IAP 105: "If There's No Government in Italy… Who's Running the Place?" A Brief Examination of the August 2019 Italian Parliamentary Crisis

On August 20, 2019, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned from his office, bringing to an end the strange fourteen-month experiment that was Europe's first "Populist Government". So, on this week's Italian American Podcast, co-hosts John Viola and Pat O'Boyle attempt to tackle the timeless challenge of explaining Italian politics for the uninitiated. They'll discuss how Italy's "Second Republic" came to be, and introduce the cast of characters behind the current Parliamentary drama that has the world casting weary eyes towards the Italian motherland. You'll get to know Italy's main political parties and the men and women who make them run, a deep dive into the timeline of events that brought 'il Bel Paese' to this unique moment, and a concise assessment of the major issues Italy faces as her political class tries to negotiate exactly what comes next for Italia! It's a topic that baffles the brightest political scientist... so it surely has our team stumped. But, they'll give it the old Italian American try so that you might better understand exactly who's in charge in Italy today... it will be a jam-packed discussion you won't want to miss!