The Economist (May 22, 2021) PDF
Preview The Economist (May 22, 2021)
Green boom or green bubble? The threat from Italy’s right Narendra Modi’s vanishing act Ventilation innovation: oxygen enemas MAY22ND–28TH2021 Race in America A SPECIAL REPORT 012 012 012 While others speculate on the future, our diverse minds are designing and building it. They draw expertise from our faculty and alumni, as well as the worlds of business, science, technology, engineering and medicine. This meeting of many perspectives allows us a broader, deeper and more cohesive view of the challenges on which society demands business take a lead. Come to Imperial College Business School in the heart of London, where the future of your business and career awaits. Join a meeting of minds. many-minds.imperial.ac.uk/ec-asia 012 Contents The Economist May 22nd 2021 5 Theworldthisweek Asia 7 Asummary of political 19 Japan’s Olympic gamble andbusiness news 20 Reopening Australia and New Zealand Leaders 21 Mysterious jars in Laos 9 Ayear after George Floyd 21 Political turmoil in Samoa Race in America 22 BanyanIndia’s vanishing 10 The economic recovery prime minister Disappearing workers 10 Italy’s nationalists China Forgotten, but not gone 23 The return of Confucius 11 The green boom Hot air 24 Xi who must not be named 12 The Horn of Africa Onthecover Brothersin blood 25 ChaguanPoor husbands, rich wives Amovement to end racial disparities emerged from the Letters murder of George Floyd. How 14 On tax, crime, can it succeed? Leader,page 9. Somaliland, energy, UnitedStates America is becoming less racist diplomacy, Warren 26 Biden and the safety net and yet more divided by Buffett,Germany 28 America unmasked racism, see our special report after page 38.Joe Biden’s plans 29 Woke at work Briefing to Europeanise America’s 29 The movebombing 16 Israel and Hamas safety net,page 26.Riots may Fourthtimeunlucky 30 Childparent divorce have helped Donald Trump: 31 LexingtonJoe’s modest graphic detail,page 73. Special report: Middle East medicine For more coverage of race in RaceinAmerica America, visit What it means to TheAmericas https://www.economist.com /race-in-america be an American 32 Riots shake Colombia After page 38 33 Identity crisis in paradise Green boom or green bubble? 34 Quechua pop music Sustainable investing is rife with greenwashing. Genuine transparency, not box-ticking, is the cure: leader, page 11,and analysis, page 57 MiddleEast&Africa The threat from Italy’s right 35 Eritrea on the march Matteo Salvini’s Northern 36 Verbal clickbait League could hook up with the 37 Cattle conflict in Nigeria far-right Brothers of Italy. Europe should worry: leader page 10, 37 Is Iran spoofing ships? and analysis, page 39 38 Morocco rattles Spain Narendra Modi’s vanishing act As a second wave devastates SchumpeterThe name is India, the prime minister is Bezos, Jeff Bezos. Could nowhere to be seen: Banyan, an mgmdeal be the page 22 outgoing boss’s parting shot? Page 56 Oxygen enemasLives may be saved by a novel approach to ventilation, page 65 →Activating the digital element of your subscription means that you can search our archive, read all of our daily journalism and listen to audio versions of our stories. Just visit economist.com/activate Contents continues overleaf 012 6 Contents TheEconomistMay22nd2021 Europe Finance&economics 39 Italy’s right-wing parties 57 Agreen bubble? 40 Germany and Namibia 59 The microchip shortage 41 Money-laundering in the 59 Bitcoin lurches Balkans 60 Buttonwood The fear 41 Poland’s new deal index 42 natoand phone-hacking 61 Replacing libor 43 Charlemagne Greece, 62 Free exchangeEconomic the model student convergence Britain Science&technology 45 The economy warms up 63 rnapesticides 46 Acovid-19 variant 64 Protecting citrus trees 47 BagehotForeign policy in 65 Squeezing toothpaste amulti-ethnic country 65 Novel medical ventilation 66 China and Mars International Books&arts 48 Parenting during the 67 Wittgenstein’s pandemic “Tractatus” 68 JohnsonWhy study languages? 69 Rudyard Kipling 70 Art and memory in South Korea Business 51 Streaming’s big deal Economic&financialindicators 52 Tycoons in Hong Kong 72 Statistics on 42 economies 53 Post-pandemic shopping Graphicdetail 53 Wages at McDonald’s 73 Aviolent protest that helped Republicans 54 Tier-two tech firms 56 SchumpeterAmazon Obituary beyond Bezos 74 Asfaw Yemiru, saviour of Ethiopia’s poor Volume 439Number 9246 Published since September 1843 Subscription service Please to take part in “a severe contest between For our full range of subscription offers, including The best way to contact our Customer Service intelligence, which presses forward, digital only or print and digital bundled, visit: team is via phone or live chat. You can contact us and an unworthy, timid ignorance Economist.com/offers on +65 65345166; please check our website