Monti’s “Grow-Italy” plan and the role of Italy in Europe – Whilst foreign press attention on recent breaking events in Italy (in particular, the sinking of the cruise ship Costa Concordia) was on the wane this week, focus on the Italian government’s liberalization plans remained unabated. In the days immediately following approval of the decree by Cabinet, several related articles appeared in some of the major international dailies (in La Tribune on January 23 – Mario Monti libéralise au pas de charge de nombreux secteurs en Italie*; in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on January 22 – Monti braucht mehr Mut; and in El Mundo on January 20 – Italia lanza un gran plan de liberalizaciones: desde taxis a farmacias y gasolineras), as well as in newspapers from emerging markets (in Valor Econômico on January 23 – Italia anuncia novo pacote*; and in Gulf News on January 22 – Italian cabinet approves package for deregulation). The various reports detailed the measures approved, highlighting in particular those aimed at stimulating the country’s economic growth. Also receiving wide coverage during the week was news of the drop in Italy’s borrowing costs, with America’s main financial daily praising the efforts of the Italian Treasury (The Wall Street Journal on January 26 – Italy’s Good Decision).
In terms of Italy’s role in Europe, an article in the Financial Times (of January 26 – Europe rests on Monti’s shoulders*) explained to its readers that with Mario Monti at the helm, the country has once again become a key player, describing the Italian prime minister as currently the “most interesting” leader on the Old Continent. A similar stance was taken by France’s Le Monde (26 January – La leçon de politique d’ “Il Professore”*), which was at pains to underline the technocrat’s credibility. Also of note was an editorial in Portugal’s liberal daily Público, which labeled Monti and the President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi the two “Super-Marios” that could yet save Europe (on January 22 – “Super-Marios”: os italianos que ainda podem salvar a Europa).
Infrastructure and networks – There was also interest shown in foreign newspapers this week in the ramifications of a provision contained in the decree requiring the spin-off by Eni of its controlling stake in the Snam gas distribution network. The story was covered in the Financial Times (of January 23 – Italy confirms Eni to spin off stake in Snam*) and in ABC (on January 23 – ENI venderá su red de gas por 3.500 millones*). Le Monde, for its part, devoted an article to the economic development generated around the Orio al Serio airport in Bergamo in recent years (on January 26 – Comment l’aéroport de Bergame fait décoller toute une ragion*).
Italin fashion, architecture, theater and cuisine – With Milan Fashion Week now over, this week’s coverage of Italian fashion focused on Italian designers showcasing collections in Paris, such as Versace (in The Independent on January 24 – Viva Versace! After eight years away, Donatella takes glamour back to the top) and Alessandro Sartori, designer for the label Berluti (in Le Monde on January 21 – Berluti habille la silhouette de pied en cap). There were also articles dealing with Italian theater, with Pippo Delbono’s company staging a production in Paris (reviewed in Le Monde on January 26 – Voyage au bout de la folie Pippo Delbono), and key figures in Italian architecture, with an item appearing in the Folha de S. Paulo looking at Stefano Boeri’s plans to rehabilitate the favelas in Brazil (January 25 – ‘Cultura para pobres não pode ser pobre’). Lastly, among the articles devoted to Italian culinary culture was a piece by Alberto Sorbini (director of the Institute of Umbrian Contemporary History) published in the Argentine daily Clarín, explaining how Italian immigrants have maintained their identity through their cuisine (on January 23 – Los italianos que emigraron han usado la cocina para reafirmar la propia identidad étnica).
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