These days we are witnessing a kind of nihilism with a pretty face. When political parties no longer explain what it is that they want to achieve by competing in the general elections, when all they do is parade some TV soap stars to attract the crowds, then we know: politics has changed. We are no longer in the 20th century. We are entering the “Italian syndrome”.

In Italy, La Cicciolina – the celebrity who was lead actress in a bunch of