The quest for stability in a volatile Middle East is the cover theme of the new issue of Pialuisa Bianco’s “Longitude”, on newsstands as of 7 January 2013, which features an editorial on the “Monti effect” on the Italian political system with elections just around the corner. The stalled Middle East peace talks are analysed by Luigi Mattiolo, Ambassador of Italy to Israel from 2008 to 2012, and the Foreign Ministry’s current Director General for Europe. Ambassador Vincenzo Schioppa offers a look at South Africa, while Ambassador Carlo lo Cascio, EU-Sub-Saharan Africa coordinator for the Foreign Ministry’s Directorate General for Global Affairs examines the situation in Somalia.
Other topics include an ageing Germany, “drone democracy”, the imminent Europe-USA free trade agreement and waste recycling.
