Word: italianity
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Berlusconi will enjoy a healthy majority in both houses of parliament. The Italian electorate punished the center-left for its failure to respond to the country's needs under Romano Prodi, whose less than two years in office now amount to a brief interregnum bracketed by Berlusconi. But the 71-year-old center-right leader must overcome Italians' deep-seated doubts that any politician can kick the country into gear...
Locarno International Film Festival, Aug. 6-16 Founded over 60 years ago, this festival in the Swiss-Italian town of Locarno is one of the oldest. Thanks to a penchant for the work of auteurs, it has earned a reputation for spotting greatness early on - past audiences were watching films by directors like Stanley Kubrick and Spike Lee long before anyone knew who they were. But the real draw is what might be the world's most beautiful screening room: the Piazza Grande. Every evening, a massive screen is set up in the Renaissance square and thousands gather to watch...
...freedom of religion is non-negotiable - for example, that Christians should be free to practice their faith in an unhindered manner in Islamic states. Still, missteps have continued on this and other fronts, including the Pope's high-profile conversion baptism on Easter eve of a controversial Egyptian-born Italian Muslim. The point the Pope wanted to make - that all should be free to change their religion - was again overshadowed by polemic...
...Italian politics had long been dominated by a revolving-door line-up of gray Christian Democratic leaders who shared power with smaller parties in a establishment of backroom deals and Byzantine rhetoric more likely to confound rather than communicate with real people. But for the past 14 years, the political arena has been dominated by Berlusconi, the neon version of the billionaire in a blue pinstripe suit, making the hard sell in simple, sometimes bawdy language. Some said it was a welcome change from the politics of the past, and he won a short-lived victory in 1994 before...
...both sides of the political spectrum were generally disillusioned with Italy's political class, even though 80% of the electorate showed up at the polls. A Roman taxi driver, Filippo, who'd voted for Berlusconi, was listening to the radio, just as Veltroni was about to concede defeat. "We Italians always go to vote," he said. "But by now we're sick of all them." Before rescuing Alitalia or turning around the economy or reforming the country's crippled justice system, Berlusconi's toughest task will be saving the Italian citizen from dying a cynic's death...