Special report | A new reform spirit

Italy needs to learn from other countries on structural changes

It cannot afford to retreat from them as it has before

ROME, ITALY - OCTOBER 25: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivers her speech during the debate ahead of the confidence vote on the new Italian government in the Chamber of Deputies at Montecitorio Palace, on October 25, 2022 in Rome, Italy. Italians voted in far-right politician Giorgia Meloni as Italy's first woman Prime Minister. The 2022 Italian general election on 25 September was called after the dissolution of parliament was announced by Italian President Sergio Mattarella on 21 July. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)
Image: Getty Images

Paul Ginsborg, a leading British historian of post-war Italy who died earlier this year, once wrote that, “If there is a single, recurrent, almost obsessive theme in the political history of post-war Italy, it is that of the need for reform and of the failure to achieve it.” Now, more than ever, the country needs huge reforms to return to a path of growth.

This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline “A new reform spirit”

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