Instead of investigating the funneling of Euroscepticism into Brexit and the reasons why Britain, once a land of ambitious colonizers, is descending into a dramatic spiral, The Economist decides to make fun of Italy.
Perhaps cucumber on pizza (must be a British thing) can paper over the Government's embarrassment for the ridiculous twists and turns of the last few days. But the resignation of a Prime Minister is an opportunity for introspection. Ridicule may be entertaining, but it's rarely productive.
According to the weekly report, Britaly is “a country of political instability, low growth and subordination to the markets.” The idea to compare the two countries came from a 2012 pamphlet Liz Truss and recently fired chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. “Britannia Unchained” used Italy as example of “a direction not to take” because of the country’s “clogged public services, low growth and low productivity.”
But why is the media taking cues from the rhetoric of politicians? The Telegraph seems to make the same mistake. Matthew Lynn writes, “Britain’s transformation into the new Italy is now almost complete.” I beg to differ. Transformation starts with culture. Decisions and numbers are outcomes.
Rather than offensive, I find the cover lazy. Pizza and spaghetti are old and tired stereotypes. Inigo Lambertini, Italy's Ambassador in Britain says, “Although spaghetti and pizza are the most sought out food in the world, as the second largest manufacturer in Europe, for the next cover we would suggest you to pick for a change from our aerospace, biotech, automotive or pharmaceutical sectors.”
I can recommend Italian illustrator Andrea Ucini for the next cover. He's done some really good ones, including for The Economist.