| Your personal background. |
|---|
 EUR price,
news and analysis: A threat by the leader of Italy's right-wing League to break the EU's fiscal rules could damage the Euro .
For now at least, traders will likely pay more attention to the sparring in Italy than to some modestly positive economic data from
the Eurozone. This more optimistic economic data will likely be ignored though as risk appetite remains poor,
prompting money to flow into safe havens such as German government bonds.
Bund yields were lower in almost all maturities Wednesday, with
the 10-year yield hitting its lowest level since September 2016 before
rallying on the auto tariffs news.
Berlusconi's political obituary has been written repeatedly in the past,
only for the 82-year-old media tycoon to defy the naysayers and reclaim a central role in Italian public life.
But with his party's polling numbers in a prolonged decline and with his once-junior partner, the League, now Italy's most popular party,
Forza Italia veterans are growing anxious. Forza Italia lawmaker and former minister who asked not to be named.
Opinion polls since the start of April have put the party at anywhere between 8.7 and 12.1
percent, down from 14 percent it took in the 2018 national election and compared
to a 30.5-35.7 percent banding for the League.
Roberto Weber, head of the Ixe polling institute, told Reuters.
Although the League and Forza Italia ran together in last year's ballot,
their relationship has soured since Salvini abandoned his allies and formed a coalition with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement -- Berlusconi's bete
noire. The two groups still stand united in local
elections, but the League has suggested it might not tie
the knot again at a national level, worried that
being associated with the elderly, out-of-mode Berlusconi would dent its newfound popularity.
Riccardo Molinari, the League's parliamentary party leader in the lower house.
That League might nonetheless be interested in signing up disenchanted Forza Italia politicians, especially in the
south where it is looking to extend its reach.
The nationalist Brothers of Italy, another longtime Berlusconi ally, also
appears eager to cannibalise its partner. Italian politicians have a long tradition of
switching parties -- in the last legislature almost 350
of the 945 parliamentarians changed sides for various reasons.
They also have a habit of abandoning sinking ships.
Molinari laughed when asked if the League might be tempted to
try to lure away Forza Italia lawmakers, particularly in the
Senate where the coalition majority is in single digits.
A Forza Italia senator, who declined to be named, agreed:
"Lawmakers have to deal with their survival instinct," he said.
Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni is already poaching Forza Italia members and will put forward
four ex-Berlusconi men as candidates for her own party in the May 26 EU vote.
Stefano Maullu, a member of the European parliament, who had been a member of Forza Italia for 24 years before switching to Brothers of Italy last November.
Meloni is working with one of Forza Italia's best known faces, Giovanni Toti, the governor of
the northern region of Liguria, with an eye to creating a newlook party after the European elections, political sources said.
Brothers of Italy is on around 5 percent in the polls but hopes to
boost this number by siphoning away disaffected Berlusconi stalwarts and thereby broaden its voter base.
A newly minted group would be allied to the League in future elections, but would
not join the coalition because 5-Star did not want to broaden the ruling alliance, sources said.
Another source in Forza Italia, who declined to be named,
said she expected Berlusconi would finally take a step back if next month's vote went
badly, with model-turned-politician Mara Carfagna a leading contender to take the
reins. Berlusconi created Forza Italia 25 years
ago and despite repeated legal woes and health
alarms, he has never shown any sign of wanting to relinquish control or
retire from politics. Although he is standing in next month's European election, there are nonetheless signs that the
end of an era is nearing. Last month Il Giornale newspaper, which is controlled by the Berlusconi
family, announced it was closing its newsroom in Rome -- the epicentre of Italian politics -- and
refocusing on the business capital Milan. Berlusconi told reporters this month
that he was looking into the matter and had no other comment to make.
PARIS, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said he met leaders of France's "yellow vest" anti-government movement on Tuesday, an encounter likely to further test already strained bilateral relations.
Di Maio, who also leads the populist, anti-establishment 5-Star party, said he had
stopped over in France and met "yellow vests" leader Christophe Chalencon and candidates on the grassroots
movement's list for European Parliament elections in May.
Di Maio said on Twitter. He has previously expressed support for the movement.
