The editor-in-chief of Corriere della Sera at USI

The student association L’universo, in collaboration with USI European Journalism Observatory, Longanesi publishing house, and Corriere del Ticino, have organised a conference with Luciano Fontana, editor-in-chief of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The event will be held on Lugano campus, Wednesday, October 3 at 6pm in room A11, and it will be the perfect chance for discussion on Fontana’s latest book Un paese senza leader. Storie, protagonisti e retroscena di una classe politica in crisi. (A country without leaders. Stories, leading figures, and behind the scenes of a political class in crisis). 

After the welcome remarks by Antonio Paolillo, editor-in-chief of L’universo, the author will converse with Giancarlo Dillena, Professor at USI, columnist and former director of Corriere del Ticino, and with Amedeo Gasparini, USI student and former editor-in-chief of L’universo. The Credit Suisse Awards for Excellent Writing will be assigned before the conference, at 5.00pm in room A22, rewarding young students who write or devote their time to the student newspaper.

Luciano Fontana

After earning a degree in Philosophy of Language in Rome, Luciano Fontana (1959) worked for 11 years for the Italian newspaper l’Unità as a reporter in the field of Italian politics, law, and administration. His career in Milan for the newspaper Corriere della Sera began in 1997. Starting from the newspaper central office, he then became assistant director in 2003, and was nominated co-editor-in-chief with the return of Ferruccio de Bortoli in 2009. From May 2015 he has succeeded de Bortoli as editor-in-chief of the Milan daily newspaper. 

A country without leaders

How did the Italian post-election situation come about? Who brought Italy to the brink of a cliff? What are the origins of the fragmentation that made it hard for Mattarella to decide who to put in charge of creating the new government? Between crumbling parties, political groups in disarray, and leaders who rise and fall in a few months’ time, in the past 25 years the Second Italian Republic has experienced the downfall of all its traditional political fronts. From his privileged observatory, the editor-in-chief of Corriere della Sera, Luciano Fontana, grasps the tension generated by these dynamics, and with the help of Giannelli’s irreverent comic strips, gives an overview of the current Italian political situation. Many are the issues tackled by Fontana, from the mistakes of the left wing and the split of the PD party, to the temporary fall of Berlusconi, his rebirth and the new influences of the centre-right wing, from the breakthrough of the new M5S party representatives, to the nationalist shift of the party Lega Nord.  Luciano Fontana asks himself if it is possible to rebuild a governing class that is up to the task, also through an extensive analysis and portraits of politicians he has known “up close” (from Berlusconi to Renzi, from Salvini to Grill, to Di Maio, from D’Alema to Veltroni and Prodi).