Lettera a nostri amici

Interesting little comment by Donna Leon who, famously, has gone native in Venice. She comments on the relationship between the Italian people and their leaders using a line from a John Milton poem:

The hungry Sheep look up, and are not fed

which continues:

But swoln with wind, and the rank mist they draw,
Rot inwardly, and foul contagion spread.

'nuff said about Italy - let's not forget that nearly half the population did NOT vote for Berlusconi.