I see that Italy is asking the EU to grant its supercar manufacturers, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati an exception to its proposal to require all cars sold after 2035 to produce ‘zero emissions’. All part of the EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ emissions reduction wheeze, apparently. This demonstrates breath-taking naivete on the part of the Italian government. Just imagine the hysterics of the greenies if they succeeded. After all, if you can’t make life miserable for the kind of people who buy Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Maseratis, what’s the point of being a greenie?

The Italian government would be better off opposing the silly ‘Fit for 55’ scheme outright. They’d get nowhere, of course – getting between an greenie and a scheme for destroying other people’s wealth is akin to standing between a bear and her cubs. But at least they’d lose with some dignity.