Down with the flu
February fever and Meloni's plans in Africa
Dear readers — just a quick note from me this week I’m afraid as I’m down with the flu and only just emerging from two days of quasi-delirious fever. I’ve been sleeping a lot and had my finger somewhat off the pulse of current affairs happenings. Still, in the spirit of consistency I wanted to send out this little post just to check in, to wish you all well and to share what I was working on before the fever hit.
On Monday Giorgia Meloni hosted a summit at Rome’s Palazzo Madama where she invited over 40 African government leaders to listen to her government’s proposals for investment in the continent. The long and short of it is this: Italy will soon be spending 5.5bn euro on infrastructure projects in Morocco, Mozambique, Ivory Coast and elsewhere. In exchange, Meloni “expects” a hand in tackling irregular migration (i.e. the departure of refugees by boat across the Mediterranean).
Sounds reasonable enough right? Well, even a cursory look at the details reveals the truth is anything but. From dodgy behind the scenes investments to bypassing of local democracy to thinly veiled fossil fuel extractivism, Meloni’s proposals are - frankly - neo-colonial at best. Lorenzo Tondo has published a decent overview here with the basic facts, and I’ve got a more bluntly worded Opinion piece coming next week on the implications for EU foreign policy more generally. So look out for that in the Guardian on Monday if you’re interested.
In the meantime I’m afraid that’s it. My arts and culture recommendations are currently limited to old Seinfeld episodes, and my recipe of the week can only be Anna Jones’s life-saving turmeric, black pepper, lemon and honey boiled in a big pot.
Wishing you all better health and I’ll be back next week with a more cheerful Sanremo-carnival update.
A presto and stay well,
J.
About Me
My name is Jamie Mackay (@JacMackay) and I’m an author, editor and translator based in Florence. I’ve been writing about Italy for a decade for international media including The Guardian, The Economist, Frieze, and Art Review. I launched ‘The Week in Italy’ to share a more direct and regular overview of the debates and dilemmas, innovations and crises that sometimes pass under the radar of our overcrowded news feeds.
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