an exciting time to be here

In my first Sociology of Postwar Italy class last night, the prof alerted us that it's an exciting time to be living here, as there is a real possibility for the dissolution of the current governing coalition. This could be great for Italy, because Prime Minister Berlusconi is one of the most crooked guys in world government, who essentially keeps changing the laws to protect himself from extensive criminal charges of corruption. He is the richest man in Italy who also basically owns the media (all 6 TV stations and a major newspaper) so his ousting would be a particularly historic occasion.

Since I've been here, I've noticed that there is a ton of graffiti everywhere. My political science prof explained this as reflective of the Italian attitude towards public property. Despite being one of the earliest republics, Italy has not been a democracy for much of its history and lacks the "for the people, by the people" sense that we have in America. My soc prof pointed out that a lot of the graffiti is political, and he showed us several symbols that are commonly drawn by extremist groups on the right (neo-fascists) and the left (communist terrorists.) I can't wait to learn enough of the language so that I can hear Italians' opinions on all of this.