The at time violent "yellow vests" protests have been a political thorn in President Emmanuel Macron's side since November as support among the French electorate for his reform agenda has ebbed.
France's foreign ministry summoned Italy's ambassador in January,
since then Macron has said the only Italian politician he deals with is Prime
Minister Giuseppe Conte.
 His comments to journalists on the plane while returning from a three-day trip to Romania, one
of the more recent European Union members, were his first
since European elections last month. Francis, who
was asked about the elections, Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini and
other European topics, urged believers to pray for European unity and non-believers to hope for it "from the bottom of your hearts".
The far-right and nationalists in Italy, Britain, France and Poland came
out on top in their national votes, shaking up politics
at home but failing to dramatically alter the balance of pro-European power in EU
assembly. Francis avoided directly criticising
Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party who has often spared with him on migration issues, saying the
reason they had not yet met was because Salvini had not asked for
an audience. Francis also stressed that his comments should be taken generally about Europe and were not specific to Italy, saying it was near impossible for him to understand Italian politics.
He said Europe had to again "take up the mysticism" of its founding fathers and overcome divisions and borders.
Francis urged Europeans to remember how the continent
was divided and belligerent in the years leading up to both world wars in the 20th century.
ROME (AP) - Silvio Berlusconi is back. The three-time Italian premier,
who has made a career out of rebounding from legal woes, personal scandal, heart trouble and political setbacks, announced Thursday he is running for the European Parliament in May elections.
Berlusconi had been barred from running for public office for nearly five years
due to a tax fraud conviction. Citing his good conduct, a court
last year ruled that he could once again run. Media mogul
Berlusconi stressed in his first campaign remarks that he wanted to
see a united center-right in Europe. It was evidence of his continued hope
that the League, which was a junior partner in all his governments,
would eventually abandon the 5-Stars at the national level and come back to the traditional center-right
fold.
Berlusconi said in Sardinia, where he keeps a huge estate.
In October 2012, Berlusconi was found guilty of committing
tax fraud as part of his vast business dealings. Italy's
highest criminal court upheld his conviction the following year.
Because a 2012 law stipulated that anyone sentenced to more than two years in prison was ineligible to hold or run for public
office for six years, Berlusconi had to relinquish his Senate seat.
He never left politics, however, and continued to
lead Forza Italia even as heart problems slowed him down and newspaper headlines focused more on the trials
involving his infamous "bunga bunga" parties and his costly divorce from his
second wife. Forza Italia lost the popularity it once enjoyed while the more hard-line League broadened its appeal beyond its northern Italy base
and capitalized on the anti-migrant, nationalistic sentiment that has
swept Europe in recent years. Berlusconi referred to his advanced age in kicking
off his European Parliament campaign, but framed it as a benefit of an elder statesman merely
seeking to defend European values against global powers such as China.
Matteo Renzi often clashed with Angela Merkel when he was Italy’s prime
minister, on matters ranging from fiscal discipline to migration. But in a book to be
released this week, the Italian politician makes a plea for the German chancellor to become the EU’s top representative.
In Another Way, released on Thursday, Mr Renzi praises Ms Merkel as the best candidate for president of the European Council, the political body representing EU member states, to replace Donald Tusk,
the Polish politician. "It would be desirable if a leading figure such as Angela Merkel . . . could continue to serve Europe in another capacity," Mr Renzi writes.
While there has been speculation in Berlin about Ms Merkel’s
future after her term as German chancellor comes to an end
in 2021, she is expected to retire from politics rather than seek a
role in Brussels. Mr Renzi’s endorsement shows the stature she
has acquired even in parts of Europe where she has been most criticised.
"I assume part of the responsibility, having been among the promoters of the candidatures for high representative of Federica Mogherini,"
he writes. Ms Mogherini’s five-year term as high representative ends this year.
Mr Renzi, now an Italian senator aged 44, became
his country’s youngest ever prime minister in 2014 with a
programme to upend its political and economic status quo — earning him the epithet "Demolition man".
His term as prime minister in 2016 came to abrupt
end after a stinging defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform.
