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Article: The messy mezzogiorno; Southern Italy's ills.
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- August 15, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A political row brings new attention to Italy's neglected, but still troubled, south
THERE was a time when the problems of the Italian south, the mezzogiorno, seemed urgent not just for Italy but for all of Europe. Then new members with even poorer regions joined the European Union and the issue slipped off the agenda in Brussels and Rome. Silvio Berlusconi's government does not even have a minister for the mezzogiorno--the peninsular south, plus Sicily and Sardinia. Yet the region's problems have not gone away. It matters: the south accounts for a third of Italy's population, half its unemployment and an immeasurable share of organised crime. Now
the ...