for up obstructing our progress.” to date opening hours. PEFC certified If you are experiencing problems when trying This copy of The Economist Editorial offices in London and also: to subscribe, please visit our Help pages at: is printed on paper sourced Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, www.economist.com/help for troubleshooting from sustainably managed Dakar, Dallas, Dubai, Johannesburg, Madrid, advice. forests, recycled and Mexico City, Moscow, Mumbai, New Delhi, New PEFC/01-31-162 controlled sources certified York, Paris, San Francisco, São Paulo, Seoul, by PEFC Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Washington DC www.pefc.org ©2021TheEconomistNewspaperLimited.Allrightsreserved.Neitherthispublicationnoranypartofitmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying, recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorpermissionofTheEconomistNewspaperLimited.Publishedeveryweek,exceptforayear-enddoubleissue,byTheEconomistNewspaperLimited.TheEconomistisaregisteredtrademarkofThe EconomistNewspaperLimited.Publisher:TheEconomist.PrintedbyTimesPrinters(inSingapore).MCI(P)No.045/09/2020.PPS677/11/2012(022861) 012 The world this week Politics TheEconomistMay22nd2021 7 Haram, to battle separatists in states may limit abortion. The the southeast instead. Some case centres on a law in Mis Coronavirus briefs criticised the move, saying it sissippi that bans most abor To 6am GMT May 20th 2021 risks turning a political tions after 15 weeks of preg Weekly confirmed cases by area, m problem into an insurgency. nancy. It will be the first such 3 case that the court will rule on India Ethiopiadelayed a national with a 63 conservative major 2 election scheduled for June ity, and will be heard during its Western Europe 5th, citing logistical difficul next term, which starts in 1 ties. It is the second delay to a October. In Texas, meanwhile, Other poll that should have taken a new law banned abortion US 0 place last year. after six weeks of pregnancy. 2020 2021 The fighting in Israeland Gaza ebbed, as international pres The European Unionagreed to The United States Congress Vaccinationdoses % of adults with sure for a ceasefire grew. More open its borders to tourists passed a bill to tackle hate Total ’000 1st dose 2nd than 230 people have been from the rest of the world, so crimes aimed at Asian-Amer- Israel 10,537 97 91 killed, most of them Palestin long as they have completed a icans. It gained wide support Bhutan 482 95 0 ian. Israel said the toll in course of covid vaccination, or among both parties. UAE 11,594 89 56 cluded 150 militants. The come from places with a suit Mongolia 2,469 88 33 Malta 431 80 40 violence spilled into the West ably low infection rate. That Chinalanded a spacecraft on Maldives 452 74 36 Bank, where at least 20 Pales might be good news for British Mars, becoming only the sec Britain 57,358 71 39 tinians were killed in clashes travellers, though quite what ond country ever to set down a Bahrain 1,507 66 50 with Israeli forces. The Israeli the British government’s new rover successfully on the Chile 16,735 65 53 army also exchanged fire with policy is on holidaying abroad surface of the planet. The UnitedStates 275,535 64 47 militants in Lebanon. is anybody’s guess. Chinese space agency released Sources:JohnsHopkins University CSSE; photographs from the mission, OurWorldinData; United Nations Ebrahim Raisi and Ali Larijani, A cyberattack forced the and said it was going well. two leading conservative computer system for Ireland’s Indiarecorded 4,529 deaths candidates, filed their papers health service to be shut down. Cyclone Tauktae struck India, for May 19th, the most of any to run in next month’s presi The government rejected causing heavy rains, high country during the pandemic. dential election in Iran. All demands to pay a $20m winds and flooding along the Recorded cases fell, although 300 candidates will be vetted ransom to a criminal gang, west coastbefore making infections are thought to be by the theologians on the thought to be from eastern landfall in the state of Gujarat. surging in the hinterland. Guardian Council. Europe. Details of patients’ At least 19 people died on land; records were reportedly leaked another 26 died, and scores America’s Centres for Disease Spain deployed troops in its online. Micheal Martin, the were missing, when a barge Control said that people who enclave of Ceuta, on the prime minister, said it was a sank off the coast of Mumbai. are fully vaccinated no longer Moroccan coast, when 8,000 “heinous attack”. need to wear a maskin most migrants breached border Samoa’sSupreme Court ruled situations. Some health pro fences. Morocco did little to Chileans voted for candidates that an attempt to invalidate fessionals criticised the cdc stop the influx. It is upset with to a 155seat