For some weird reason, some people consider Italy as great power, i dont see it, especially after 2008 economic crisis and their submission to German policies in the EU.
In the other hand, same people (politicians, analysts and experts in the last few decades) who consider Italy as great power, reject the idea of Spain as great power, a nation double the size of Italy, with similar GDPPC economy. Others just say look at how many speak spanish across the globe, and how many catholics are there in the New World, and i cant say i disagree with them.
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If a game is around long enough, people will find the most efficient way to play it and start playing it like robots