The state of Italy…
Sir: Ambassador Terracciano’s letter (Letters, 1 November) about Nicholas Farrell’s article (‘The dying man of Europe’, 25 October) seems to me to be ill-researched and not thought through.
Nicholas Farrell is spot on. The Ambassador is not. In another forum the Ambassador, on being asked what Italian nationals contribute to Britain, claimed that: ‘There is no area in which they don’t excel. Not only finance and management but also culture and the scientific and medical world, from professorship at Oxford to the chorus director of the Royal Opera, from the Science Festival at Cambridge to the director of the Tate Gallery in Liverpool.’ Has he ever stopped to think why this talent is in England, and not in Italy? More careful perusal of Nicholas Farrell’s article might help him. Or perhaps he should himself try running any activity, even the least significant, in Italy today.
I could add hundreds of specific cases to bolster Farrell’s claims, of constant disorganisation, time wasting, obstruction, procrastination and worse, all of which make it impossible for anyone who wishes to achieve anything at all to work in Italy.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in