constitutional an election last month was for causing confusion. States Spain for accepting Brahim assembly, which will draft a unlawful. That could end the decide on mask mandates. Ghali for covid19 treatment. new constitution to replace the 22year run of Tuilaepa Sailele Maryland and Virginia imme Mr Ghali leads Polisario, which Pinochetera one currently in Malielegaoi as prime minister diately ended the require fights for the independence of place. Some 64% of those who and clear the way for Fiame ment to mask up; California Western Sahara, a territory were elected are independents, Naomi Mata’afa to become the and New Jersey are delaying claimed by Morocco. broadly from the left. Right Pacific island nation’s first their dates to go maskless. wing parties in Chile’s female head of government. Plans to vaccinate people coalition government failed to An easing of lockdown mea against covid19 were set back get many seats. Cases of covid19 continued to sures in Franceallowed bars in many African countriesby spread across Asia, from and restaurants to offer out the halting of vaccine exports Police in Brazilsearched the Nepal, which has been hit by side dining and nonessential from India, as it deals with its offices of the environment India’s surge, to Taiwan, which shops to open. New York City covid crisis. The Serum ministeras part of an investi has had few cases so far. New also returned to a sense of Institute of India, which was gation into woodsmuggling. infections are mounting in normality as many businesses expected to supply most of The supreme court ordered the Thailand, Malaysia and else were allowed to reopen. And Africa’s doses, has made no suspension of the head of the where in SouthEast Asia. the unlocking of pubs and shipments to the continent environmental enforcement restaurants for inside drink since March and is not expect agencyand several other offi In TaiwanTsai Ingwen, the ing and eating made for good ed to resume them before cials. Under the government of president, urged people to stop cheer in England. October. Jair Bolsonaro, deforestation panic buying and stay calm, in the Brazilian Amazon has after new restrictions came Nigeriasaid it would pull reached a 12year high. into force to curb an outbreak →For our latest coverage of the soldiers and armed helicopters of locally transmitted cases. virus please visit economist.com/ from the northeast of the America’s Supreme Court said Masks have to be worn every coronavirus or download the country, where they are fight it would hear an appeal that where and shops must keep Economist app. ing the jihadists of Boko may affect the degree to which customers’ contact details. 012 8 The world this week Business TheEconomistMay22nd2021 Inanastonishingturn,at&t giants,whoremaincentredon andhigheroilprices,which Britain’srailways,mean decidedtospinoffWarner- oilandgas.Aseparateresolu pushedupthecostofenergy. while,aretofacethebiggest Media,afilmandtelevision tionsubmittedbyFollowThis, AndrewBailey,thegovernorof setofreformssinceprivatisa companyitbattledtoacquire aDutchgreeninvestorgroup, theBankofEngland,saidhe tioninthemid1990s.The justthreeyearsago,combin wassupportedby30%of wascarefullywatchingthe governmentpublishedaplan ingthebusinesswith shareholders,passinga dataandifinflationpersis thatwouldbringrailinfra Discovery,abroadcasterof thresholdunderBritishcom tentlyroseabovethebank’s2% structure,timetablesand factualprogramming.The panylawwhichmeansShell targethewouldtakeaction, ticketpricesbackunderstate combinedcompany’sbrands mustnowconsultwiththem. “noquestionaboutthat”. control,butstillcontracttrain willincludehbo,cnnand operationstoprivatecompa numerousDiscoverychannels. Chinatolditsbanksandpay nies.Thehopeisthatthiswill Japan Togetherthepairspentmore mentcompaniesnottocon leadtoclearerlinesofcommu GDP, % change on previous quarter oncontentlastyearthantheir ducttransactionsinvolving nicationbetweenthegovern 6 rivalsandwillhavethebiggest cryptocurrenciesandwarned mentandtheprivatesector. shareofAmericancableview 3 investorsagainstspeculating ers.at&thasnowshedallits 0 inthem,becausetheyare Indonesia’stwobiggeststart mediaassets,leavingitto -3 disruptingthe“normal ups,GojekandTokopedia, focusbackontelecoms. -6 economicandfinancialorder”. saidtheywouldmerge,creat Thepriceofbitcoin,ethereum ingaplatformthatspans -9 andothercryptocurrencies ridehailing,digitalpayments 2019 20 21 ApossibleBondtrade plungedinresponse.China’s andecommerce.Thecom Source: Cabinet Office Amazonis reportedly in talks centralbankiswelladvanced binedcompany,GoTo,will to buy mgm, the studio behind Japan’seconomyshrankby indevelopingitsowndigital reportedlyseektofloaton the James Bond franchise, for 1.3% in the first quarter over currency. stockmarkets later this year, in $9bn. mgmis one of the few the previous three months. a dual listing