Matteo Renzi, Italy's new boy, shows how diplomacy is done

Italian prime minister is basically pro-European - and he won far more support than either Ukip or the FN

Italian PM, and Democratic Party leader, Matteo Renzi
(Image credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)

Adoring fans run alongside the rising political star in the hope of getting close enough to snap a selfie. Nervous bodyguards try to keep fawning female followers at arm’s length. Bursts of applause explode from the gathered crowd.

No, it's not Nigel Farage visiting an Essex pub. This is Italy's young prime minister, Matteo Renzi, in Rome yesterday – strutting confidently through the Eternal City, smiling and waving as fighter jets trailing green, white and red smoke roar overhead to celebrate Republic Day.

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Andrea Vogt is an Italy correspondent for TheWeek.co.uk, based in Bologna. Her books include Common Courage, about white supremacist extremism in the US, and a collection of European true crime stories published by Rizzoli.