From Comrade to King

In my piece for The Times of Malta (26.IX.2023), I write about Giorgio Napolitano, the former President of Italy:

"Criticism came from both left and right. Giulio Tremonti described the 2011 move as a way to save German and French banks overexposed in Greece and Spain with the help of Italian taxpayer money. On the left, Jurgen Habermas described it as a “gentle coup d’état”.

Nonetheless, Napolitano provided some stability when it was much needed. Indeed, he was elected to a then-unprecedented second term, leaving office in January 2015, aged 89.

Beyond the political controversies and shortcomings – of which there were many – Napolitano epitomised the gentleman-politician of another era."

The full piece may be read on The Times of Malta website.