which could see big Hollywood filmmakers The declaration of a second it valued at up to $40bn. not to have been swallowed up state of emergency, which Lightattheendofthetunnel by a media conglomerate. urged people to stay at home, Eurostarsecured a bailout Working 55 hours or more a was mostly to blame. In a sign from investors, mostly in loan week is “a serious health haz Also joining the rush among that a recovery may be under guarantees. The rescue pack ard” according to the World media companies to consoli way, exports in April grew by age was led by sncf, the Health Organisation, in a first date, tf1and m6, two French 38% year on year. That was the French state railway group, global analysis of the effects of broadcasters, announced their fastest pace in a decade, even if which is Eurostar’s majority working long hours. Working intention to merge. The pair it is a comparison with trade in shareholder. The British gov at least 55 hours is associated say that the deal will protect the depths of the pandemic. ernment refused to take part; it with higher risks of stroke and the independence of French sold its 40% stake in the com heart disease, compared with content against the likes of Britain’s annual inflationrate pany in 2015. Eurostar hopes to working 3540 hours. The Disney and Netflix. Regulators leapt to 1.5% in April from 0.7% increase the number of trains disease burden is significant in will be concerned by the 70% in March. The increase reflects it runs between London and men, people living in East and share of advertising on French a jump in consumer prices the continent as travel SouthEast Asia, and middle tvthat they would control. when shops reopened in April restrictions ease. aged or older workers. The International Energy Agency surprised many with its “roadmap” to net zero emissionsby 2050. To reach that goal, the iea’s report said that no new oil or gas projects should be approved, and that the power generated by solar and wind should increase fourfold by 2030. Underlining the challenge, for solar that would be the equivalent of installing the world’s largest solar park nearly every day. Almost 89% of shareholders in Shellbacked the manage ment’s plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The company has come under pressure from green activists who say this does not go far enough and from other in vestors who say Shell’s strategy lacks the focus of American 012 Leaders 9 Race in America Amovement to end racial disparities emerged from the murder of George Floyd. How can it succeed? When george floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin a year eas of concentrated poverty. A government less inclined to ago, the sense of injustice was tinged with despair. Why, spend could relax zoning rules, making it easier to build apart many Americans asked, is this still happening in our country? ments near good schools. None of these policies is racebased, Why, many foreigners asked, does the story of race in America but all of them would greatly reduce the disparity of outcomes. never seem to change? Except this time was different. Mr Floyd’s These broadbased policies are not just practical, but moral death prompted the biggest civilrights protests in American too. Racial injustice is particularly searing in America because of history. Mr Chauvin, unusually, was convicted of murder. And the horrors of slavery, the violence of Reconstruction and the in institutions in America and beyond looked at themselves in a stitutionalised racism of Jim Crow. AfricanAmericans have had different light. Something needed to change. But what exactly? legal rights to vote, to marry whom they want and to live where The Biden administration and the Democratic Party have they choose for just the span of a single lifetime. made reducing racial disparities an organising principle of gov Yet not all AfricanAmericans need help. Despite the disad ernment. That sounds straightforward, but it is not. Despite the vantages they face, the country’s large, thriving black middle gains in legal and political rights made by AfricanAmericans class is often overlooked in talk of race in America. Moreover, since the civilrights era, measures of relative poverty and black people who are not black also face prejudice and inherited dis white segregation have barely moved for half a century. Tackling advantages. How much better if government policy lessens Lat enduring injustices requires clear thinking about their causes. ino, Native American, Asian and white poverty, too. To deny aid Most racial disparities come about when three things collide: to people in the name of racial justice would be perverse. secular economic trends, the aftershocks of slavery and segrega What is true of poverty is also true of police reform. Here tion and presentday bigotry and racism. The first two are usual