Saturday, December 15, 2007

NY Times Italy's Arias Sparks Fierce Response in Italy

The ANNOTICO Report

The New York Times article yesterday , "In a Funk, Italy Sings an Aria of Disappointment" has provoked a fierce response in Italy.

Italian president Giorgio Napolitano moderately responded to the report by saying that "there are many problems, but you must all bet on Italy, on our traditions and our animal instincts."

Italian daily La Repubblica called the report "an Attack", while Corriere della Sera said that The New York Times had "put Italy on Trial."

In its frontpage headline story, newspaper La Stampa mockingly referred to "Poor Italy, you are depressed", while Rome-based daily Il Messaggero referred to the "The Italian malaise" with an answer from Napolitano: "No, it is a strong country."

Journalist Beppe Severgnini added that Italians too can and will be critical of the US and its disastrous war in Iraq, problems with guns, quality of presidential candidates.

I would NEVER suggest that a country NOT look accurately at it's shortcomings and mistakes in order to progress.

But when a US newspaper is giving an "overview" of a country, I expect it to be accurate and balanced. Too much to ask?

Italy: US News Report Criticising Italy Sparks Debate

AKI - Adnkronos International -Italy
December 14, 2007

Rome,(AKI) - A savage American critique about the state of Italy today has generated headlines across the country and provoked a fierce internal debate.

The report published in the New York Times said Italy was suffering from widespread malaise or 'malessere' that was affecting everything from investment to education and marriage. It referred to a study by Italian economist Luisa Corrado at Cambridge University who labelled Italians as the "least happy nation in Western Europe."

"Italy has charted its own way of belonging to Europe, struggling as few other countries do with fractured politics, uneven growth, organized crime and a tenuous sense of nationhood," said the report.

The story on the New York Times made the headlines of major newspapers in Italy on the final day of the official visit by Italian president Giorgio Napolitano to the United States and the same day that Napolitano visited the Times headquarters.

Napoli tano responded to the report by saying that "there are many problems, but you must all bet on Italy, on our traditions and our animal instincts."

Italian daily La Repubblica called the report "an attack", while Corriere della Sera said that The New York Times had "put Italy on trial."

In its frontpage headline story, newspaper La Stampa referred to "Poor Italy, you are depressed", while Rome-based daily Il Messaggero referred to the "The Italian malaise" with an answer from Napolitano: "No, it is a strong country."

Reactions to the Times story were mixed. Emma Marcegaglia, the vice-president of Confindustria, the employers association told La Repubblica that the report was a "selfish portrayal, but that we do merit a bit of it."

She said that Italy's export business had grown by 11.5 percent, but that Italians live and work in a country "where decisions take years, while in others it's a matter of months."

Actress Soph ia Loren told Corriere della Sera that she chooses "today's Italy", while Italian writer and journalist Beppe Severgnini said the report was "undeniable".

However he added that Italians too have been and will be critical of the US and its disastrous war in Iraq, problems with guns, quality of presidential candidates, and that no Italian newspaper ever said Italians couldn't criticise the US.

The report on the Times came out one day after a major truck driver's strike in Italy ended. With the strike, major highways were blocked, fuel supplies depleted and supermarket shelves were left empty for three days.

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=1.0.1669590346

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