L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano L e t ' s b e h o n e s t : for Americans, who are histori- cally used to two p a r t i e s , t h e Republicans and the Democ- rats, the Italian political panorama must be mildly confusing. Let's look at the current situation, for exam- ple: while a moderate left- wing party can be identified, the PD or Partito Democrati- co, our right is formed by a coalition of three parties, two of which –Lega and Fratelli d'Italia – are largely consid- ered extremists. In between, and on either side of the parliamentary spectrum, a myriad of small groups emerged, developed, changed name and some - t i m e s e v e n o r i e n t a t i o n — which explains quite well the notorious political insta- bility of the country. More often than not, it isn't one party to lead the government, but a coalition formed by a larger group and many minor o n e s w h i c h , a t a n y g i v e n time, can decide to withdraw their support, move to the opposition and bring the gov- ernment down. This is exact- ly what happened a month ago, and it is the reason why we Italians are called to vote in September. Italy isn't the only country with an incredibly fragment- ed political panorama, but it i s p e r h a p s t h e o n e w h e r e such fragmentation causes more instability. So why does Italy have so many politi- cal parties? Historians link it directly to the most crucial events of 20th-century Italian history, the rise of Fascism and the Second World War. Mind, though: the history of politi- cal parties in the country dates to the late 19th century when - it was 1892 - the Ital- ian socialist party (Partito S o c i a l i s t a I t a l i a n o ) w a s f o u n d e d . U p t o t h e n , t h e "historical left" and "histori- cal right" weren't real par- ties, but rather groups of powerful men, each of them connected to a specific area of the country and an elec- torate, who shared similar political ideas. What characterized the Partito Socialista and, some years later, other political parties, was its connection with the masses, its quintes- sentially "popular" connota- tion. Indeed, this remains t h e k e y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f every political group in the world: representing the ideas a n d r i g h t s o f t h o s e w h o share their specific view of society and social justice. But let's not digress and go back to the late 19th and early 2 0 t h c e n t u r y , y e a r s o f i m m e n s e c h a n g e s a n d tumultuous events including, just after the end of the First W o r l d W a r , t h e r i s e t o p r o m i n e n c e o f a s w a r t h y s o c i a l i s t f r o m R o m a g n a , Benito Mussolini. Not yet Duce, Mussolini founded his own party, the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, in 1919 and, two years later, he cre- ated the Partito Nazionale Fascista. In three years, Mussolini's Fascist party, b o r n t h a n k s t o t h e r i g h t , guaranteed by Italian laws, to gather and create political parties democratically, took power through an act of pop- ular rebellion – the Marcia su Roma, in 1922 – and … made all other political par- ties illegal. Ok, I did make it very easy and things were more com- plicated than that, but it's just there, in the virtually trouble-free rise to power of one party, that we must seek the root of contemporary Italy's high political frag- m e n t a t i o n . H a v i n g l i v e d under a dictatorship that led t h e c o u n t r y t o w a r a n d destruction scarred Italian society forever; fears of a sin- gle man or a single party tak- ing up absolute power were t o o r o o t e d i n u s a n d o u r early post-war leaders not to ensure, in our very own Con- stitution, that every Italian could create a party, provid- ed they had sufficient people – and we don't even need too many – supporting them. Italy's political fragmenta- tion is, in other words, the result of its fascist past and of the country's fear to fall, once more, pray of a single man or a single ideology. A n d w h i l e , t o d a y , t w o main coalitions of right and left are recognized in Italy, each of them is formed by parties that are often very different in views and opin- ions: a guarantee that every Italian is truly represented, but also an obstacle – as cur- rent Italian events show – to political stability. I t happens to every- one: you've just got h o m e f r o m w o r k when you realize you r a n o u t o f c o f f e e . Needless to say, you must take a quick trip to the store, lest you are unable to get out of bed in the morning and be at work on time. In Italian, t h a t " q u i c k t r i p " i s called capatina (cah-pah- tee-nah). Capatina is a quick and unexpected trip somewhere, usually not far from home, usually to meet an essential necessity or to satisfy a sud- den desire. For instance, we can say Devo fare una cap- atina al bancomat, non ho più contanti! ("I must go to the ATM, I have no cash on me!"), but also Mi piacerebbe fare una capatina in quel pub e provare le loro birre artigianali ("I'd like to go to that bar and try their craft beers"). Capatina is a relatively recent word in our vocabu- lary, as it appeared for the first time in 1855. It is the d i m i n u t i v e f o r m o f t h e word capata, which is literal- ly the action of hitting some- one or something with your head. It's … a headbutt if you p a s s u s t h e t e r m . C a p a t a gives the idea of something sudden, quick and that we do w i t h o u t t h i n k i n g t o o much. Capatina it's just less physical and more pleasant. We like to fare una capati- na per negozi ("do a quick r o u n d o f w i n d o w s h o p - ping") when we visit a large city for work or demurely mention a capatina alla toi- lette ("a quick trip to the toi- let") when we are with friends b u t w e s t i l l w a n t t o k e e p some decency! - Se vai a Firenze, fai una capatina nella libreria che ti ho consigliato - If you go to Florence, do take a quick look at the book- store I suggested - Mentre ero a Roma per lavoro, ho fatto una capatina da alcuni vecchi amici - While I was in Rome for w o r k , I v i s i t e d s o m e o l d friends - Non abbiamo più uova. Farò una capatina all'alimen- tari qui sotto per comprarne - We ran out of eggs! I'll quickly go to the corner store for them LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the day: capatina, an impromptu visit… wherever you want! Italian curiosities: why do we have so many political parties? The Italian Parliament (Photo: Massimo Valicchia/Dreamstime) Photo 221269793 © Rosshelen | Dreamstime.com

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