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.