The return of the “two Marios” – With elections in Europe and the uncertainties of the market, the foreign press took another look at the “two Marios” (as they are often called in the international press): Prime Minister Monti and Central European Bank President Draghi. Microphones were turned up during the ECB meeting in Barcelona to hear the words of the former Government of the Bank of Italy. The Financial Times ran a piece on May 4 on Draghi’s appeal for a “European vision” (Draghi calls for EU ‘vision’*), a theme also discussed in The Economist (May 3 – Draghi’s ten-year vision: What Mario means when he talks about growth) and El Pais (May 3 – Draghi propone una hoja de ruta para el euro a 10 años vista).
The foreign press also reported on Monti’s work for the future of the euro and the European Union. The Spanish newspaper Expansion, for example, reported on the coordination between Rome and Berlin for the fiscal union (April 30 – Monti y Merkel preparan un plan para aprobar a la vez el pacto fiscal), while La Vanguardia published on article on the words of praise for Monti from Martin Schultz, President of the European Parliament (May 4 – Elogio a Monti, el comunicador*). Another issue the Prime Minister is facing is the spending review: several articles from the international press discussed cost controls of the public expenditure (May 3 on El Mundo – Monti invita a los italianos a señalar en Internet los derroches del Estado; La Nacion – Monti pide a los italianos que denuncien en Internet los despilfarros del Estado; May 4 in Bloomberg – Monti Stands to Benefit From Weary Italian Voters)
Growth and strategies in Brazil and India – Even though economic policy is a top priority for the foreign press, they also reported on the international strategies of large Italian companies. Brasil Economico turns its attention to the growth in Latin American of Generali (April 30 – Generali monta tática para avançar no Brasil*), while Valor Economico reported on business of Tim (April 27 – TIM afirma que irá participar do leilão 4G). Fiorucci, “icon of the Eighties” is also aiming for the Brazilian market (May 2 – Ícone na década de 80, Fiorucci ensaia retorno) and, turning to Asia, the Wall Street Journal analyzed the agreement in India between Fiat and Tata (May 2 – Fiat, Tata to Realign India Venture).
The Italian brand in fashion and tourism – Made in Italy was still a big topic in the foreign press. Under discussion was both generational turnover, with El Pais reporting on the case of Alessandro Benetton who is taking over the reins of the family business (April 29 – “Vamos a vivir una metamorfosis”), and fashion itself, in an article in La Nacion enthusing over Ferragamo accessories (May 3 – “Los accesorio son el alma de la moda“). El Pais also ran a story on the Italian Anna dello Russo, creative director of Vogue Japan, who will be designing accessories for H&M (May 3 – El estilo de Anna dello Russo, al alcance de todos los bolsillos). And other newspapers featured stories of Italian tourist attractions: Die Welt explored Verona for its readers (May 1 – Verona ist perfekt für Verliebte aus aller Welt), and El Mundo travelled down to the “beautiful, eternal Sicily” (May 3 – Bella y eterna Sicilia).
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