May 9, 2012

Beppe Grillo? Lost in Translation...

Beppe Grillo
Beppe Grillo emerged as the big winner from yesterday’s local elections in Italy. The list of articles below should help you get an idea about what is going on. If anyone is interested in my opinion, I’d say that’s okay, I’m not worried about that. On the contrary, I think this might turn out to be a good thing. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about here. There’s something a bit more curious—and less binding…

I’ve always thought that Italian politics is often “lost in translation,” I mean, it’s difficult enough, for us Italian speaking people, to understand it, I can imagine how abstruse it may be to non-Italian speaking readers and commentators, who don’t have access, so to speak, to “first-hand referrals.” There’s an old Italian saying that goes “Traduttore, traditore” (the translator is a traitor), but this is perhaps not the biggest problem, except in the case of today’s Il Sole 24 ORE article titled “A Clear Message to the Political Forces” (see below), in which the translator/traitor felt like adding sua sponte an “explanation” to the term “Grillini,” which the author of the original Italian version, Stefano Folli, had used in his article. The translator added (into brackets) that Grillini means “the followers of gay rights activist Franco Grillini.” Unfortunately though, Grillini is the nickname to the members of Movimento5 Stelle, leaded by Beppe Grillo, who has nothing to do with journalist and cofounder of the gay rights movement Arcigay Franco Grillini ... Poor Stefano Folli (a very good man), and poor Sole 24 ORE!


[Italian Politics Updates - 4]

  1. PDL and League Routed as Grillo Movement Advances in Administrative Elections | Corriere della Sera
  2. A Vacuum in the Moderate Voting Bloc | Il Sole 24 ORE
  3. A Clear Message to the Political Forces | Il Sole 24 ORE
  4. Italy's political outsiders have their day in the absence of Berlusconi | The Guardian
  5. Left-wing, grassroots candidates lead local Italian vote | Ansa
  6. Italy local election sees gains for left and grassroots | BBC
  7. Napolitano calls on parties to reflect after local elections | Ansa