Italy
Italy: Berlusconi to name "post-fascist" Fini as deputy prime minister
By Stefan Steinberg, May 19, 2001
Final results in the Italian election make clear that House of Freedoms , the coalition of right-wing parties headed by Silvio Berlusconi, has comfortable majorities in both houses of the Italian parl...
Berlusconi wins parliamentary vote
Right-wing media mogul set to head new Italian government
By Ulrich Rippert, May 15, 2001
Tensely awaited parliamentary elections in Italy have ended with a victory for media boss Silvio Berlusconi and his alliance of right-wing parties assembled under the banner “House of Freedoms&r...
Italy's Berlusconi and his "House of Freedoms"—a new dimension in the development of the right wing in Europe
By Peter Schwarz, May 7, 2001
The rise to prominence of Silvio Berlusconi's “House of Freedoms” represents a new dimension in the development of the right wing in Europe. Should Berlusconi's political formation win the...
Italy: Berlusconi fans an atmosphere of intimidation
By Peter Schwarz, April 7, 2001
At the centre of the forthcoming Italian elections is the issue of freedom of the press and who controls the media. The reaction of media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, the leading candidate of the right-wi...
Italian elections: Berlusconi presents himself as the employers' man
By Peter Schwarz, March 26, 2001
Following the dissolution of the Italian parliament and the fixing of the general election for May 13, the campaign is now proceeding at full pace. The first confrontation between the two leading cand...
Italian elections set for May 13
By Peter Schwarz, March 21, 2001
Italian voters will be subjected to intensive electioneering over the next eight weeks. On March 8, President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi dissolved the Italian parliament. New elections are to be held on May...
Six Kurdish immigrants suffocate in back of Italian truck
By Christopher Sverige, November 3, 2000
The bodies of six Kurdish immigrants were found beside a coastal highway in Puglia, southern Italy, on October 17. Police are presuming that the men, aged 20 to 40, were being smuggled into the countr...
The "beautiful" vs. the "rich"
Italy's centre-left coalition chooses Francesco Rutelli as its leading candidate
By Peter Schwarz, October 26, 2000
Italy's governing “Olive Tree” alliance has nominated Francesco Rutelli as its leading candidate for the next parliamentary elections. Rutelli, who is mayor of Rome, was chosen at a conven...
The Adriatic: a "Sea of Tears"
Increasing death toll of refugees trying to reach Italian coast
By Andy Niklaus, September 13, 2000
Practically every day, refugees are found dead at Europe's borders: stranded Africans on Spain's southern coast, drowned Romanians in the river Oder, suffocated Tamils and Chinese in buses at the bord...
Italy: work-related accidents and deaths on the rise
By Rosa Ieropoli, July 18, 2000
On-the-job accidents and deaths in Italy increased last year, according to a report recently released by the National Board of Insurance against Accidents in Industrial Work (Instituto Nazionale per l...
The failure of the Italian referenda
By Emanuele Saccarelli, June 8, 2000
An important vote on six referenda took place in Italy on May 22. All of the initiatives failed to pass because the required quorum of over 50 percent of eligible voters was not met. Though only 32 pe...
Resignation of Italian Prime Minister D'Alema threatens to topple government
By Chris Marsden, April 21, 2000
Following resignation of Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema on Wednesday, April 19, President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi has initiated talks to see if a new centre-left government can be formed, or if a...
