Tag: Italian Fascism

It is famously said of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini that at least while he was dragging his country into a war in which over half a million of his citizens died, he was also making sure the trains ran on time. The murdering fascist wasn’t all bad: he did sort out Italy’s railways. Popular beliefs to the contrary are all just part of the fascist myth that he built up around himself to validate his governance. It’s fake news, but the widely believed claim strikes to the core of a bigger issue: politicians hijacking transport as an easy way to connect with voters. Like Mussolini before him, this is something Donald Trump has recognised. Trump was fed up that other countries “look at our infrastructure as being sad”. As someone who has tried to use Amtrak, the US domestic rail service, I’ve got to say I agree with him. On this side of the pond, we have a similar problem: Boris Johnson. Aborted suggestions include the Garden Bridge Project, which managed to waste another £46m in public money without even being built, and the Thames Estuary Airport. Unfortunately, they have nothing to do with infrastructure.