la politica italiana | Italian politics

With the departure of the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, a lot of interesting words and phrases are popping up in the press! As you may/may not know, the Italian government fell after bond markets pushed the yields high, indicating that the current government seemed inadequate to handle the economic crisis.  This weekend, Berlusconi resigned after 17 years in politics (arguably, seventeen years where he did nothing but work to squelch his legal problems and protect his friends and business interests…but I digress…).

For those of you who read the papers, these words/phrases might be helpful as you navigate the pages of Italy’s press, trying to discover what is going on.  Here are some useful words and expressions!  If you think of any that I left out, leave a comment!

la crisi | crisis

dimettersi | to quit

cadere | to fall

le dimissioni | resignation (notice how in Italian it is used in the plural!)

il dimissionario | resigning

l’appoggio | support, backing

succedere (a + qualcuno) | to succeed

il successore | successor

il voto di fiducia | confidence vote

la fiducia | confidence

il titolo | bond (econ.)

il titolo di stato | government bond

il senatore a vita | senator for life

presentare or dare le dimissioni | to hand in one’s resignation

le consultazioni | consultations

andare alle Colle | to go to the President’s Office/to go to the Palazzo del Quirinale (you’ll see this expression quite often when politicians go to meet with the current president, Napolitano)

il governo tecnico | technical government

l’approvazione | passage (of a law, bill, etc.)

il mandato | mandate

la maggioranza | majority

il voto | vote

la via d’uscita | exit strategy, way out

le trattative | talks, negotiations

il capo dello Stato | Head of State

candidarsi | to run for office, to stand (as a candidate)

andare alle urne | to go to the polls

raggiungere un’intesa | to reach an agreement/an accord

l’imposta patrimoniale | property tax

la riforma elettorale | election reform

il premier incaricato | appointed prime minister

l’equità | equity, fairness

l’indice di Borsa | stock market index


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