Otto Lanzavecchia

Mediterranean dossiers tend to be inextricably interlinked – and extremely contentious. At this juncture, the global West is attempting to fix politically and militarily charged matters such as the Libyan conflict, as well as energy-related economic spats pitting countries, and even NATO allies, against each other. The lack of a unitary Western consensus (and subsequent support) causes crisis-torn countries in…

Italy puts on its mediator hat in Tripoli as the Italian ambassador to Libya expands Rome’s commitment to stabilise the conflict-torn country and aid its recovery. Migration, border security, human rights, cooperation and development, plus a pinch of self-interest: here’s the Italian recipe. Giuseppe Buccino, the Italian ambassador to Libya, has presented the UN-backed government in Tripoli with a memorandum…

Last week, Telecom Italia (Tim) executives were in a board meeting to decide on the selling of part of their secondary network to American private equity fund Kkr. But the decision was halted by the Italian government itself. Tim execs were handed a letter, signed by Roberto Gualtieri, minister of economy and finances, and Stefano Patuanelli, minister for economic development,…

Before the pandemic, Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte was a pacifier, a mediator between the odd couple of parties that form the current coalition government. It is universally accepted that the Five Star Movement and the Democratic Party maintain their uneasy alliance partly out of fear for their right-wing opponents’ strong poll numbers. However, as the Covid-19 pandemic swept through…

The long and winding road to a functional and secure Italian 5G network is riddled with gigantic potholes. Namely: the absence of a delegated oversight authority and pool of expert, the time-dilating pandemic, and awkward government interventionism mixed with a lack of an absolutely clear stance on Chinese 5G tech. An Incites report placed Italy at the 20th place in…

The Italian government is walking on a tightrope as tensions simmer between China and the US and both countries crank up the pressure on Rome. Italy’s recent decisions to heavily limit the adoption of Chinese tech in 5G networks appeared to align the Italians and the Americans. However, a deal between the Italian telecoms company TIM and American private equity…

On March 9th, Italy became the first European (and Western) country to enter lockdown. Although most Covid-19 cases were localised in the North, prime minister Giuseppe Conte went ahead and imposed nationwide restrictions. Now we know that in doing so he went against the experts’ advice. After a legal battle, the Luigi Einaudi Foundation obtained the declassification of a trove…

The meeting between Libyan president Fayez al Serraj and Italian minister of defence Lorenzo Guerini reportedly “went really well”. As reported on Tuesday by Formiche.net¸ the two officials met together with their teams to discuss how to bring Italian-Libyan cooperation to the next level. Other than the resident, the Libyan diplomats were foreign minister Mohamed Siala, deputy prime minister Ahmed…

Just as Italian communications firm TIM was on the verge of deciding on a partial, binding acquisition of its secondary network by US private equity firm KKR, the Italian government stepped in and stopped the process for the near future. This happened during the board of directors’ meeting intended to decide on the acquisition, despite the government’s beforehand knowledge of…

Last week, the Pentagon announced that nearly 12,000 troops will be withdrawn from Germany. The move will take “months to plan and years to complete”, and the whole matter can still be rethought if the US November elections will bring about a change in the administration. Nonetheless, some countries in Europe are hoping to be on the receiving end of…