Italy: Meloni becomes lame duck premier after referendum defeat Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, suffered a humiliating defeat in the referendum she had promoted on a constitutional reform held on 22-23 March. The referendum turned into a vote of no confidence in her government, with around 54 percent voting ‘No’ and 46 percent voting ‘Yes’. This has enormously weakened her standing in Italian politics.
Italy 1943-48: a revolution betrayed The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 found Italian imperialism utterly unprepared, either militarily or economically. Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime thus preferred to let its stronger German ally do the fighting, and refrained from entering the war.
On chameleons and reformists In the definition of chameleon in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, we find, among several characteristics, its “unusual ability to change the colour of the skin”. We also find synonyms for chameleon, such as “opportunist” and “weathercock” – “a person or thing that changes readily or often”, and “a person who often changes their beliefs or behaviour in order to please others or to succeed.”
