Commentary
-
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
Hey, everybody, Peter Zeihan here, coming to you from home in Colorado. I just wanted to take a couple of minutes to talk about what’s happened with the Italian elections. Now, normally Italy is such a chaotic place that the elections really don’t matter.
I’m not 100% sure that this is any different. What has happened is a right-wing alliance, led by a woman by the name of Giorgia Meloni, has taken control of the Italian Parliament, and she will be the next prime minister of Italy.
She represents a group that is .. well, the conventional wisdom is pretty much right on this one, neo-fascist, and her partners have shifted more and more to the hard right over the last ten years. This is by far the most proto-fascist government that Italy will have had since the days of Mussolini.
Does that mean that it will be fascist? Way too soon to know. Three things, four things really. Number one, Meloni is wildly inexperienced. She was Minister for Youth before and that’s the sum total of her professional experience. So she’s never actually run an organization except for a political party. And it’s a political party in Italy so it’s a little, the lines of what that looks like are a little bit different than what we get in the United States.
So I think the big takeaway here isn’t so much that Italy is about to get a fascist government. It’s that Italy is about to get a government with someone in charge who has no idea what they’re doing in terms of their previous work experience.
Second, one of her coalition partners of Forza Italia is Silvio Berlusconi, who does have experience. He has been prime minister a couple of times, three times, four times, five, it’s hard to tell in Italy. What can I say about Silvio? He’s not a fascist, or at least in the past he hasn’t been, but he’s certainly been on standard. This is the guy who arranges for big sex parties on government property. And to have him back in government at a time when Italian finances and political system are in flux is, you know, I guess the German-descended person that I am, perhaps not the best choice at this time. But he will certainly make things colorful.
A third. This is the seventieth government I think since World War II that the Italians have had. So the chances of Meloni’s coalition serving out its full term are probably about as good as they have been for about 67 of them that have not served out the full term. Italy is a very unstable place. It’s always quite chaotic. And this is going to be no exception.
And then finally, the way that Italy is really run is that they rely on bureaucrats and directors from the European Union and funding from the European Union in order to get everything done, which is part of the reason why we’ve got this righteous rejection to a degree. But in every previous populist government we have ever had in Italy, the EU keeps doing its things because the alternative for the Italians is a disaster. So if Meloni really wants to implement a lot of her policies, she is not just going to have to break with history, she’s going to break with the funding mechanisms that allow the Italian government to function. That’d be a tall order and would probably result in the fall of her government anyway.
So keep an eye on it. Yes, of course, this is probably not the sort of thing we need to panic about. Okay, that’s it. Take care.
-
Hurricane Helene hits US coast, Appalachia and beyond
Hurricane Helene hit Florida and Georgia overnight between Sept. 26 and 27 as a Category 4 hurricane, and accompanying storms will continue reaching deeper into the continental United States today. Dangerous flash flooding from the hurricane, known as storm surge, was some of the worst flooding that the Tampa Bay area has ever seen, and… -
Israel holds upper hand against Lebanon, Hezbollah and Iran
On Wednesday, Sept. 25, Hezbollah launched a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israel’s explosive pager attack that blew up devices across Lebanon. Although Israel’s defense systems intercepted the surface-to-surface missile, the attempted strike on Tel Aviv marked a significant escalation by Hezbollah. Since the siege on Gaza began, shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023,… -
The Sinaloa Cartel civil war
Fears of a civil war within the Sinaloa Cartel are growing as violence between competing factions within the cartel continues. The Mexican Army has dispatched around 600 elite troops to Sinaloa to help quell those fears, in addition to roughly 2,200 regular soldiers and National Guard. Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor… -
New Ukrainian weapons hit Russia where it hurts
Ukrainian drones struck a major Russian ammunition depot, triggering a massive explosion that was captured on camera. According to the Ukrainian military, 2,000 tons of munitions had arrived at the depot before the attack. Over the past two years, Ukraine has significantly increased its domestic drone production, allowing it to scale up attacks on military… -
Weighing social costs vs. economic benefits on immigration
Global human migration is one of the defining elements of our current historical era, according to the United Nations. Migrants face both the incentives to leave — forced out by climate change, crime and corruption, extreme poverty or violence — and incentives for where to go, based on available job opportunities and so on. Migration…
Latest Stories
-
How the media are covering Vogue’s October feature of Kamala Harris
-
Federal officials say Starbucks broke the law when it cut unionized workers hours
-
CHP seizes $1.7 million in fentanyl, arrests three in Central Valley drug busts
-
Monet piece stolen more than 80 years ago by Nazis returned to family
-
TD Bank to pay $3 billion in money laundering scheme
Popular Opinions
-
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.
Latest Opinions
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum. We hope these different voices will help you reach your own conclusions.
The opinions published in this section are solely those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of Straight Arrow News.
Latest Commentary
We know it is important to hear from a diverse range of observers on the complex topics we face and believe our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions.
The commentaries published in this section are solely those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of Straight Arrow News.
Dr. Frank Luntz
Pollster and Political Analyst‘That was great’: Undecided voters react to Walz-Vance debate
‘A bipartisan problem’: Americans debate immigration policy
‘I’ve learned nothing’: Young undecided voters on debate, election