The G7 summit in Italy opens against the backdrop of a complex EU (European Union) election result, where the European Popular Party (EPP) confirmed its central role. Its allies, the Liberals and the Socialists, encountered a severe setback but remain strong. The Conservatives and the hard right (mostly pro-Russia) made advances but did not secure […]
China’s Rise, Missed Opportunities, Knots and Western New Nationalism
Whether peaceful or not, a country’s rise is based on being prepared and seizing opportunities. It is something China has missed in the past 20 years. Now, it faces the prospect that its rise will not be peaceful and could fail altogether if significant changes are not made. It’s not Xi Jinping’s fault; he alone […]
Meloni, the Church, and the EU: An Existential Issue
There are both trivial motives of political opportunism and deeper reasons concerning the Church’s “mission” for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to pay close attention to the warnings of CEI (Italian Bishops’ Conference) president, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, regarding the controversial bill of “differentiated autonomy.” The bill devolves significant central powers to the regions, strengthening existing centrifugal […]
Italy’s Wounded Premiership
Italy was neither born one, nor does it have a deep-rooted tradition of political unity. For example, Siena fought Florence for centuries, and within Siena itself, there are still centuries-old rivalries between the districts, the contrade. The nation was forged through the gradual patching and soothing of the rifts created by a political merger, which […]
Santa Sede-Cina: complessità e importanza
Le aperture Il convegno di ieri all’università Urbaniana di Roma sul centenario del Concilium Sinense di Shanghai del 1924 ha mostrato con chiarezza, una rara volta, l’estrema complessità del rapporto storico tra Santa Sede e Cina. I rappresentanti della Santa Sede e quelli venuti dalla Repubblica popolare cinese hanno infatti difficoltà e distanze su almeno […]
A Game of Reality, Shadows and Feelings: Xi and Putin in Beijing
A game of reality and shadows, both true and both tricks for the eye of the beholder, was playing out in Beijing as Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart. No pomp was spared. Putin walked along red carpets that stretched across many of the 80 acres of Tiananmen Square. The central […]