Meloni is hardly alone in her dilemmas. Any politician who wants change faces similar issues. These include entrenched and largely liberal lifetime bureaucrats/civil servants (see the UK comedy "Yes, Minister", which could have been a documentary) who will stymie any change they're against. This problem is doubled in Europe, where the EU bureaucracy is an additional obstacle to national bureaucracies. A second huge issue is that the changes that would fix large, systemic problems themselves have to be large. This immediately causes massive opposition not just from politicians, but also from voters who suddenly realize that their cheese is being moved, or, even worse, their cheese is being taken away or diminished. Think Social Security or Medicare in the US. In any event, these become Third Rails. Third, there are purely political calculations by individual politicians or political parties that make compromise impossible, because they figure the issues are better to campaign on than to actually fix. France's center-left alliance to keep the right from power is a good example of political calculation. So is the US immigration debate, where there are obvious fixes, but politicians prefer to keep the issue alive for campaigning. I'm sure there are more than these three barriers to change, but they're a start.
Thanks for some great insights into Meloni and Ćtalo-European politics that are hard to come by in the New World.
However, I strongly object to the chronic and lazy use of the terms ārightā and āleftā to describe virtually all political movements and motivations. The terms are backward-looking to the 20th Century rather than forward looking to the present. Key issues like regional defense policy, immigration and regional independence movements donāt fit into left and right boxes because they arenāt really right and left issues, not to mention that what is considered right or left shifts over time.
Journalists owe us more accurate characterizations. Examples might be nationalists, continentalists, globalists, one worlders, euro-traditionalists, etc. Make up your own better descriptors. My point is when people hear ārightā and āleftā to describe everything, they just retreat into their bunkers and assume everything is a battle of communism vs. fascism.
When Meloni cosies up to Van De Leyen it does look a lot like compromised to me. I still wonder why she cannot achieve her aims. Stopping illegal immigration should be front and centre.
Amazing Visual and perfect timing.. "PREY" byAyaan Hirsi Ali ( AHA!) arrived at my door last night.
July 16. This amazing scholarly book tells us WHY it is critical, for all l;eaderslocal National and International to examine both the "definition" of the wrod "woman" and "the Role" SHE ( pronoun ) has played in Ancient texts, SHE in Her Image HERitage InHERritance HERmitage in Art Sculpture Movies Films and SHE has a second to no other - role - in real life even as lived the past 20 YEARS by the 12-22 years old College graduates, of the New Millenium. Something remains Unchangaeable with the death pf The MOTHER of QE 11 who died in 2002 died months after daughter Princess Margaret. The "role" of "the woman" from Genesis - Revelaaion in the Bible as printed, read ,sold, exalted, given free in Hotels and other places - all over the USA makes me understand that "SHE" is more than One Female sometime someplace confined by History. SHE is SOUL ( of a nation as well as its Heart)
but working with a head...Embodied and able to Give Birth even today.. as a Child is born someplace any place in America Asia Africa Antarctica Australia and yes the only continent not beginng with the letter A Euro Pa.
Ayaan's book explains why it is critical to understand the Role European women Pagan Wiccan Christian Hindu Muslim and Protestant have played in opening hearts doors and minds an most of all British German Dutch French Spanish Irish etc etc..airlines to take women to any where in the world on Earth and In Space. in 2016 Air INDIA had an all women Crew ( first ?) to fly around the world in 24 Hours from New Delhi with a Brief stop in America and back via the Pacific International Women Day ..Across the International Dateline...
As an Italian voter who didn't vote for Meloni but considers her a way cleverer politician and much better communicator than her rivals (google "Conte speak English", "Renzi speak English", "Meloni speak English"), it's rather unbelievable that this article fails to mention 2 key ways that Italy is dependent on the EU:
1. As you can confirm by reading the Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/769332ea-ec1d-4f9f-abc9-eb9657c479da, Italy won "the largest share of the EUās funds to re-energise economies after Covid". Hardly "being dragged down by the EU's corrupt bureaucracy", as Ayaan suggests, is it? This means that Meloni's government has to collaborate with the EU to ensure they spend as much of the funds as they can before the June 2026 deadline.
2. EU success in controlling immigration from the south and east will be judged by what happens in Italy and Italy needs the EU to make deals with N African countries to limit departures. That's why Meloni and Von der Leyen go together to Tunisia etc.
IMHO Meloni maybe messed up by not supporting Von der Leyen's re-election as Commission President, she could have argued that she wanted to act in the interests of the country, have supported VdL and garanteed Italy a heavyweight Commissioner.