there have been notable advances in the past year, as cities and ly the biggest causes of bad outcomes for AfricanAmericans, states have trimmed “qualified immunity”, a broad defence but the third—racism today—gets most of the attention. available to police officers who kill civilians. Police killings of This is backwards. Covid19 has killed AfricanAmericans at unarmed young men are often presented as overwhelmingly a higher rates than whites or AsianAmericans. The causes are still racial issue, because police officers kill a disproportionate num unclear, but the blame is unlikely to lie with ber of AfricanAmericans. Even before Mr racist doctors, nurses and insurers. Instead, for Floyd’s murder, the killings of Michael Brown reasons that include past racism and present in Ferguson, Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Eric day poverty, AfricanAmericans are more likely Garner in New York and Breonna Taylor in Lou to suffer from preexisting conditions and to isville rightly brought attention to this fact. have to work outside the safety of their homes, Yet police officers kill Americans of all races and less likely to have health insurance. more often than they should. Separating the Racism remains a curse in America, though many police shootings that are justified from it is less widespread than 30 years ago (see Spe those that should never have happened ought cial report), let alone in the civilrights era. But, since it is lodged to be a national priority. This would be easier if policing was un in bigoted minds, rooting it out is largely beyond the power of derstood as a civilrights issue affecting all Americans. any government. Poverty and the structural legacy of racism in A raceneutral approach will not always work. To create more institutions are different. Take the Biden administration’s new diverse organisations, companies, all too often run by white child tax credit, which looks likely to reduce child poverty by people, need to pay more attention to race in hiring. Unless elite 40% (see United States section). Because AfricanAmericans are universities take positive steps, their intake will not be repre disproportionately poor, this raceneutral policy should halve sentative of the country. But where practical, a raceneutral ap the number of poor black children. proach to opening up opportunities is more likely to help Amer Given that the problem is racial disparities, why not target ica—and especially its AfricanAmerican citizens. help directly at AfricanAmericans instead? One reason is practi One year on from a terrible injustice, the United States is con cal. People are more likely to support measures that they them fronting not just its past but its future, too. In the next 50 years it selves might benefit from. The child tax credit enjoys broad will be the first big, rich country where no single racial group, backing. Were it designed to benefit only one group, support for ethnicity or religious denomination will be in the majority. The it would plummet. Any administration that targeted policies on more politicians exploit the tribal fears of some voters, the more AfricanAmericans alone—using, say, reparations and more af turbulent this transition will be. The Republican Party’s enthusi firmative action—would soon be out of power. asm for rewriting voting rules in states such as Arizona and By contrast, policies that help all poor Americans are popular Georgia shows how democracy could suffer. and effective. Since the Affordable Care Act in 2010, 39 states Yet America also has the chance to set an example to other have expanded the availability of Medicaid, the healthinsur countries. A smooth transition is more likely if politics is not set ance programme for lowincome Americans. As a result, the up as a fight for resources between groups that people are born share of uninsured AfricanAmericans has fallen by 40% over a into and cannot leave. Instead, the country can make common decade. A government that wanted to spend more could provide cause to shrink enduring racial disparities while helping all baby bonds for poor Americans and vouchers to move out of ar Americans leave injustices behind. That must be the aim. n 012 10 Leaders TheEconomistMay22nd2021 The economic recovery The curious case of the disappearing worker Whattodoaboutalabourcrunch As rich countriesloosen lockdowns, aneconomicpuzzleis To get labour markets working better, governments should emerging. Businesses are voicing everlouder concerns considerthreeP’s:payments,passportsandpatience.Takepay about labour shortages, even as millions of peopleremainoutof ments first. In America businesspeople, almost to a pinstripe, work. In America a surge of spending is creating job openings, areconvincedthatthe$300aweekboosttounemploymentin but few people seem willing to fill them. The numberofvacan