His centre left Democratic party later lost power in last year’s election to a coalition of the anti-establishment
Five Star Movement and anti-migration League party.
 . . . Macron is today the strongest leader that Europe can boast.
And his word will be decisive in all major appointments".
Disgraced former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said comparisons between himself and US President-elect Donald Trump are "obvious". Berlusconi told an Italian daily that Americans had chosen Mr Trump, "now let him go to work". Both men both entered politics from the world of business, Berlusconi a media magnate and Mr Trump a property tycoon. Legal battles have dogged Mr Trump but unlike Berlusconi, he has no criminal convictions. 3.7bn (£2.9bn; €3.4bn), according to Forbes business magazine. Startling looks: Mr Trump's hair has intrigued the media for decades with its flamboyant combover while Berlusconi popped up in public with a bandana in 2004 when (it later emerged) he was having implants done. What are the allegations against Trump? Italians have not been slow to pick up on the comparisons between the incoming US president and their former prime minister, fusing the two on social media as "Trumpusconi". In the interview, Berlusconi stopped short of welcoming Mr Trump's victory but the centre-right politician explained why he thought Mrs Clinton had been defeated. Mr Trump, he argued, "was elected by
all Americans weary of an old political order".
Politics is entertainment now. Just one long performance. Witness Silvio Berlusconi who foreshadows the rise of Trump (the two are remarkably similar). Loro satirizes Berlusconi as he starts to lose his grip on power about ten years ago. Under Berlusconi the route to influence and authority is not through enlightenment or better ways of doing business, but trafficking young women, reality shows, lavish parties, yachts and cocaine. Loro doesn't just take a dim view of Berlusconi, it provides a realistic portrayal of the man. We see the charming salesman who understands human nature and capitalizes on this knowledge. Truth is in tone of voice. Berlusconi "I understand." Toni Servillo's brilliant performance as Berlusconi heightens this effect.
The average Italian, Berlusconi maintains, has the intelligence of second grader. Altruism is the best way to be selfish, for in this way he appears to be good. The ultimate judgement is left to Berlusconi's wife Veronica. Besides Veronica, there are intriguing portraits of other characters in Berlusconi's orbit. One of them is a very successful, intelligent and beguiling escort. Loro provides a fascinating, raw, imaginative and frightening look into the realities of modern politics from the uniquely in-your-face Italian vantage point. It is as wacky as it is cerebral. The film is fast paced and jarring in a good way. Seat shaking base music, rapid dialogue, incredible island villas, stylish clothes, impressive machinery and eye-popping nudity kept me on the edge of my seat. Loro is disjointed at times because there is so much going on, but the general effect is pleasing. The ending of the film is totally unique and perfect for the subject matter; what is important hopefully survives the disaster of modern politics. Knowledge and interest in Italian politics is recommended. Seen at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
Political Events of 1920 - The Palmer raids, the Red Scare, a drive to rid the country of "reds," (communists) began under the auspices of the U.S. Dept. of Justice. On January 3, the New York Times reports that 650 are arrested. Mussolini, the Italian Premier, challenged any country to show so favorable a development as Italy has done under the Fascist regime. Even American businessmen were praising the economic growth under Fascism. A lively debate ensued in 1927 when Secretary of the Treasury Mellon recommended a reduction in taxes that favored big business over wage earners. Previous tax-reduction battles in 1921, 1924, and 1926 had benefited Mr Average Citizen in the lower income brackets.
The League of Nations (forerunner of the United Nations) first council met in Paris. President Wilson formally convoked the Council in accordance with the League provision for the summoning of the first Assembly by the President of the United States. It was to be the last official participation by the U.S. Then, as now, there was a major problem with illegal immigrants seeking a better life in the U.S. The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect, prohibiting the making, selling, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition, the most flouted law in history was repealed in 1933 .
The American Socialist Party nominated Eugene V. Debs for president, and he was the first candidate to mount a campaign from jail. Beginning in september he was permitted to issue weekly public statements that were then circulated by the party. He ran on the slogan, "From the Prison to the White House," and polled 3.5 percent of the vote. Following the end of World War I and the freedom from the war-time economy and lifestyle, U.S. People wanted an end to labor problems and racial strife, less immigration, conservative politics, a return to christian values, and less government interference in their lives.
