposed to function.

[Tubby Isaacs]

They've managed to undercut my expectations of them. And seeing these were based on them being in UKIP's group in the EU Parliament, those were low.

[Pérou Flaquettes]

Lack of command of other languages doesn’t help

Not sure we should put much store in that survey ursus, the UK on about 22% (ahead of Portugal, France, Poland etc.) and nearly on a par with Germany and Belgium, hmm, sounds very iffy to me...

[Nefertiti2]

Guardian piece about Riace

[ursus arctos]

I agree with your doubts on the UK figure but the Italian relative position similarly feels right to me.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Not sure we should put much store in that survey ursus, the UK on about 22% (ahead of Portugal, France, Poland etc.) and nearly on a par with Germany and Belgium, hmm, sounds very iffy to me...

well that graph just says that the people in the UK that speak a second language don't think they're very good at it. Which is quite low given that there's a lot of people in the UK for whom English is a second language.

[ursus arctos]

I believe that the survey was among native speakers.

Lo spread now over 300 basis points. Di Maio is threatening to close opposition newspapers and magazines.

[Ginger Yellow]

That didn't take long. Worried about getting shown up by Salvini in the latent fascism stakes?

[ursus arctos]

Seems like it.

[Tubby Isaacs]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ops-foreigners

Italy's Matteo Salvini says 'little ethnic shops' should close by 9pm
Minister calls late-night stores mostly run by foreigners ‘meeting place for drug deals’

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

oooh I missed tubby posting it. it has to be competely illegal.

[anton pulisov]

So the stock market crashed in 1929 and within ten years it was fascism everywhere and full on war.

Taking a bit longer this time around (since 2008), but we're getting there slowly.

[ursus arctos]

lo Spread hits 340 basis points, its highest in five years after the EU makes very clear that they are not amused.

Meanwhile, M5S is accusing the Lega of having "falsified" the final budget text without their consent.

At least things are looking up for the national team.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Even the Italian public must know about the spread and how it costs Italy money. Got to be some sort of shift v the government soon, hasn't there?

[ursus arctos]

You are so funny.

To the extent they are aware of the potential impact (you seriously overstate such awareness), the people who support the government are convinced that they will be insulated from any negative effects because the clowns they voted for keep telling them that (and that has been their experience for the last 50 years).

[Tubby Isaacs]

These politicians they're listening to seem to be talking about the spread rather a lot though.

Do they believe the conspiracy theories about it? Is that the problem?