Italy - Italian Republic

Given how much ground those Northern League separatists have been gaining lately, do you guys think a breakup of the Italian Republic is actually on the cards in the next 50 years or so? I saw a report where even a Berlusconi-esque figure's wife claimed that Italy was never truly a unified nation to begin with—which is a bit of a stretch, if you ask me—and suggested it hasn't quite matured enough to stay that way.👎

blueranger2 said:Given how much ground those Northern League separatists have been gaining lately, do you guys think a breakup of the Italian Republic is actually on the cards in the next 50 years or so? I saw a report where even a Berlusconi-esque figure's wife claimed that Italy was never truly a unified nation to begin with—which is a bit of a stretch, if you ask me—and suggested it hasn't quite matured enough to stay that way.👎

Let's hope so. Honestly, that looks more likely every single day. 👍

So, here we go again with those old naval showdowns between Venice and Genoa👍

blueranger2 said:Given how much ground those Northern League separatists have been gaining lately, do you guys think a breakup of the Italian Republic is actually on the cards in the next 50 years or so? I saw a report where even a Berlusconi-esque figure's wife claimed that Italy was never truly a unified nation to begin with—which is a bit of a stretch, if you ask me—and suggested it hasn't quite matured enough to stay that way.👎

I don't see Italy splitting up anytime in the next 50 years.

Here's why:

1.) For starters, there just isn't a critical mass of people actually backing separatism.

2.) Even the Northern League politicians throwing around threats about breaking away from the Po Valley aren't actual separatists; they're just pushing for devolution—basically moving power from the federal level down to the states, making them federalists instead.

3.) All that separatist talk from the Northern League is really just performative bullshit, which is pretty typical for the political culture over there.

To put some numbers behind this:

In the recent parliamentary elections, the Northern League pulled 27.1% of the vote in Veneto, compared to 29.3% back in 1996.

Over in Lombardy, the Northern League grabbed 21.6% of the vote, whereas they had 25.5% in '96.

They didn't even crack 20% in any other region, so the idea of Italy collapsing is nothing but a pipe dream—especially since these last elections were a total shake-up of the political landscape; the communists have basically vanished, and the number of parliamentary groups has plummeted from 32 down to just 5.

blueranger2 said:Given how much ground those Northern League separatists have been gaining lately, do you guys think a breakup of the Italian Republic is actually on the cards in the next 50 years or so? I saw a report where even a Berlusconi-esque figure's wife claimed that Italy was never truly a unified nation to begin with—which is a bit of a stretch, if you ask me—and suggested it hasn't quite matured enough to stay that way.👎

Let's hope so.

blueranger2 said:Given how much ground those Northern League separatists have been gaining lately, do you guys think a breakup of the Italian Republic is actually on the cards in the next 50 years or so? I saw a report where even a Berlusconi-esque figure's wife claimed that Italy was never truly a unified nation to begin with—which is a bit of a stretch, if you ask me—and suggested it hasn't quite matured enough to stay that way.👎

Honestly, let's hope it happens.👍 We aren't facing any bigger threat than the Italians, who still seem to have a massive bias toward the Adriatic coast.

Those separatist assholes up North just want to ditch the South. Why? Probably because life is actually decent in places like Chicago, Detroit, or NYC, where people actually have work ethic and at least pretend to follow the law. You head down south toward cities like Atlanta or New Orleans, and the local crime families basically run the show more than the cops do. I even read somewhere that these mobs post hit lists of "troublesome" officers right out in the open. It's like something straight out of a bad situation in Mexico. The folks up North are fed up with dealing with all that mess, which is likely why they want out. But honestly, it’s not happening... there's just no momentum behind it.

goldenpuma84 said:Those separatist assholes up North just want to ditch the South. Why? Probably because life is actually decent in places like Chicago, Detroit, or NYC, where people actually have work ethic and at least pretend to follow the law. You head down south toward cities like Atlanta or New Orleans, and the local crime families basically run the show more than the cops do. I even read somewhere that these mobs post hit lists of "troublesome" officers right out in the open. It's like something straight out of a bad situation in Mexico. The folks up North are fed up with dealing with all that mess, which is likely why they want out. But honestly, it’s not happening... there's just no momentum behind it.

So, how exactly are you calling people "separatist bastards" when your own description paints them as people who live well, have work ethic and a respect for the law compared to those Southern mobsters?

That should've been in quotes.

goldenpuma84 said:Those separatist assholes up North just want to ditch the South. Why? Probably because life is actually decent in places like Chicago, Detroit, or NYC, where people actually have work ethic and at least pretend to follow the law. You head down south toward cities like Atlanta or New Orleans, and the local crime families basically run the show more than the cops do. I even read somewhere that these mobs post hit lists of "troublesome" officers right out in the open. It's like something straight out of a bad situation in Mexico. The folks up North are fed up with dealing with all that mess, which is likely why they want out. But honestly, it’s not happening... there's just no momentum behind it.