Meloni is hardly alone in her dilemmas. Any politician who wants change faces similar issues. These include entrenched and largely liberal lifetime bureaucrats/civil servants (see the UK comedy "Yes, Minister", which could have been a documentary) who will stymie any change they're against. This problem is doubled in Europe, where the EU bureaucracy is an additional obstacle to national bureaucracies. A second huge issue is that the changes that would fix large, systemic problems themselves have to be large. This immediately causes massive opposition not just from politicians, but also from voters who suddenly realize that their cheese is being moved, or, even worse, their cheese is being taken away or diminished. Think Social Security or Medicare in the US. In any event, these become Third Rails. Third, there are purely political calculations by individual politicians or political parties that make compromise impossible, because they figure the issues are better to campaign on than to actually fix. France's center-left alliance to keep the right from power is a good example of political calculation. So is the US immigration debate, where there are obvious fixes, but politicians prefer to keep the issue alive for campaigning. I'm sure there are more than these three barriers to change, but they're a start.
Thanks for some great insights into Meloni and Ćtalo-European politics that are hard to come by in the New World.
However, I strongly object to the chronic and lazy use of the terms ārightā and āleftā to describe virtually all political movements and motivations. The terms are backward-looking to the 20th Century rather than forward looking to the present. Key issues like regional defense policy, immigration and regional independence movements donāt fit into left and right boxes because they arenāt really right and left issues, not to mention that what is considered right or left shifts over time.
Journalists owe us more accurate characterizations. Examples might be nationalists, continentalists, globalists, one worlders, euro-traditionalists, etc. Make up your own better descriptors. My point is when people hear ārightā and āleftā to describe everything, they just retreat into their bunkers and assume everything is a battle of communism vs. fascism.
When Meloni cosies up to Van De Leyen it does look a lot like compromised to me. I still wonder why she cannot achieve her aims. Stopping illegal immigration should be front and centre.
Amazing Visual and perfect timing.. "PREY" byAyaan Hirsi Ali ( AHA!) arrived at my door last night.
July 16. This amazing scholarly book tells us WHY it is critical, for all l;eaderslocal National and International to examine both the "definition" of the wrod "woman" and "the Role" SHE ( pronoun ) has played in Ancient texts, SHE in Her Image HERitage InHERritance HERmitage in Art Sculpture Movies Films and SHE has a second to no other - role - in real life even as lived the past 20 YEARS by the 12-22 years old College graduates, of the New Millenium. Something remains Unchangaeable with the death pf The MOTHER of QE 11 who died in 2002 died months after daughter Princess Margaret. The "role" of "the woman" from Genesis - Revelaaion in the Bible as printed, read ,sold, exalted, given free in Hotels and other places - all over the USA makes me understand that "SHE" is more than One Female sometime someplace confined by History. SHE is SOUL ( of a nation as well as its Heart)
but working with a head...Embodied and able to Give Birth even today.. as a Child is born someplace any place in America Asia Africa Antarctica Australia and yes the only continent not beginng with the letter A Euro Pa.
Ayaan's book explains why it is critical to understand the Role European women Pagan Wiccan Christian Hindu Muslim and Protestant have played in opening hearts doors and minds an most of all British German Dutch French Spanish Irish etc etc..airlines to take women to any where in the world on Earth and In Space. in 2016 Air INDIA had an all women Crew ( first ?) to fly around the world in 24 Hours from New Delhi with a Brief stop in America and back via the Pacific International Women Day ..Across the International Dateline...
As an Italian voter who didn't vote for Meloni but considers her a way cleverer politician and much better communicator than her rivals (google "Conte speak English", "Renzi speak English", "Meloni speak English"), it's rather unbelievable that this article fails to mention 2 key ways that Italy is dependent on the EU:
1. As you can confirm by reading the Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/769332ea-ec1d-4f9f-abc9-eb9657c479da, Italy won "the largest share of the EUās funds to re-energise economies after Covid". Hardly "being dragged down by the EU's corrupt bureaucracy", as Ayaan suggests, is it? This means that Meloni's government has to collaborate with the EU to ensure they spend as much of the funds as they can before the June 2026 deadline.
2. EU success in controlling immigration from the south and east will be judged by what happens in Italy and Italy needs the EU to make deals with N African countries to limit departures. That's why Meloni and Von der Leyen go together to Tunisia etc.
IMHO Meloni maybe messed up by not supporting Von der Leyen's re-election as Commission President, she could have argued that she wanted to act in the interests of the country, have supported VdL and garanteed Italy a heavyweight Commissioner.