#italian-referendum

#italian-referendum

The acquisition of Villa Mussolini through an auction was an act of love and vision, bringing it back into public hands as a victory for the entire town.

Meloni stated, 'The Italians have decided. And we respect this decision,' emphasizing her commitment to continue working for the nation despite the referendum's outcome.

Very rare to see this level of tailoring nowadays, even on the wealthy. Even when not attending major sporting events, the king's collars always hug his neck, his lapels are always well-proportioned, the lines of his coat always flow into his trousers, and his four-in-hand always has just the right asymmetry.

The Senate approved the so-called labour modernization law on Friday with 42 votes in favour, 28 against and two abstentions, handing the libertarian president one of his most significant legislative wins. Milei's administration argues the changes will spur investment and create formal jobs, while labour unions contend they weaken worker protections.

The renaissance of Scott McTominay has been nothing short of wondrous. From being Jose Mourinho's hill to flog Paul Pogba to a PSR blue chip, the midfielder's Mediterranean glow-up was beyond anything we imagined: Ray-Bans and espresso in hand certainly suits him. We were all quick to question Manchester United: to pinpoint quite how toxic Carrington really is for McTominay to rise from white elephant to golden goose so effortlessly.

He succeeds Dick Schoof, whose government collapsed in the summer of 2025, leading to snap elections. The 38-year-old centrist's D66 has teamed up with the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal CDA party and the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) to form a coalition. However, they will fall nine seats short of a parliamentary majority with only 66 seats, meaning Jetten will depend on opposition support.

Worldwide, autocracies are on the rise, populists are gaining momentum, democratic societies are under pressure. Wars, inflation, fear of economic decline are causing great uncertainty. The "Germany-Monitor 2025" shows that the vast majority of Germans believe in democracy, and that support for democracy as a form of government is increasing, especially in the east of the country. This was announced by the Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany, Elisabeth Kaiser, in Berlin on Thursday this week:

Neither the move from the far right nor hard left are expected to garner enough votes to be a serious threat, but they show Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu still faces strong opposition from within the parliament that toppled his two predecessors. France has been mired in political crisis since Macron in 2024 called snap polls which he hoped would consolidate his majority but instead ended up in a deeply divided lower house.

The center-left Social Democrats (SPD), Germany's first political party, are struggling to muster their optimism in a year when five of Germany's 16 federal states are set to elect new parliaments. According to the latest opinion polls, the SPD could be voted out of power in two states that is has governed for decades. In two others, the SPD is polling in the single digits.

The Conservatives are calling for a proposed renovation of the Houses of Parliament to be paused and "refocused" over concerns about costs potentially running into the tens of billions. MPs have been presented with proposals to refurbish the ailing Palace of Westminster, including a plan that could cost almost 40bn and take 61 years to complete. The project team has warned delaying the restoration of the historic building, which costs 1.5m a week to maintain, would lead to "an expensive managed decline of the Palace".

The no-confidence motions aimed to protest the European Union's trade agreement with the MERCOSUR bloc. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has survived two no-confidence votes in parliament, clearing the way for the government to focus on yet another budget showdown in the coming days. The no-confidence motions, filed by the far-right National Rally (RN) and hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), aimed to protest the European Union's trade agreement with the South American bloc Mercado Comun del Sur (Southern Common Market, or MERCOSUR).

On Wednesday Brussels is due to outline the terms of the 90bn loan it has promised to Ukraine, amid internal tensions over whether Kyiv can use the money to buy US as well as EU weapons. On the same day, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is due to meet ministers from Denmark and Greenland, as Donald Trump continues to insist that the US will take ownership of the latter one way or another.

Italy has increased its demands around safeguards in the Mercosur trade deal, even as EU officials insist the long-delayed agreement is edging closer to completion, a development that has sharpened tensions within the Irish Government ahead of a major farmer-led protest planned for Saturday. Rome is now seeking to lower the trigger point for suspending Mercosur imports to 5pc, down from the 8pc threshold currently proposed, Italy's stance on the deal is said to be decisive ahead of a crucial EU vote expected on Friday.