Germany's largest magazine breaks streak of unpleasant publications about Italians
The title says a lot: "The fatal German distortion of Italy”It took a while for Der Spiegel, the largest German weekly magazine, to finally publish a complimentary pro-Italy report.
The magazine breaks a sequence of pejorative and hateful publications about Italians.
“Maybe it’s a consequence of many films about the mafia. Maybe it's simply envy of the fact that the Italy has a better climate, better food, more sun, and more sea.. Something, however, must explain this concern by pointing to the fact that the Germans would be more prudent, more serious and more trustworthy. And in that respect, it shows the inconsistency about Italy.” The excerpt is part of the extensive publication, signed by the editor Thomas Fricke and published in Der Spiegel.
These few lines would be enough to disintegrate a mountain of prejudices, but Fricke launches another accusation: “All this German arrogance is not new today, but it is particularly tragic now. Why? Because this German ejaculatory system has so little to do with reality, much like sauerkraut has to do with the eating habits of Wanneeickel (a small town in the Dysentery), or how the praised German punctuality has to do with the speed of construction of our charming airport in the capital”.
But the veteran journalist becomes even more determined when he addresses the essential question: “The real drama of the euro lies in the erroneous cliché of lost Italy. This has nothing to do with reality and is about to disintegrate Europe,” writes Fricke.
“Perhaps to save Europe first of all, we would need new experts in Germany.” Because “we are not in the circus, but in a crisis that takes our breath away”. So, it's time to put an end to this drama and Eurobonds are the symbol of a common destiny. Destiny we share, however, having a common currency. Otherwise, within a few years, the European Union it won't be like that anymore. And France and Italy will have people like Trump and Johnson in power who don't want to play together the game that Germany has been building for its well-being for decades“, he says in another excerpt.
Words with clarity that impress. It seems that, with the “euro crisis” caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it can be said that the biggest German magazine is finally doing a report pro-Italy. Perhaps afraid of Germany losing its influence.
To remember
In 1977, the magazine featured a pistol on a plate of spaghetti on its cover. The title was “Italy holiday country”. The intention was to ironically show a country: “scary, corrupt and extortionate”.
In 2018, with the Italian title “Ciao bella!”, with Berlusconi representing a gondolier, and with the caption “How Italy destroys itself and drags Europe with it”, the magazine used racist arguments, comparing the maneuver and escape of Commander Schettino – a former sea captain who commanded the cruise ship Costa Concordia, which hit a rock and caused the death of 32 passengers – with the profile of an entire nation .
In reality the offensive article was ironic about stereotypes (even those that affect the German people) to talk about the economic crisis.
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