The New Freedom to the New Normal

No one is more a slave than he who considers himself free without being so. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The fairy tale cartoon-like “Teleport Art” of Thai artist Kantapon “Gongkan” Metheekul has recently gained momentum at home and abroad. Courtesy of the artist.

Unintended Consequences

Within only two days, Italy’s Constitutional Court rejected two requests to hold a referendum on the right-to-die (Tuesday) and on the legalisation of cannabis for personal use (Wednesday), in spite of the fact that its campaigners had collected over 1.8 million signatures. The gravity of the issue prompted Giuliano Amato, the newly elected Constitutional Court President, to hold an unusual press conference to explain the reasons for the veto decision, saying it was due to hypothetical allegations of possible violations of international obligations. Finally, the Court also rejected a request for a referendum on making magistrates personally responsible in terms of civil law for their miscarriages of justice, but approved five other referendum petitions on justice issues.

To quote Horace, “Populus me sibilat; at mihi plaudo ipse domi, simul ac nummos contemplor in arca”. Artwork © Paweł Kuczyński.