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
