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Expectations are high in advance of the forthcoming pan-European vote. And emotions are, too, as people across the continent prepare to vote on candidates of widely diverging abilities.
It’s the Eurovision Song Contest of course. And nowhere is it causing more upset than in Italy.
Soldi [Money], Italy’s entry song, is among the favourites to win this year’s festival of camp. It’s an irresistibly catchy tune by singer-songwriter Mahmood; it was number one in Italy for six weeks. Even now, it’s in the top 10 of the singles charts. The official Italian YouTube upload of the video has passed 80 million views, with remixes featuring well-known DJs; it’s been streamed more on Spotify than any other Italian debut.
But not everyone’s singing along. In fact, Mahmood has been the subject of much political controversy. In Italy, His selection has highlighted the political divisions between a perceived out-of-touch elite and the majority who voted to oust traditional parties at elections last year, ushering in a populist coalition of the far-Right League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement. In its inimitable way, Eurovision is foreshadowing real life and setting the stage for the other European electoral competition happening next week – between those who support the strengthening of the EU project and those who prioritise nationalism.
Though he was born in Italy to an Egyptian immigrant father and Italian mother, Mahmood’s identity as an Italian is being called into question. His entry has also been criticised for not being “Italian” enough. Indeed, it is influenced by traditional Middle Eastern music, using hand clapping and Arabic dialect, and draws on the cultures he grew up with, describing a father who “drinks champagne during Ramadan” and ultimately abandons the family.
Mahmood, according to one critic “is the symbol of total integration … He represents the younger generation that is outward looking”. But according to many other Italians, he should never have been picked in the first place. The choice of such a politically correct multi-cultural candidate was an obvious fix.
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