Otto Lanzavecchia

Two days after the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi met with his Italian colleague Luigi Di Maio in Rome, the founder of the Five Star Movement, Beppe Grillo, weighed in the debate through a blog post. Mr Di Maio had expressed Italy’s closeness to the EU and the US first and foremost, declaring that the relationship between China and Italy…

On Tuesday, the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi met with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio in Rome (read Formiche.net’s reporting on it over here). In the following presser, Mr Di Maio stressed that all the talks regarding economic relations were only possible within the framework of the European Union and the Atlantic Alliance (NATO). The Italian minister also stressed…

The ongoing “tech cold War” between China and the US has its proxy wars, and one of these is being fought within the infrastructures that support the Italian cyberspace. While China fights through sheer economic power to convince Italy to keep the doors open to its 5G tech, the US has been pressuring its allies to ban it from their…

In economic terms, Italy has become the stage for a proxy war, corollary to the bigger geopolitical confrontation underway between the United States and China, as the two powers have been seeking to invest in strategic Italian assets. For months, COPASIR (the parliamentary security committee) been stressing the security risks related to Chinese presence in such assets – chiefly, the…

As European countries become ever more doubtful of their relations with China over human rights, counter-competitive commercial activity and espionage fears, the Dragon’s foreign minister Wang Yi is touring Europe to check on strategic partners. On Tuesday, Mr Yi met with the Italian foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, who in turn represents that part of Italian politics that’s historically closer…

Sei anni a spiare i cittadini danesi, uno ad uno. Questa l'accusa mossa dietro la sospensione temporanea dal suo incarico, assieme a due colleghi, di Lars Findsen, capo dei servizi di intelligence estera danesi (Ddis), dopo esser stato criticato duramente da un’organizzazione di supervisione indipendente. Findsen, a capo del Ddis dal 2015, aveva guidato anche i servizi di intelligence domestici…

On Tuesday, the military in Mali conducted a successful coup d’état and declared the beginning of a transition military regime “leading to credible general elections”. Soldiers seized several political leaders, including president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, who dissolved the government and resigned in a televised speech. The events were ostensibly sparked by the military supporting public anger over corruption, mishandling of…

A year has passed since the current Italian coalition government was formed by two parties that had been sworn enemies until then – the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (5SM) and the centre-left Democratic Party (DP). The two parties joined forces to ensure their political survival when the previous government, made up by the 5SM and the right-wing League, was torpedoed…

Mario Draghi’s speech on Tuesday sent shockwaves across the political world. Politicians and commentators alike expressed overwhelming appreciation for the former head of the ECB as he charted a post-pandemic recovery plan imbued with pragmatism, clairvoyance, and sensitivity towards the youngest and sustainability. Mr Draghi refrained from addressing the Italian government directly, but many read between the lines a harsh…

The visionary economist Mario Draghi opened the influential Rimini Meeting on Tuesday by acknowledging the unprecedented historical period that Europe is living – a crisis sparked by a global pandemic, piling upon the combined damage of two recessions, all in the space of twelve years. The consequences of this new crisis entail a rise in unemployment and a worsening of…