Last Week Tonight with John Oliver last night covered the political turmoil in Italy — and saw the host announce he was running to be the country’s Prime Minister.
Oliver spent his main segment discussing what was driving the rise of fascism teetering the European country on the edge of chaos.
Getting to the subject, Oliver cheekily summed up Italy saying it was the country “that gave us spaghetti, the Colosseum and, in a roundabout way, the guy who played Turtle [Entourage].”
He then talked about the papal concern over fake news as well as a host of odd and frankly worrying candidates such as Matteo Renzi, who resigned not long ago, Luigi Di Maio, far right “fascist” leaning Matteo Salvini, a Farage or Trump-like candidate, and the ever gobsmacking former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, famous for bunga bunga parties, tax fraud and a bizarre chumminess with Vladimir Putin.
This inspired Oliver, now an American citizen, to examine Italian law. What he discovered was that the government coalition can pick a non-politician to run or, as he described, “a random jackass that Italy has never heard of”.
A non-Italian. Like, for instance, Oliver.
He quipped: “Yes, Italy, my candidacy for prime minister may be a complete and total farce, but be honest: incredibly, I am far from your worst option.”
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver airs Sunday at 11 PM ET/PT on HBO