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Science 7 April 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5770, p. 37
DOI: 10.1126/science.312.5770.37a
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ScienceScope

A hot topic in Italy's election on 9 and 10 April is whether research has thrived under Silvio Berlusconi's conservative government. His research minister, Letizia Moratti, has installed a commission for evaluating research, centralized academic recruitment, and secured more private funding for national institutes, aligning them with national goals (Science, 1 April 2005, p. 35). Berlusconi insists the moves will raise competitiveness, but the left-wing opposition and many in the research community say the policies have weakened Italian science.

At a rally in Rome last week, the left-wing coalition led by Romano Prodi announced that, if elected, it would more than double Italy's rate of research spending from the current 1.1% to 3% of gross domestic product by 2010.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)