Tim Hedges had a career in corporate finance before moving to Rome where he works as a freelance writer, novelist, and farmer
Germany Vs the EU
The directors of the ‘European Project’ knew, as did we all, that a single currency could not last forever without a political union or at least a fiscal union where Berlin pays up for Sicily just as London pays up for Newcastle. But the member states never agreed to that. German chickens are coming home to roost
- 21 May 2020
Flying out of the crisis. Only in Italy
Try to imagine the worst business decision you could possibly make right now. The most half-witted, Covid-blind strategy you could follow. Thought about it? Yes, Italy is starting a new airline.
- 11 May 2020
COVID-19 is killing the EU. This patient may not recover
People are fed up, and angry. They have been told for decades that the future lies in "Europe". Every single day of this awful pandemic proves that "Europe" is nowhere, and they can only rely on the nation state. Support for the EU in Italy has dropped 20 percentage points, and is barely above 50%. There's a storm brewing in Europe, and we'd better be ready for it
- 16 April 2020
COVID-19 shows how and why the EU is doomed
When faced with the COVID-19 crisis, once again it becomes clear that the core political allegiance in Europe is to the nation state, not the EU. Yet the entire European project is founded on the idea that it is (or at least, is becoming) the other way around. Ultimately, the centre cannot, and will not, hold
- 7 April 2020
Napoleon, and doing as we are told under COVID-19
The massive extension of the power of the state under COVID-19 has exposed some deep historical differences between Britain and Europe. How does your Napoleon complex look today?
- 26 March 2020
Italy, EU bungling, and the COVID-19 curve
No-one has the perfect response to the Coronavirus. But the way different European states are responding shows that European "unity" collapses in the face of a crisis
- 13 March 2020
Coronavirus front line in northern Italy
The area of Lombardy where the Coronavirus has struck is among the most productive in Europe and, more to the point, one of the very few productive areas in Italy
- 28 February 2020
Putting democracy on trial in Italy
Matteo Salvini Is to go on trial for kidnap due to his immigration policies. It will be seen by Italian voters as the establishment using the courts to silence dissent
- 25 February 2020
Goodbye Project Fear, Goodbye Brussels
We have been insulted, ridiculed, and abused, but we stuck to our guns. Now, a surprising number of economists think we can prosper outside the sclerotic, regulatory nightmare that is Brussels. The future is ours for the taking
- 28 January 2020
Giorgia Meloni: Mussolini-lite, and going viral
A group of left-wing opponents made a short film of a sample from one of her speeches. It was designed to discredit her "bigoted" opinions. Instead it has gone viral, and her popularity has soared
- 14 January 2020
Italy not yet ready for Leave, but watching Brexit closely
The Italians are suspicious of Europe, perhaps no more than that, right now. But they are watching Britain and if we make a success of Brexit their suspicions will take root. They will want out. As Salvini said after the UK election, ‘Go Boris’
- 17 December 2019
Italy isn't working
Italy is a wonderful country, but right now, when you look at the dam outside Venice which has never functioned, the rubbish on the streets of Rome and the ailing, deformed babies of Taranto, you get the feeling it just doesn’t work
- 21 November 2019
EU boss Ursula von der Leyen's imperial ambitions
There are many illustrations of the EU's neo-authoritarian, neo-imperial ambitions. Italy provides lots of them. The incoming EU president Ursula von der Leyen promises to make a bad and shabby situation even worse
- 3 October 2019
China getting a rise out of reckless Italy?
Italy's populist government may become the first in Europe to endorse China's Belt and Road Initiative. The Western establishment from Washington to Brussels is apoplectic, and on this one, they are right to be
- 22 March 2019
Proportional representation flatters to deceive
Proportional representation is a seductive alternative to the pitfalls of first past the post. But PR's flaws probably outweigh its benefits, as the cases of Germany and Italy can illustrate
- 28 February 2019
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