Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is in the USA, where today he meets Barack Obama in the White House and above all participates in thelast "State dinner" of the outgoing presidentahead of the November 8 presidential election. An event of the utmost importance, if one considers that since the post-war period the White House has organized a state dinner, which in the USA observes a strict protocol and is reserved only for the most welcome guests, only for two presidents of the Republic and three presidents of the Italian Council. Renzi is the fourth premier invited after Giulio Andreotti (with Carter and Bush senior), Prodi (with Clinton) and Berlusconi (with Bush jr), while the two Heads of State have been Cossiga and Pertini.
For the premier, therefore, it is a very important international step, just a few weeks after the referendum, and precisely for this reason he wanted to give maximum visibility to the event, transforming it into a sort of visit to Made in Italy excellence: "We go there as Italy, and I would like this recognition to our country was recognized by all citizens”, said Renzi, who in Washington is accompanied by his wife Agnese and by prominent personalities such as Oscar-winning directors Roberto Benigni and Paolo Sorrentino; the mayor of Lampedusa, Giusi Nicolini; the director of Cern, Fabiola Gianotti; Paralympic fencing champion Bebe Vio; the director of the architecture and design section of the MoMA in New York, Paola Antonelli; the designer Giorgio Armani and the president of the National Anti-Corruption Authority Raffaele Cantone. Dinner is also Made in Italy, as the five-course meal is prepared under the supervision of the chef Mario Batali, a star of Manhattan cuisine.
Renzi stays in the States until tomorrow, Wednesday 19 October. Here is the official program of the two-day American event:
Tuesday October 18
9 am: welcoming ceremony at the White House and meeting with President Obama;
11 am: joint press conference;
13 pm: lunch at the State Department with Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry;
19 pm: State dinner at the White House.
Wednesday October 19
10 am: speech at Johns Hopkins University;
11 am: visit to the Arlington Monumental Cemetery.
