Why have Italians lost faith in politics? How did we get to the current situation, where incompetence reigns supreme? Irene Tinagli, thanks to her direct experience and the information gathered in a rich database on all members of the Chamber of Deputies and governments from 1948 to the present, draws a portrait of an Italy where the quality of politics and politicians has been eroded, to the point of leaving a country addicted to ramshackle language and ignorance elevated to a sign of freshness, spontaneity, and closeness to "the people."