Well, those family-run crime syndicates wield immense power in the USA as well, and they've managed to embed themselves quite deeply into the halls of government...

quietharbor63 said:So, how exactly are you calling people "separatist bastards" when your own description paints them as people who live well, have work ethic and a respect for the law compared to those Southern mobsters?

Look, if you actually bother to do the math, it’s obvious. It isn't just the criminals; it’s the politicians and big-shot business owners from the North who keep that mafia system afloat. Your whole theory falls apart. In fact, the North was built up over the last twenty years by those very same people from the South you claim are "lazy"... all while the Northerners were busy playing smart in their fancy offices and high-end jobs. You see the exact same thing happening in places like Germany, France, Spain, or Austria.
If the government actually wanted to wipe out the mafia, they would have done it 100% by now. But they don't. Italy doesn't want it gone. Instead, through state institutions and official channels, different mafia and business clans in Italy just wage war against each other.

blueranger2 said:Given how much ground those Northern League separatists have been gaining lately, do you guys think a breakup of the Italian Republic is actually on the cards in the next 50 years or so? I saw a report where even a Berlusconi-esque figure's wife claimed that Italy was never truly a unified nation to begin with—which is a bit of a stretch, if you ask me—and suggested it hasn't quite matured enough to stay that way.👎

Honestly? I wouldn’t mind seeing Italy break into a hundred little pieces if it happened.😂

Though... it’s probably a long shot. Like someone once said, there just isn't enough "critical mass" to make it happen.

blueranger2 said:Given how much ground those Northern League separatists have been gaining lately, do you guys think a breakup of the Italian Republic is actually on the cards in the next 50 years or so? I saw a report where even a Berlusconi-esque figure's wife claimed that Italy was never truly a unified nation to begin with—which is a bit of a stretch, if you ask me—and suggested it hasn't quite matured enough to stay that way.👎

I certainly hope not. To me, Italians are like a messy pile of cinematic clichés; if they actually fell apart, it wouldn't even be interesting.

Every other day there’s some new scandal involving Southerners running mafia operations up North (and back home, obviously). 😁
Yesterday, I sat through about 15 minutes of some Italian film playing on PBS. What can I say? They kill a donkey, a peasant destroys a Polish radio station used by the army, an officer screams helplessly, and then they march off like "heroes"...
Pure coma.

I honestly can't deal with these Italian fascists. We’re going to be dealing with them way more than we ever did with the Canadians, Mexicans, or Austrians—it's just a fact. 😢 They clearly view us as second-class citizens, and frankly, the hostility toward the Roma has already started. 😢

We’re just not on the same level as people in Rome. They don't even see us as human—just some primitive Slavs to them. Honestly, though, I get why they have beef with the Roma; there's been such a huge influx from Romania into Italy lately, and a lot of them are involved in crime... sometimes things even turn deadly.

We aren't primitive by nature; we've just been crushed by oppressors for centuries, which has left us stuck with this inferiority complex.

Hmm, a comeback for Serinis...
It might be possible. Maybe the North wants to distance itself from the South, but I don't think the North is exactly rock solid either.

Why would I celebrate my own country falling apart? I wouldn't cheer for my neighbors' collapse either, or anyone else's for that matter. You know how it goes: if you dig a pit for someone else, you're the one who ends up falling in.

Can you even believe that back in the 70s, the Ministry of Colonies was STILL actually running things over in the Italian Republic?

goldenpuma84 said:Those separatist assholes up North just want to ditch the South. Why? Probably because life is actually decent in places like Chicago, Detroit, or NYC, where people actually have work ethic and at least pretend to follow the law. You head down south toward cities like Atlanta or New Orleans, and the local crime families basically run the show more than the cops do. I even read somewhere that these mobs post hit lists of "troublesome" officers right out in the open. It's like something straight out of a bad situation in Mexico. The folks up North are fed up with dealing with all that mess, which is likely why they want out. But honestly, it’s not happening... there's just no momentum behind it.

To the supporters of the Northern League, Washington, D.C., with its massive sea of bureaucrats, is seen as nothing more than a parasitic center draining the wealth of the prosperous North.

The hypothetical future Po Valley would basically stretch from the northern territories all the way down to Florence...

And when you look at the economic and social metrics, the gap between the Italian North and the South is pretty staggering. You’ve got some of the wealthiest regions in Europe sitting up North (think Lombardy, South Tyrol, Veneto, and so on), while the South is performing at levels more comparable to Eastern European nations. For instance, Lombardy is crushing the EU average—sitting at around 160%—whereas Calabria and Sicily are dragging behind at only about 70%...

Then there's the whole social fabric issue—while the northern regions have centuries of tradition built on trade, entrepreneurship, and self-governance, the southern regions have spent centuries dealing with feudal structures, organized crime, and systemic corruption...

Someone once made a cynical observation that "Garibaldi and Cavour managed to unite Europe and Africa within Italy..."

🤷