Italy in A Funk? - SF Italians Comment

[Augusto86]

Read this article in the Times yesterday. It was very melancholy and depressing...but I'm always leery of "trend pieces" that strive to make vast, sweeping judgments about the direction of societies and countries and so forth. But I wondered if any Italian or Italy-affiliated SF members might comment on whether the article gets the current mood of Italy right. Although everybody's 2 cents(1 Euro-cent) is welcome as well

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/wo...rssnyt&emc=rss

But these days, for all the outside adoration and all of its innate strengths, Italy seems not to love itself. The word here is "malessere," or "malaise"; it implies a collective funk "” economic, political and social "” summed up in a recent poll: Italians, despite their claim to have mastered the art of living, say they are the least happy people in Western Europe.

"It's a country that has lost a little of its will for the future," said Walter Veltroni, the mayor of Rome and a possible future center-left prime minister. "There is more fear than hope."

 

[Piobaire]

Interesting read. Here's a good quote that shows why, over the long haul, the Euro is doomed to failure:

Economically, it was once easy to solve problems by devaluing the currency, the lira. That is now impossible with the euro, which has also increased prices, particularly for housing.

I'll let one of the FX experts here explain that.

Hey, Italy has had a good run though, no? I mean, an easy 1500 years on the World Stage as a major player. That's not bad IMO.

 

[Joffrey]

The Bronx is one of the most dangerous cities inthe world?

 

[Biscione]

Well, I live in Milano, so I'll give some of my thoughts.

To begin, it's important to note that sadness is rampant anywhere in the world, and Italy has an unusual combination of cultures, each of which with rather different socio-economic situations. Depending upon what part of the country is being looked at, anything can be proved. However, I'm lucky to have been privelaged, and I feel confident in saying that in Italy the privelaged probably have it better than in any other part of the world, and I suspect the truly sad aren't the majority.

Why is there such sadness? It's a small country, but it has a high population (60 million), so there are issues of competition. Poverty is also a factor, but really no different to the United States or any other first world country. Politics plays a role, but not necessarily always a 'bad' one, it's rather one relating to issues of stability: since the second world war there have been a remarkably large number of governments, and as with any society there are always individuals in conflict with any governmental system. The present government is also one of the most complicated political situations in the world: there are too many coalitions, it's very left-wing, and at present there's an anti-American feeling in the government that can't be justified by our economy.

Again, I return to my previous thoughts: if you're well to do, Italy is one of the best places in the world to live in. If not, it's a troubling place to live in, and again, the present political situation isn't a great one.

 

[eg1]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Interesting read. Here's a good quote that shows why, over the long haul, the Euro is doomed to failure:



I'll let one of the FX experts here explain that.

Hey, Italy has had a good run though, no? I mean, an easy 1500 years on the World Stage as a major player. That's not bad IMO.

Italy is younger than Canada

Sorry, juvenile pedantry at work ...

 

[eg1]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Interesting read. Here's a good quote that shows why, over the long haul, the Euro is doomed to failure:



I'll let one of the FX experts here explain that.

Hey, Italy has had a good run though, no? I mean, an easy 1500 years on the World Stage as a major player. That's not bad IMO.

Italy is younger than Canada

Sorry, juvenile pedantry at work ...

 

[Kranthi]

(as mistakenly replied here instead replying in another topic am just erasing the content as not able to delete my post)