By the 1920s, many Americans had grown tired of war and constant attempts at reform, including numerous attempts to pass moral legislation. Many people longed for a simpler way of life. Warren G. Harding's policy of a "return to normalcy" was an attempt to capitalize on this populist feeling. The U.S. presidential election of 1920 was dominated by the aftermath of World War I. The wartime boom had collapsed. Diplomats and politicians were arguing over peace treaties and the question of America's entry into the League of Nations. Overseas there were wars and revolutions; at home there were strikes, riots, and a growing fear of radicals and terrorists.
Disillusionment was in the air. On June 8, 1920, the Republican National Convention meeting in Chicago nominated Warren G. Harding, an Ohio newspaper editor and United States Senator, to run for president with Calvin Coolidge, governor of Massachusetts, as his running mate. The presidential election of 1920 continued the debate between the nationalistic activism of Roosevelt's presidency and the global idealism of Wilson's administration. Harding, the winner, inherited major domestic and international problems that tested his leadership. The U.S. presidential election of 1924 was won by incumbent President Calvin Coolidge in a landslide as he presided over a booming economy at home and no visible crises abroad.
Coolidge (Republican) won the election in a landslide, with Davis (Democrat) only winning the 11 former Confederate states and Oklahoma, and losing the popular vote by 25 percentage points. The Republicans did so well that they won in New York City, a feat that has not been repeated since. The U.S. presidential election of 1928 pitted Republican Herbert Hoover against Democrat Alfred E. Smith. The Republicans were identified with the booming economy of the 1920s and Smith, a Roman Catholic, suffered politically from anti-Catholic prejudice. The election held on November 6, 1928 was won by Republican candidate Herbert Hoover by a wide margin on pledges to continue the economic boom of the Coolidge years.
Following two brief spells in minority governments in 1924 and 1929-1931, the Labour Party had its first true victory after World War II in the 1945 election. The Italian economy also fell into a deep slump following World War I. Anarchists were endemic, Communist and other Socialist agitators abounded among the trade unions, and many were gravely worried that a Bolshevik-style Communist revolution was imminent. The democratic German republic, known as the Weimar Republic (1919-33), was affected by hyperinflation and other serious economic problems. Mohandas (later, Mahatma) Gandhi (1869-1948) who was a lawyer turned politician in the Indian National Congress party began his national campaign to rally the populace of India to use passive resistance and noncooperation against the occupying British colonialist government. Gandhi tried to unite Muslims and Hindus in obtaining independence from Great Britain using peaceful means.
Two women have been hailed as 'brave' after they decided kiss one another while standing next to Italy's deputy prime minister after he condemned same-sex relationships. The viral selfie shows the two students kissing as Matteo Salvini stands next to them at a rally in Caltanissetta, Sicily. The political figure, who had been attending a rally for a member of the League Party's bid for mayor, sparked outrage last month after attending a World Congress of Parties conference in Verona. According to the organisation's website, the US-founded conference sought to 'defend the natural family as the only fundamental and sustainable unit of society' and opposes same-sex relationships and abortions.
The photo, which has now ignited an international conversation, shows Mr Salvini smile and appear to be oblivious as the young women next to him kiss. The viral picture was taken by one of the pictured women, called Gaia, who initially took to Instagram on Thursday to share the powerful image. Speaking to Euronews Gaia said: 'When the minister urged those present to take the stage and take a selfie with him, we had this idea because he participated in World Congress of Families. Share ‘We made a provocative, instinctive gesture, not at all premeditated. On stage, Salvini did not expect us to take a picture like this. Italian activist Marco Furfaro shared his support for the two by posting the image on his Facebook page. A message next to the photo read: 'Caltanissetta protesters. Love beats hate 3-0. Trolling Salvini to the extreme. The decision to create the now viral image was ignited after Mr Salvini chose to attend the controversial anti-LGBT and anti-abortion three-day conference last month. This is not the first time the political leader has sparked anger for his controversial decisions. Earlier this month the Deputy Prime Minister was criticised for refusing to attend Italy's Liberation day that commemorates the country's fight against fascism.
