Bar Italia #5/2025
Ten Sips of Italian Politics
Welcome to the fifth issue of Bar Italia!
Bar Italia is the newsletter for those interested in Italy and Italian politics but looking for a broader, less detailed overview than The Italian Compass. If you’re curious about why this newsletter is titled “Bar Italia” and how it’s structured, I invite you to read the introduction to the inaugural issue. This week’s edition arrives a day early, in observance of Italy’s Liberation Day (Festa della Liberazione), celebrated tomorrow April 25. Buona Festa della Liberazione a tutti!
If you’d like to discuss any of the topics covered in this issue, feel free to reach out via email at info@politicaestera.net.
Hope you find it interesting!
Dario
Bar Italia - #5
Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. The Italian government declared five days of national mourning for the death of Pope Francis, marking the longest mourning period since 2002. For the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, the days of mourning were three.
The funeral of Pope Francis will obviously mark a historic event. To have a sense of how big it will be, this is the footage of the funeral of Pope John Paul II, held on April 8, 2005. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi announced that over 170 foreign delegations are expected to attend the funeral. In the coming weeks, together with the Jubilee celebrations, there will also be the start of the Conclave to elect the new Pope. Around the same time, Rome will also host major cultural and sporting events, including the Internazionali di tennis, the traditional Concertone on May 1st, and the final of the Coppa Italia on May 14. Good luck to Minister Piantedosi, Police chief Vittorio Pisani, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, and Prefect Lamberto Giannini.
UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest bank, is trying to push forward its European expansion amid serious frictions with the current Italian government. The bank is moving through a dual-track strategy: a €14 billion ($16 billion) takeover bid for domestic competitor Banco BPM, and an increased stake in Germany’s Commerzbank, both moves approved by regulatory authorities in their respective countries. The Italian government has confirmed it will invoke its “golden powers” to impose conditions on the Banco BPM acquisition. These powers, enshrined in national law, allow the state to intervene in mergers and acquisitions involving strategic sectors—such as finance, energy, and defense—by imposing requirements or blocking transactions outright. Italian media suggested that UniCredit may be required to completely divest from its Russian operations for the deal to proceed. The government has also set a fine: up to €20 billion if the bank fails to comply with the golden power regulations. These decisions triggered political frictions within the governing coalition and marked a setback for MFA and Forza Italia’s leader Antonio Tajani who, despite his objections, had to accept the government’s stance in order to avoid risking a political crisis. UniCredit has strongly criticized the use of golden powers in this context and is now reconsidering its public exchange offer for Banco BPM, amid reservations over legal clarity and operational autonomy. The government’s intervention in the Unicredit-Banco BPM deal is also raising concerns that the government might try to do the same regarding the Generali-Natixis joint venture and the broader management of savings in Italy.
Italy’s government has decided not to activate the EU’s flexibility clause to increase defense spending due to the country’s high public debt. Using the flexibility clause could lead to an increase in Italy’s public debt, with projections indicating that partial use of the clause could raise the debt-to-GDP ratio to 137.3% by 2028, while full utilization could push it up to 137.7%, raising severe concerns about long-term fiscal sustainability.
The Italian Navy concluded the 2025 edition of the Mare Aperto exercise successfully, showcasing innovative and complex maritime training that emphasized operational readiness, interoperability among forces, and the integration of advanced technologies. The Navy has also received from Fincantieri the “Spartaco Schergat,” its first enhanced FREMM frigate designed specifically for anti-submarine warfare, marking a significant advancement in naval technology. Fincantieri is the current top player in Italy’s defense industry. The recent visit of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Washington also reaffirmed the increasing role that the company is playing in revitalizing the U.S. shipbuilding industry, as this was openly mentioned in the joint communique. The confirmation of Pierroberto Folgiero as CEO of Fincantieri is thus well deserved.
Openpolis published an extremely interesting article, analyzing the dynamics of the so-called parliamentary Trasformismo (Transformism) in the current parliamentary term. This word entered the Italian political discourse between the end of 1882 and the beginning of 1883 to define—with a obvious polemical connotation—the political practice inaugurated by then Prime Minister Agostino Depretis. The analysis shows a declining trend of parliamentary group changes in Italy during the current legislative term. Since the session began, 59 changes involving 50 parliamentarians (39 deputies, 11 senators) have occurred—markedly fewer than in past legislatures, which saw hundreds. This drop is attributed to three main factors: a reduction in the total number of parliamentarians—from 945 to 600; the emergence of a stable governing majority; and new Senate rules discouraging such moves through penalties and loss of privileges. These changes have mostly benefited the majority, with Forza Italia gaining members, while the Partito Democratico and Movimento 5 Stelle have lost some.
The anti-governmental daily Domani reported that, under the current government, the cost of ministerial staff has increased by €15 million. Significant funding has been allocated to hire loyal collaborators, raising concerns about clientelism and its impact on public administration’s autonomy.
There is a mounting pressure on Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli to address the ongoing crisis in the Italian film and audiovisual industry. Matteo Orfini, a PD member—do you remember the Giovani Turchi, a left-leaning faction inside the PD? Orfini was one of them. This group was on the rise ten years ago. WOW, already ten years! Feeling old yet???—criticized Giuli for denying the crisis, highlighting the worsening conditions faced by workers and stressing that the government’s response has been totally inadequate. These criticisms were echoed by Pupi Avati, one of Italy’s most prominent filmmakers, who called for urgent action to address the crisis in the film industry and advocated for the creation of a dedicated agency to support cinema, rather than establishing a new ministry.
Internal conflicts within the center-right coalition in Lazio are jeopardizing the construction of a waste-to-energy plant in Rome, as local Fratelli d'Italia parliamentarians have blocked an amendment to empower the city’s mayor on waste management. This decision was initially backed by the president (governor) of Lazio, Francesco Rocca. He wanted to distance himself from potential backlash and requested expanded powers for Gualtieri. However, also the national government, a few weeks ago, had withdrawn a parliamentary amendment that would have granted Gualtieri, as the government commissioner, the authority to determine the environmental risk for the Santa Palomba area, where the plant should be built.
Jeune Afrique had an interesting story regarding alleged Italy’s interferences in Tunisia in the ‘80s. In an article discussing the current flourishing relations between Italy and Algeria, the author made a reference to something that happened between 1986 and 1987, saying that “ …President Habib Bourguiba’s (had the) idea in 1986 to increase Tunisia’s share of gas revenues in order to address a public finance crisis. A decision that immediately led the Italian Prime Minister, Bettino Craxi, to consult his Algerian counterpart, Chadli Bendjedid… They then agreed that Bourguiba needed to be removed. Which is exactly what happened on November 7, 1987.” From what I know, that wasn’t the reason that concerned leaders in Italy and Algeria at the time. What truly worried them was Bourguiba’s increasingly erratic behavior and his hardline and uncompromising stance against the Islamist opposition, a stance that was creating instability in the country. Whether Italy and Algeria actually managed to intervene in Tunisia is then another matter. Recently, Jeune Afrique made a bit of a mess in an article on the structure of the Mattei Plan, confusing the politician Alessandro Cattaneo (an MP with Forza Italia) with the homonymous diplomat (who was part of the team working on the Mattei Plan, who is now the new Ambassador to Canada.). They did not fix the mistake, despite someone telling them!
See also…
Politica Estera - The Italian Compass - #7/2025
Politica Estera - Deep Dive - The Race for Villa Firenze: Who Will Be Italy’s Next Ambassador to D.C.?
Politica Estera - Scriptorium Italiae #2/2025
Politica Estera - Bar Italia - #4/2025