[joe_mamba]

The future doesn't always care about what the majority wishes since not everything is up for debate, like for instance the creation and deployment of nuclear weapons, or whether your neighbor or allies suddenly decide to invade you.

[vrganj]

Sure. But what's that got to do with data centers?

[joe_mamba]

Was your comment on "will of the people" only about data centers or in general?

[vrganj]

So of course you cannot decide how others will act, but you _can_ decide how you will prepare - that is how the future is shaped.

In your examples, that'd be by increasing deterrence. Just like these taxes do.

[joe_mamba]

I don't think these are connected.

You only get to have an opinion on data centers because politicians in Italy aren't directly impacted and have no skin in the game(no threats, international pressure, lobbying and bribes aimed their way). But if they did, I assure you your opinion wouldn't be taken into consideration on this matter and would be ignored.

Forget nukes, but like if Italians would like a referendum similar to Brexit, on stopping all illegal boat migration coming at them every year, then that opinion wouldn't be given a thought. You DO get a vote on data centers because politicians don't care and it's an easy populist win for them as another commenter here said.

[vrganj]

Ironically, those two things you are talking about are actual populist talking points.

[joe_mamba]

If it's what majority of the population wants, does it doesn't if you call it populist? The will make it happen according to your own logic.

You know what else is populism? Robbing the youth of money and giving it to the retirees as an unsustainable pay as you go pension system they will never get to see. Just because you call something populist to discredit it as being bad, doesn't mean it's not gonna happen.