OF AGE, SENATORS AND HASHTAGS

Italy's new Premier Matteo Renzi is a man who likes to make an impression and he certainly did that in the country's Senate yesterday when, a few minutes into the speech in which he asked for the chamber's confidence, he admitted,

"Non ho l'età" - "I'm not old enough."

You have to be 40 to be elected to the Senate, you see and Mr Renzi is a mere stripling of 39 - old enough, therefore, to lead his country but too young for its upper chamber. Yes, I know this is absurd, but pazienza - we are in Italy! Those of you who are as old as I am may remember that the line is the title of the Italian song which won both Sanremo and the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964, when it was sung by Gigliola Cinquetti.  

The joke, along with the rest of Mr Renzi's speech, went down quite well with young people, although some expressed concern on twitter that he doesn't know any more modern songs. And I take my twitter hat off to the tweeter who first came up with the idea of changing the hashtag #nonholeta to #nonholetta - "I don't have Letta"!

Gigliola Cinquetti, now aged 66, said she was pleased that the song had been quoted and hoped it was an omen for an efficient government.

For me the masterstroke of Mr Renzi's speech was the assertion that he hoped he would be the last Prime Minister who would have to ask the Senate for a vote of confidence - a reference to reforms of the parliamentary system that he wishes to bring in. He also said that education will be a priority. I do not wish to be cynical but where have I heard that before?

Gigliola Cinquetti - Non ho l'età 

STRANDED AT SEA

Visualizzazione ingrandita della mappa

Last Sunday a Liberian-registered oil tanker, the MT Salamis, rescued 102 Sudanese and Eritrean migrants from a boat off the Libyan coast and sailed towards Malta. The Maltese authorities, however, refused to let the migrants land and say that the captain ignored their orders to take them back into Libyan waters. The Maltese authorities contacted their Italian and Greek counterparts regarding the situation but are believed to have ignored pleas and, later, admonitions from the EU.

Thus it was that the migrants were stranded in the Mediterranean Sea from Sunday night until early on Wednesday morning, while intense negotiations regarding their fate were being held. EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said that Malta had a humanitarian duty to allow the migrants to disembark as the priority was to save their lives. She also said that sending them back to Libya was contrary to international law. At last, Italian Premier Enrico Letta gave permission for the tanker to dock at Siracusa, where the Italian Red Cross was standing by. Mr Letta is said to understand that, because of the sheer number of migrant boats that have arrived at Maltese ports this summer, the island's reception facilities are at breaking point.

Among the migrants were four pregnant women and a five-month-old baby now known as "Sam", who has become the group's mascot. All are said to be doing well.

Commissioner Malmström has thanked Italy on behalf of the EU and tweeted that it would be great if all 28 EU countries would help in such situations. Francesco Rocca, the president of the Italian Red Cross, has said that there needs to be a European strategy so that such an impasse does not happen again. The International Organisation for Migration and UNHCR have also thanked Italy.

On a sadder note, 103 Somali migrants, including 29 women, one of whom is pregnant, were rescued by a fishing boat and the Italian Navy from a dinghy in the Sicilian Channel on Wednesday night. Two other migrants had died during the journey and their bodies had been thrown into the sea. One of these was a seven-year-old child and his shocked and distraught mother is among the survivors, who have been taken to Lampedusa. My thoughts are with this sad lady this weekend.

SHAME UPON SHAME

I write tonight as a resident of a country in which a senator who has held ministerial office can make a disgraceful sexist and racist remark and, seemingly, get away with it. As a lover of Italy, this saddens me. 

Most of you will by now have read or heard that Lega Nord Senator Roberto Calderoli, who served as Minister for Legislative Simplification [quite what he simplified I am not sure] in the last Berlusconi Cabinet, insulted the current Integration Minister, Cécile Kyenge, on Sunday by saying that when he saw photos of her he "couldn't help thinking of an orangutan".  He also said that, although Cécile Kyenge had done well to become a minister, she should carry out this role in her own country [a reference to Miss Kyenge's Congolese origin].

To be fair, expressions of outrage quickly followed from all sides of the political spectrum and from all sectors of Italian society:  The PD [Democratic Party] has called for Mr Calderoli's resignation, President Napolitano has expressed his indignation and Prime Minister Letta has spoken of the bad press that Italy is receiving all over the world because of this episode.  Mr Letta has not called for Mr Calderoli's resignation but, in a strongly-worded statement, has urged Lega Nord Federal Secretary Roberto Maroni to "close this page quickly" - that is, to put an end to such racial slurs from members of his party. Meanwhile, petitions calling for Mr Calderoli's resignation are circulating on facebook and twitter. All this has caused Mr Calderoli to issue an apology, in which he said that the remark had been a joke, born out of his love for animals.

Miss Kyenge said today that it is not her place to call for Mr Calderoli's resignation but that she would ask people to reflect on the role of those who hold public office.

I would pose another question: disliking our politicians is one thing and disagreeing with them is a democratic right. However, being ashamed of them, time and time again, is quite another matter. What are you going to do about it, Italy?

AUSTERITY FOIL?

Does anyone else remember when what we used to call "silver paper" was difficult to remove from a Kit Kat bar? It used to stick to the chocolate and you'd get a metallic taste in your mouth.

Well, I'm beginning to think that Italian manufacturers of kitchen foil have used the old-style silver paper as their inspiration, as their product has become noticeably thinner and sometimes sticks to the food - "austerity foil", perhaps?

Cling film [plastic wrap] went the way of all flesh years ago but I'd be interested to know if anyone else has noticed a deterioration in the quality of kitchen foil, either in Italy or elsewhere.

Some of you may remember that I've had an issue with kitchen foil before and no doubt the hapless Mr Letta, charged with the task of forming a new government for Italy yesterday, has other matters on his mind, just as Mr Monti did before him.  On the other hand, I'm sure that Mr Letta, like his compatriots, will wish to continue to eat well, crisis or no crisis, so what could be more important than turning his attention to the problem of l'alluminio della sobrietà?