Otto Lanzavecchia

On Sunday and Monday, Italian voters took on a constitutional referendum, and in seven regions they also voted for their regional government. The referendum passed (by nearly 70%), cutting the number of MPs in both chambers by roughly 33%. The regional elections essentially pitted the Democratic Party (junior governing partner) against the centre-right alliance (at the opposition), and the result…

US counterterrorism official Nathan Sales claimed on Thursday that the militant group Hezbollah has been shipping ammonium nitrate from Belgium to France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland since 2012, as immediately reported by Formiche.net. The highly explosive chemical compound, generally used as fertiliser, is believed to be the cause of the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut on August…

“I was one of the few Italian politicians who believed in [Donal Trump’s] victory and rooted for him four years ago. And I keep believing that he has been a good president and I hope he will be re-elected.” Thus spoke Matteo Salvini, head of the League, in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal. The 47-year-old has been…

Italian parties (and their respective alliances) dramatically diverged over a European parliament resolution that set out to counter authoritarian practices in Russia and Belarus. The vote happened in the wake of Wednesday’s rousing speech from European Commission’s president Ursula Von der Leyen about stepping up the EU’s foreign policy efforts and upholding human rights around the world. The European parliament…

In a few days, the Italians will be called to vote on a referendum regarding the slashing of MP seats, and in 7 regions out of 20 they will also vote their new regional governments. These appointments have the potential to reshape Italy’s political panorama. The pandemic and the duty to bring Italy out of economic straits are only adding…

“European values are not for sale,” stated EU Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen towards the end of her first “State of the Union” speech in Brussels. The 79-minute address encompassed her holistic plan for the bloc’s future, touching on green transition, pandemic recovery, migration and, crucially, foreign policy. Ms Von der Leyen promised that the EU would adopt an…

On Monday the Vatican’s Secretary of State, cardinal Pietro Parolin, has announced that the Holy See intends to renew its controversial agreement with Beijing on the nomination of Chinese bishops, which is set to end in October. Mr Parolin acknowledged the complexities that still exist between the two States (albeit without naming them explicitly) but he added that the intention…

News broke on Sunday that China is building a sprawling and detailed database on millions of prominent people around the world, mainly harvesting open source data to “support influence and intelligence operations.” The database was leaked to professor Christopher Balding, an academic who lived and worked in China. He then shared his findings and the massive database built by Zhenhua…

This coming Sunday and Monday the Italians will head to the polls to vote in a referendum on slashing the number of MPs. Seven regions out of twenty will also vote their new regional presidents and their councils. But there might be more to it, given that these events can potentially be game-changers, capable of shaking up the current Italian…

Italian foreign policy has a long tradition of keeping in close contact with the Vatican. The two institutions often share interests and objectives, even if they go about them in different manners. This day and age make no exception. Hence, on Thursday, the Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio invited the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul…