If ever there was a sign of the moral bankruptcy of Silvio Berlusconi's government, it is the sight of a McDonald's apron wrapped around the svelte frame of the Minister of Agriculture, Luca Zaia as he helped launch the new McItaly range of burgers. The President of the Council cavorting with young women, the allegations of shady connections, slippery financial arrangements, dubious political allegiances, and all-round dodgy dealings are as nothing when compared to this monstrous act of national betrayal.
Signor Zaia may make cooing noises – "we want to give an imprint of Italian flavours to our youngsters," he said as he whipped up one ofMcDonald's new line of McItaly burgers, a devilish concoction of artichoke spread, Asiago cheese and lettuce, all produced in Italyincluding the hamburger meat and the bread - but the silence of the lambs would be more appropriate. 'An imprint of Italian flavours'! Did you ever hear such humbug? It is quite clear that Signor Zaia wouldn't let such offensive products near his own mouth unless there was a photo opportunity attached to it.
An Italian once said to me, "the trouble for you foreigners is that Italians speak in dialect and eat in dialect." It is a problem. Even Italians from different parts of the country can have difficulties understanding each other. But it is also a delight. Italy has enjoyed a food culture of unparalleled richness and diversity.
For many Italians, their very sense of identity lies in the food, not just of the region in which they were born, but of the town, village, hamlet, even house. And they hold to the superiority of their local produce and dishes with passion. That is why eating your way round Italy is such a continual delight. Pleasure lies in diversity, not homogeneity. Who wants to eat the same stuff the whole world over? It's boring. It's the kind of global mind-numbing sameness and taste bud-mugging mediocrity that McDonald's embodies. No-one in their right mind can see McDonald's as either a force for good in the world or as representing the sunny uplands of gastronomy.
But there was something more than just political opportunism and commercial public relations in the place where this sad act of betrayal took place, the flagship branch of McDonald's near the Spanish Steps in Rome. It has a symbolic significance. It was the opening of this very branch, let us remind ourselves, that spurred Carlo Petrini and other far-sighted friends, to set up Slow Food to resist the forces of gastro-globalisation and homogenisation, and to celebrate diversity, difference, individuality and quality. It does not bode well for the healthy survival of Italy's extraordinarily diverse food culture that the government should be seen to be embracing its very antithesis with such unbridled enthusiasm.
But then, perhaps we should not be surprised. The Italian political classes do not have a good record for acting in the best interests of the people. As a Sicilian friend once observed, "there isn't the same contract between our politicians and the Italian people as exists in the UK". It could be argued that that doesn't exist now either, but that's another issue.
'McDonald's speaks Italian', declares the advertising slogan. It may well do, but it is the corporate Italian of Signor Berlusconi and his ghastly crew of cronies rather than the vast range of regional dialects that most Italians slip into to declare their personal allegiances. We can only hope that the Italians show stiffer resolve than other countries around the world (full statistics are here) which continue to embrace McDonald's inever more depressing ways.
Posted by Matthew Fort Thursday 28 January 2010
("We will ... try to 'convert the infidels' of the left". Read the response to this piece from Italian agriculture minister, Luca Zaia)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/jan/28/mcdonalds-launch-mcitaly-burger
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