Italy Vs. England

I have hundreds of photos of Eitan and Madeleine stuffing their little faces at McDonald's. Who can deny them?

You know it is getting dire when the Italians compare themselves favourably to us, as national paper Il Giornale did yesterday (Giornale owned by Silvio Berlusconi, so this his view to, presumably). The sad thing is, on many comparables the basket-case Italians fair well: in politics, Gordon Brown collapsed and the labour model in crisis while Italy has upheld the G8 and Silvio polls well; the British economy dire and the the City/ housing market gone bust while the Italian state has not had to bail out one single bank (hard to believe, really); Britain’s Savile Row a memory of its former self while “Made in Italy” the world’s leading brand in fashion; Industry – Britain has lost many of its world leading companies while Italy punches with Fiat; Crime - Britain the most drunk, yobbish and violent people in Europe while Italy nary a fuss if we exclude the mafia who at least seem polite. And where it hurts most: Football. Yes, as inventors of the beautiful game we must pin our hopes on .. Fabio Capello, an Italian, who was recruited to head the English team despite barely speaking English. Of course what Il Giornale fails to suggest is that the British economy, fuelled by London’s southeast and low taxes has been a miracle since Thatcher pulling the country from third-world status (1978 IMF loans) to today, the fourth wealthiest in the world. And while our politics messy and scandal prone, at least our PM not sticking his grubby fingers down some young lady's panties. Plus we have Wills. It’s hard not to be upset about the football though – we have the best league in the world with most of the world’s global stars yet our boys can’t bring us a cup. Shameful, really.