Living vicariously

A mere 4 hours and twenty minutes of RAi live San Remo yesterday.  The bar was lifted a couple of millimetres by the opening tribute to Claudio Abbado which consisted of a good orchestra playing Mozart – and then asking for money to keep them employed.  From then it was downhill most of the way, a fake protest turning into a medley of acapella songs, and a lifetime achievement award for the Italian Acker Bilk – who we are told in all the papers today ‘triumphed’.   Luciana Litizzetti did the big monologue – there being no millions for a ‘huge’ Italian comic to deliver predictable forced jokes like Rob BRyson at the Queens diamond jubilee concert.   Luciana gave us a monologue about cosmetic surgery being normal and disability not – but which was toned down for the audience in the Ariston theatre over half of which were bulging silicon in various forms.  ANd then on with the dross – and when the vertiginous heels of the guests are more interesting than the guests themselves  you’ll know that San Remo is in full flow.

In other news – as if there could be!  – Renzi is having a few problems putting together his cabinet.  It could all go pear shaped very soon – unless he wants it to do so and can then go to the polls with a relatively clear consience.  We are promised a government by Saturday – so far we have had the unedifying spectacle of Grillo and Renzi insulting each other across a table in streaming like a couple of 5 yers olds in the playground..  ‘You’re stupid’ ‘No you’re stupid’ ‘No its you. You stupider than stupid’  ‘Stupid  stupid stupid naanannana’ etc – High level politics at its best.   The only person who seems happy is Berlo, because people want his opinion – which is that there’ll be elections within a year.  Its hardly takes a genius to see that, though.