If you visit Italy now, you can see signs of a new nationalism: Italian flags hanging out of flats, or in restaurants and hotels, symbolizing a certain political view. Yesterday, on July 13th, I watched the Italian-Bulgarian football match and the Italian spectators by chance. It was a great festival of joy – after every goal, the people cheered loudly and joyfully, laughing, singing and dancing. And after the victory of the Italian team, there was an incredible amount of noise in the little town I was in at that time – Portofino. It was like in Germany on New Year’s Eve.
I met Italians complaining about their rotten, corrupt politicians and, at the same time, hoping that Berlusconi “is a hard-working man who will bring us success.”
We’ll see. It’s always the easiest way to hope for a hero who will bring salvation – but it is also the most dangerous one!
July, 1994