Tim Hedges had a career in corporate finance before moving to Rome where he works as a freelance writer, novelist, and farmer
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
EU heads deeper into crisis over Italy and France
In a certain sense Brexit was never the real issue for the European Union. The real issue is that it is a failing superstate, mired in hypocrisy and self-delusion
- 12 February 2019
Europe's house of cards shudders ahead of elections
Germany's economy is slowing sharply, Italy may already be in recession, populists are about to surge at the European elections. There's chaos in Britain to be sure, but the whole European house of cards is slowly but surely falling down
- 28 January 2019
The Euro's unhappy birthday
The Eurozone's unhappy birthday is a reminder that poilitical projects pursued by ideological fanatics cause misery for ordinary people. But don't expect Brussels to learn from its mistake. Just expect more misery to come
- 8 January 2019
Adventures in Europe: Italy rails, as France wails
Italy's populists are enraged at the double standards from the powers that be in Europe. France appears to get a free pass, while Italy gets a telling off over its budget deficits. Brexiting from all this may not be quite so bad, non?
- 18 December 2018
Italy shows May how to stand up to Brussels
It seems hard to imagine, but the biggest headache for Brussels at the moment is not the independently minded, powerful British but the normally passive Italians. Theresa May's strategy was simply to avoid rocking the EU's boat, and the Brussels bureaucrats have obliged by taking her for a ride
- 21 November 2018
Italy's fight with EU bullies is part of Euro disaster story
The logic of EU federalist insanity continues to play its part in the downfall of European democracy. Italy's ugly fight with Brussels bullies over the budget is just the latest chapter. Thank goodness for Brexit!
- 31 October 2018
Italy's migration dilemma
It must be realised that Italy is not the UK or Germany which have had migration since the 1960s. In Italy’s case the problem has been emigration, and mass immigration is quite new to them. Between political correctness and plummeting birth rates, quite a debate is raging
- 17 October 2018
Budgeting for populism amid EU hypocrisy
Brussels, you may recall, already vetoed Italy's first choice as finance minister -- a eurosceptic whose views were regarded as heretical. As the finance minister that Italy had to concede to Brussels calculates this year's budget, the Eurocrats are already up in arms. Does national democracy count for nothing?
- 5 October 2018
State of Disunion: Thank goodness for Brexit
EU State of the Union addresses are meant to mimic America's, but they are a sick joke for many "ordinary" Europeans. Commission President Juncker would not know the feelings of a European citizen if he ran over one in his chauffeur driven Mercedes. Thank goodness for Brexit
- 21 September 2018
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