Gabriele Di Donfrancesco is a freelance journalist based in Rome, contributing to La Repubblica, Rolling Stone Italia, Euronews, and the Daily Dot.
A recent strike by beach operators prompted ridicule in Italy, where they are widely seen as a protected group that lives off rents from public land. Their lobbying power reflects not just Italy’s reliance on tourism but the narrow interests it benefits.
Italy’s center-left parties are right to call Giorgia Meloni’s planned constitutional rewrite a power grab. But after years under governments with little popular mandate, many Italians are ignoring these parties’ claim that democracy is under threat.
Giorgia Meloni’s government has imposed such blatant domination over Italian public broadcaster RAI that its programming has been nicknamed “Tele-Meloni.” The changes have drawn considerable backlash — and are driving ever more Italians to change channels.
Chiara Ferragni is Italy’s top influencer, a brand the center-left Democrats have long tried to associate themselves with. But now the fashion blogger and businesswoman is enveloped in scandal, showing the pitfalls of making influencers progressive icons.
Silvio Berlusconi had a dismal record in office, and today countless memes continue to treat him as a comical figure. Laughing at Berlusconi was a way of coping with his rule — but also reflected Italians’ growing cynicism about politics itself.