Luigi Di Maio, Italian deputy prime minister and leader of the populist Five Star Movement, has blamed France for impoverishing Africa and encouraging migration to Europe. He accused the French government of manipulating the economies of mainly former French colonies in Africa, which use a form of the pre-independence currency known as a CFA franc. So what is the CFA franc and does it harm African countries? Where is the CFA used? Eight countries make up the West African Economic and Monetary Union and a further six are in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community. Since 1999, the CFA franc (in both zones) has been pegged to the euro, with the financial backing of the French treasury. The money itself, as Mr Di Maio correctly says, is printed by France - but the quantity is decided by the central banks of the two zones.
 A French official sits on the boards of both central banks, which suggests France retains at least some influence over the decision making process. Participation in the currency is voluntary. But critics of the CFA point to preferential French access to African resources, granted as part of the setting up of the currency arrangement. And French companies today still have a strong presence in the CFA currency zones. Is it driving migration? Most Mediterranean migration doesn't come from the 14 countries that use the CFA franc, 12 of which are former French colonies. In 2018, Guinea was the largest country of origin, followed by Morocco - both former French colonies that don't use the CFA franc.
The Ivory Coast and Mali are the only countries of origin using the CFA franc that have contributed significantly to migration across the Mediterranean, accounting for 14.4% of the total last year. Both these countries have experienced political unrest in recent years. What does France do with African money? The use of the CFA franc is highly controversial, with some saying it comes with a "French colonial tax". But France doesn't tax African countries for using the currency. It does, however, require countries to store 50% of all foreign exchange reserves with the French treasury, in the Bank of France, in something called an "operational account".
African countries can access the money in the French treasury when they like. Mr Di Maio said France was using this system to finance French public debt. But a French treasury official told BBC News the deposits of the central banks of West Africa and Central Africa were not being used to buy or pay off French debt. But when inflation in the eurozone is higher than this, this is a poor return. The reasons for keeping CFA reserves in France relate in part to relationships between African nations when the CFA was established. In December 2017, the central banks of West Africa and Central Africa had €5bn (£4.3bn) and €3.9bn in the French treasury, respectively. Does it keep CFA countries poor?
Many of the concerns about the CFA franc relate to how it limits the economic levers African countries can use - that they can't set their own interest rates, for instance. The system is designed to make it easier to obtain international currencies needed for trade. And the reserves are also guaranteed by the French central bank - although this facility is rarely called upon. But it's difficult to say whether the arrangement between the 14 countries and France has had a detrimental impact on their respective economies. It's clear though that the CFA franc divides opinion and there is a movement of people who would agree with the claims of the Italian politician. Critics point to the fact that the CFA franc countries are poor, call the currency a relic of French colonialism and say it fails "to stimulate trade integration between user nations", writes the Senegalese economist Ndongo Samba Sylla. But there are economic benefits of a stable and easily convertible currency, says John Ashbourne, senior emerging markets analyst at Capital Economics. Mr Ashbourne adds that there isn't much evidence that CFA countries have underperformed compared with the rest of Africa.
ROME (AP) - Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has taken aim at a Vatican cardinal who climbed into a utility manhole to restore electricity to squatters in a state-owned building, pitting far-right Italian politics against Pope Francis' humanitarian agenda. Salvini was incensed by the take-charge action of Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, who is the pope's official almsgiver. Krajewski told Corriere della Sera in an interview, referring to Salvini. FILE - In this Thursday, June 28, 2018 filer, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski right after being elected in a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Pope Francis' almsgiver has gone down a Rome manhole to restore electricity for hundreds of homeless people living in an unused state-owned building.
Feel free to visit my page: Euro Price Outlook Worsens As Italian Politics Move Into Focus |
| Your feedback on this profile |
|---|
| Recommend this profile for User of the Day: |
I like this profile |
| Alert administrators to an offensive profile: |
I do not like this profile |
|
| Account data |
View |
| Team |
None |
|
