How Italy’s Mezzogiorno is benefiting from a flood of EU aid
It can’t spend it fast enough
Aldo Altomonte sensed that something was wrong. The man claiming to be a postman and asking to be let in said that he had Mr Altomonte’s renewed driving licence. But Mr Altomonte had applied for it only three days before. And in Italy—let alone in Reggio Calabria, the main city of Italy’s poorest region, Calabria—nothing bureaucratic ever happens in three days. It took a neighbour who knew the postman to convince the elderly Mr Altomonte that it was all true.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The cash flows south”
Europe August 24th 2024
- The mysterious middlemen helping Russia’s war machine
- The Kremlin is close to crushing Pokrovsk, a vital Ukrainian town
- Turkey’s asset-price boom is good for some but terrible for most
- How Italy’s Mezzogiorno is benefiting from a flood of EU aid
- After decades of decline, Poland’s population seems to be increasing
- The rebuilding of Berlin’s Pergamon Museum is 40 years behind schedule
- What Europe’s comeback politicians can teach American voters
From the August 24th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Europe
Can the good ship Europe weather the Trumpnado?
Tossed by political storms, the continent must dodge a new threat
Spain’s proposed house tax on foreigners will not fix its shortage
Pedro Sánchez will need the opposition’s help to increase supply
A French-sponsored Ukrainian army brigade has been badly botched
The scandal reveals serious weaknesses in Ukraine’s military command
A TV dramatisation of Mussolini’s life inflames Italy
With Giorgia Meloni in power, the fascist past is more relevant than ever
France’s new prime minister is trying to court the left
François Bayrou gambles with Emmanuel Macron’s economic legacy
How the AfD got its swagger back
Germany’s hard-right party is gaining support even as it radicalises