How to explain the success of Italy’s de facto leader
Journalism
Critics of Francis embrace the other “pope”, Benedict XVI
Traditionalists take issue with Francis’s relatively liberal style, while finding merit in his predecessor’s conservatism
Was Leonardo the supreme genius, or just our kind of guy?
Contemporary reverence for da Vinci is more about our age than his oeuvre
Matteo Salvini’s improbable dream of a pan-European nationalist alliance
Nationalists tend not to agree with each other
Matteo Salvini tries to unite Europe’s nationalists
But will his new “family” hold together?
Malta is sharply criticised by the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption watchdog
A damning report sets out the government’s failure to root out criminality on the Mediterranean island