Italy
Roman Arens
Bologna is no longer the poster child for leftist government, said Roman Arens in Frankfurt, Germany’s Frankfurter Rundschau. Its mayor may still be a socialist—no other party stands a chance in the left-wing university town—but he’s tougher on crime and illegal immigration than any neofascist from Forza Italia. Sergio Cofferati, long nicknamed “the Chinaman” because of his narrow eyes, has recently acquired another moniker: the “red sheriff.” His law-and-order tactics ape the “zero tolerance” model of Rudy Giuliani’s New York. First, the squeegee guys were banned. Then Gypsy camps were dismantled. And now, Cofferati is sending in the cops to boot deadbeat youths out of the graffiti-covered buildings they’ve been squatting in. His measures are hugely popular with local citizens, even if the other main political parties in town, the Greens and the Communists, are not on board. This willingness to buck politics and enforce the law is rapidly making him into “an Italian icon”—and someone to keep an eye on.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Kristi Noem might not be long for TrumplandIN THE SPOTLIGHT The Homeland Security secretary has been one of the most visible and vocal architects of Trump’s anti-immigration efforts, even as her own star risks fading
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
