Will Italy Cross the Illiberal Rubicon?
Whatever the outcome of Italy's election, it will have far-reaching implications not just for Italy and the EU, but for the cause of democracy worldwide. Whether or not they realize it, Italy’s voters are about to choose not just among political parties, but also between political regimes.
PARIS – In 1841, the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi completed his celebrated opera Nabucco. “Va, pensiero,” his famous aria describing the fate of the Hebrews in the desert, would go on to become a rallying cry for Italian patriots fighting for liberation from the Austrian Empire.