surance (ui) explains the shortages. However, pundits do not cies, at over 8m, has never been so high. agreeonwhetherstimulushandoutsreallyleadpeopletoshirk. Worker shortages are a growing problem elsewhere,too.Brit The evidence is hazy elsewhere, too. It might seem natural ish publicans, who opened their doors to indoor drinkers on thatBritishpotwasherswouldprefertoearn80%oftheirsalary May 17th, are searching for pintpullers. In Australia vacancies on furlough than stand in a hot kitchen for 12 hours a day for are 40% above their prepandemic level. Europe hasbeenslower 100%ofit.However,Australiaditcheditsjobprotectionscheme to come out of its lockdown, but even there unfilled positions inMarch,andshortageshaveworsened. from Switzerland to Germany are higher than before. Giventhisuncertainty,thesolutionisnottoslashwelfarebut Some see news of worker shortages as welcome.Ifhumanla to redesign it so as to encourage work. Arizona is reallocating bour is still in demand, then perhaps predic someofthemoneyusedforui,insteadoffering tions of jobkilling robots were wrong. Compa $2,000paymentstofolkwhomoveintoafull Job openings ny managers are also having to work harder to United States, m timejob.Theevidenceonbacktoworkbonus 8 attract staff. McDonald’s is boosting wages (see esfrompastrecessionsisencouraging. Recessions 6 Business section); England’s pubs are ditching Next is passports, which relates to immigra 4 qualification requirements; other firms are 2 tion. Temporary border controls to stop the vi paying people just to show up for an interview. 0 rus make sense, but they should not last beyond Underlying pay growth is strong, at more than 2001 05 10 15 21 the pandemic. In New Zealand annual net mi 3% in America. A good thing, you might say. gration has fallen from 92,000 to 7,000. Austra After a year of lockdowns, who would begrudge workers a rise? lia is losing migrants. Britain is also reckoning with Brexitrelat That is to ignore the downsides of labourmarket snarlups. A ed immigration changes. That is why in many countries indus bidding war between employers could yet cause an inflationary tries, such as hospitality, that rely on foreigners face the most spiral. And shortages ricochet around the economy. A builder acute shortages. Politicians must be clear that closed borders that cannot find labourers will put up fewer new houses, in turn will come with a painful price tag—or change tack. hitting decorators. Businesses that are still recovering from the The last requirement is patience. Many people are avoiding crisis may face another financial blow. work because of fear of contracting covid19. These concerns High inflation and bankruptcies may never happen. But to should fade as more of them are vaccinated. Some industries are day’s worker shortages are also an enormous waste of talent. In seeing jobs wither, even as parts of the labour market, from de cluding those on furlough schemes, we estimate that 30m fewer livery drivers to remote yoga tutors, boom. Faced with change on people in the rich world are working than before the pandemic. such a scale, people may take longer to find new careers. A mis For so many people to be idle comes at a huge cost, not only in firing jobs market is in no one’sinterest. Time and the right poli lost wages but also in terms of their health and dignity. cies will clear the blockages. n Italy’s nationalists Forgotten, but not gone The worrying tremors coming from Italy In february we and many others breathed a sigh of relief after The government he leads can count on a large majority of seats Mario Draghi agreed to become prime minister of Italy. For had in parliament, and the European Commission is about to start not “super Mario” saved the euro, in 2012, with his promise that releasing a whopping €200bn ($245bn) or so in covid19 recov he, and the European Central Bank he then headed, would do ery funds, to be paid out over the next three to four years. That “whatever it takes” to stop the project unravelling? Those three sum is equivalent to 12% of Italy’s annual gdp, a tidy stimulus by words were enough to calm markets, bringing down interest anyone’s standards but Joe Biden’s. The commission has been rates on the debt of the zone’s weaker members. Over the nine broadly satisfied by the promises Mr Draghi has made about how years since then, those countries have saved tens of billions of he will spend the money, and the reforms to Italy’s sclerotic gov euros thanks to reduced borrowing costs. ernment that he will aim to undertake. So far, then, so good. With Mr Draghi at the helm, the yield on Italian debt is cur Yet Italian politics remain unpredictable. A recent uptick in rently only around 1.2 percentage points above that of Germany. the number of migrants arriving by boat, mostly to the Italian is 012
The list of books you might like
