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19 December 2008

La mia Italia

Libertà e giustizia sociale, che sono poi le mete del socialismo, costituiscono un binomio inscindibile. Se a me socialista offrissero la riforma più radicale sul piano sociale, ma privandomi della libertà, io la rifiuterei. [...] Ma la libertà senza giustiza sociale può anche essere una conquista vana. Lei può considerare veramente libero un uomo che ha fame, che è nella miseria, che non ha lavoro, che è umiliato perché non sa come mantenere i suoi figli e educarli? Questo non è un uomo libero; sarà libero di bestemmiare e di imprecare, ma questa non è la libertà che intendo io. -- Alessandro Pertini

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posted by GiacomoL @ 7:35 AM   0 comments links to this post

15 June 2008

Italian Football Folklore: "il biscotto"

The "Biscotto" (literally "biscuit") is a central concept in Italian football. It's a sum of Italian attitudes towards football institutions, honesty, fair play, and "dietrologia" (the study of what might be hidden -- from "dietro", behind -- another very Italian concept). The term comes from an ice-cream brand, as you would expect from such a food-obsessed culture; specifically, an ice-cream surrounded by two biscuits. The biscuits don't touch each other, but squeeze the ice-cream between them -- exactly like two contenders that won't hit each other, but will manage to squeeze out a third party standing in their way.

For example, say that two teams have to play a match in a tournament, and there is only one possible result that will qualify both them to the next phase of the competition and eliminate a third party. They could make an agreement to make sure the "right" result comes out; that would be a classic "biscotto". Or say that two teams have to play at the end of a season, and one club hasn't got anything to play for, while the other needs the points to avoid relegation (hence condemning another team)... you get the idea. It's basically a combine where a third-party gets hurt.

The Italian football team has been (or it was perceived as being) on the wrong side of a "biscotto" several times in recent history, most infamously at Euro 2004 when Denmark and Sweden produced a 2-2 draw which qualified both Scandinavian nations and kicked out the "Azzurri". If you then consider the 2002 incident (when South-Korean hosts kicked out Italy in a match plagued by a terrible referee), and the penalty awarded in the first minutes of the 2006 World Cup final (on a dive by French player Malouda), you should be able to understand why the Italian press is currently running wild with suggestions of an upcoming "biscotto" between Romania and the Netherlands. The Oranje are already mathematically certain to be the group-winner, whereas Romania needs a victory to stay in second place and kick out France and Italy... something that Holland might like, considering as these two (currently troubled) teams usually become tough competitors in the final stages of a major competition.

The Italian people experienced a long history of political intrigue, stretching back all the way to Imperial Rome; we tend to see daggers hidden in every dark corner, secret agreements struck in the most worthless situations, puppeteers pulling strings in the smallest of everyday occasions. For centuries our political landscape was defined elsewhere, with Italian city-states acting as proxy for various European powers, all the way up to the Cold War. As a result, we tend to be a little too suspicious, and assign to others responsibilities that should really be ours.

If we really wanted to qualify, we should have won (or drawn) against the Netherlands, and won fair and square against Romania. Instead, our men played badly (especially in the first game), and our "lethal" strikers couldn't score even given massive amounts of chances (a defender had to step up and do it). They shouldn't have put themselves in that position in the first place. Once you get to depend on the whims of somebody who doesn't own anything to you, you can't complain about anything that might happen. Life is tough.

(This said, my money is on Romania to win. It's hard to kick old habits, I guess. And the actual ice-cream is fantastic, and so difficult to find in Manchester -- anybody that can send a box over here?)

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posted by GiacomoL @ 1:27 PM   1 comments links to this post

05 February 2008

The Italian Politics Club

  1. The first rule of politics in Italy is that you don't talk about real politics in Italy.
  2. The second rule of politics in Italy is that you DO NOT talk about real politics in Italy. You can talk about "parties" and have endless ideological debates, but absolutely DO NOT try to actually solve problems by enacting policies. People could get angry.
  3. The third rule of politics in Italy is that if someone can't pass a minor law on whatever minor useless subject, the Government is over.
  4. Fourth rule: at least three or four "parties" involved in any trivial discussion or commission. This guarantees instability and respect of the second rule.
  5. Fifth rule: try to fight at the same time with as many people as possible, especially if members of your own government. This will help to apply the second and third rule.
  6. Sixth rule: try to look and act the same as all your colleagues in politics. Otherwise you will be marked as "fesso" (stupid) and you will be ignored.
  7. Seventh rule: governments shouldn't last more than a couple of years at best. Again, this guarantees rule 2 and 3 are respected.
  8. Eighth and final rule: if this is the first time you try to understand Italian politics, you have to get dragged in endless arguments about the role of the Roman Catholic Church and the Mafia and the Big Money People, to conclude 5 hours later that you are absolutely powerless to change anything and the only answer is a south-american-style secular dictatorship that can kill the Pope, burn down the Vatican, put the Mafia in charge of enacting laws in the South, and nationalise all industry.

Note: this is my last post on the subject.

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posted by GiacomoL @ 11:53 AM   4 comments links to this post