https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Italy's political class was up in arms on Monday after reports that five lawmakers had allegedly sought to claim a "Covid Bonus" designed to help struggling Italians during the coronavirus epidemic. https://www.thelocal.it/20200810/italian-mps-criticised-for-claiming-governments-covid-19-emergency-welfare Mon, 10 Aug 2020 19:59:55 +0200 italian-mps-criticised-for-claiming-governments-covid-19-emergency-welfare Italy's parliament is set to vote on Tuesday on cutting the number of representatives in the country's upper and lower houses from a whopping 945 to 600. https://www.thelocal.it/20191008/italy-to-vote-on-slashing-the-number-of-seats-in-its-parliament Tue, 08 Oct 2019 11:27:41 +0200 italy-to-vote-on-slashing-the-number-of-seats-in-its-parliament With Italy still in political deadlock following the general election earlier this month, the two parties battling it out to head a new government reached agreement Saturday on the respective positions of speaker for both the lower and upper houses of parliament. https://www.thelocal.it/20180324/battle-over-speakers-as-italian-parties-seek-parliamentary-deal Sat, 24 Mar 2018 11:27:10 +0100 battle-over-speakers-as-italian-parties-seek-parliamentary-deal Italy's deadlocked parliament reconvened on Friday, with a battle for the positions of speaker in each house laying the ground for a future fight over who will lead a new government. https://www.thelocal.it/20180323/italy-hung-parliament-elect-speakers Fri, 23 Mar 2018 10:28:09 +0100 italy-hung-parliament-elect-speakers Italy may not have a government yet, but it does have nearly 1,000 new legislators. https://www.thelocal.it/20180321/italy-new-parliament Wed, 21 Mar 2018 20:30:54 +0100 italy-new-parliament The man hailed a hero in Italy after ordering the captain of a stricken cruise ship to return aboard was on Thursday one of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement's parliamentary hopefuls. https://www.thelocal.it/20180104/italy-cruise-ship-hero-among-populist-party-hopefuls Thu, 04 Jan 2018 12:20:17 +0100 italy-cruise-ship-hero-among-populist-party-hopefuls Italy's President Sergio Mattarella dissolved parliament on Thursday as the country prepares for knife-edge general elections in March. https://www.thelocal.it/20171229/italian-parliament-dissolved-ahead-of-march-election Fri, 29 Dec 2017 09:55:52 +0100 italian-parliament-dissolved-ahead-of-march-election The Italian parliament will be dissolved on December 28th as the country prepares for general elections, according to news reports. https://www.thelocal.it/20171226/italys-parliament-to-be-dissolved-on-december-28th Tue, 26 Dec 2017 16:00:08 +0100 italys-parliament-to-be-dissolved-on-december-28th Politicians in Italy net an impressive €122 for each hour they spend debating bills in parliament, but that's still much less than they used to make. https://www.thelocal.it/20160322/italian-mps-earn-122-for-each-hour-they-spend-in-parliament Tue, 22 Mar 2016 12:30:06 +0100 italian-mps-earn-122-for-each-hour-they-spend-in-parliament The managers of the bar in Italy’s lower house of parliament have for years been left short-changed by politicians who neglected to pay their tabs. https://www.thelocal.it/20160302/italian-parliament-bar-closes-in-on-bill-shirking-mps Wed, 02 Mar 2016 13:13:31 +0100 italian-parliament-bar-closes-in-on-bill-shirking-mps Italy's Senate on Thursday begins examining a civil union bill for same-sex couples, a topic which has profoundly divided the country and could prove toxic for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government. https://www.thelocal.it/20160128/why-italy-has-no-choice-but-to-pass-gay-unions-bill Thu, 28 Jan 2016 09:23:50 +0100 why-italy-has-no-choice-but-to-pass-gay-unions-bill UPDATED: Italy's Senate voted on Tuesday to relinquish most of its power in a revolutionary move aimed at ending decades of political instability, to the delight of a triumphant Premier Matteo Renzi. https://www.thelocal.it/20151013/italy-senate-votes-to-relinquish-most-of-its-power Tue, 13 Oct 2015 20:00:20 +0200 italy-senate-votes-to-relinquish-most-of-its-power Proposals that would largely decriminalize marijuana in Italy currently have the support of 250 MPs – but does that mean Italy will be legalizing the drug any time soon? https://www.thelocal.it/20150728/is-italy-about-to-legalize-cannabis Tue, 28 Jul 2015 10:38:08 +0200 is-italy-about-to-legalize-cannabis Former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta announced on Sunday he will resign from parliament for a job heading up the international affairs school at the elite Sciences-Po university in Paris. https://www.thelocal.it/20150420/ex-italian-premier-letta-quits-parliament Mon, 20 Apr 2015 10:23:55 +0200 ex-italian-premier-letta-quits-parliament Would-be comeback kid Silvio Berlusconi challenged Italy's Matteo Renzi on Tuesday and lost, as the prime minister won a key vote on his reforms programme, deepening cracks within the already-weak centre right. https://www.thelocal.it/20150310/berlusconi-tantrum-fails-to-stop-reforms Tue, 10 Mar 2015 15:27:43 +0100 berlusconi-tantrum-fails-to-stop-reforms The Italian parliament will vote whether to recognize the State of Palestine on February 27th. https://www.thelocal.it/20150220/italy-to-vote-on-recognition-of-palestine-state Fri, 20 Feb 2015 17:35:00 +0100 italy-to-vote-on-recognition-of-palestine-state The European Parliament has called for two Italian marines accused of killing two fishermen in India to be allowed to return to Italy. https://www.thelocal.it/20150116/eu-wades-into-row-over-italian-marines-in-india Fri, 16 Jan 2015 11:26:00 +0100 eu-wades-into-row-over-italian-marines-in-india The Italian parliament adopted the government's 2015 budget late on Monday, after the European Union forced Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to redraft the text to rein in the country's deficit. https://www.thelocal.it/20141223/italian-parliament-adopts-budget-after-eu-battle Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:02:00 +0100 italian-parliament-adopts-budget-after-eu-battle Pope Francis is expected to take Europe to task over racial and religious intolerance during a visit to the European Parliament on Tuesday, as the crisis-hit continent battles growing populism and the spectre of radicalization. https://www.thelocal.it/20141124/pope-to-address-european-parliament-amid-criticism Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:23:00 +0100 pope-to-address-european-parliament-amid-criticism The €99,000 salary offered to long-serving barbers at Italian parliament is “excessive”, a Rome barber who boasts the president as a client told The Local on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.it/20141002/presidents-barbers-says-others-wages-exaggerated Thu, 02 Oct 2014 13:42:00 +0200 presidents-barbers-says-others-wages-exaggerated