What this post aims to do is illustrate why Romano has such
a poor personal relationship with Veneziano. Aside from the fact that they’re
brothers, the two simply don’t get along.

Of course, this doesn’t mean to say that Romano doesn’t care
about/ love Veneziano, because he does. What it does say and what I will
elaborate on is that Romano holds onto a lot of anger and resentment from his
childhood which still affects how he relates and interacts with Veneziano.

What is an inferiority complex?

To understand why Romano is so hostile toward Veneziano, we
need to situate how this hostility stems from feelings of inferiority.

An inferiority complex is a “condition that develops when a
person is unable to compensate for normal inferiority. Such individuals have a
poor opinion of themselves. They feel helpless and unable to cope with the
demands of life.”

In other words, these individuals are unable to come to
terms with the fact that there will be people in their life who are better than
them at certain tasks. They compare themselves to the person above them and let
this difference inform their self-worth.

As such, they have a low self-esteem and opinion of
themselves. The helplessness occurs from being unable to change this self-perceived
inferior position.

There are three sources in childhood that can lead to the
development of an inferiority complex. In the case of Romano, we only need to
focus on the last one – neglect.

Childhood neglect results in the child developing an
indifferent or hostile attitude of their parents. They can later develop
feelings of worthlessness and anger and view others with distrust.

That said, let’s tie this back to the strips.

The Origin of Romano’s Inferiority Complex: Childhood Neglect 

Right from the get-go, early strips in the series depict
Romano feeling inferior in comparison to Veneziano.

While he still does get part of Rome’s inheritance, he feels
undercut in that he doesn’t inherit Rome’s aptitude for trade and art, unlike
Veneziano, who does.

The helplessness and inability to cope with life’s demands
reveals itself as Romano admits that he “can never win against Veneziano”,
regardless of what he does.

This unhealthy drawing of comparisons between him and his
brother, therefore, leads Romano to develop a poor opinion of himself. He views
himself as “weak” and “useless.”

He can still show his love and affection for Veneziano, but
notice how he also feels compelled to undermine him with a demeaning insult.

*They didn’t see each other very often during their separation. This is a rare occasion.

That’s why I believe that Romano constantly refers to others
as bastard, shitstain, idiot, etc. It’s because he has very low self-worth and
unconsciously needs to degrade others.

What doesn’t help is that just like Rome, Spain initially
plays favouritism toward Veneziano due to his polite manners and dedicated work
ethic in performing household chores…something that Romano wasn’t capable of.

However, as I’ve pointed out in another post [x], Romano’s distrust
of Spain when they first begin living together is a symptom of Romano acting
out the frustration of his childhood neglect.

Rome didn’t pay as much attention to Romano as he did to
Veneziano. This childhood neglect is the source of Romano’s inferiority.

This would then explain why Romano views Spain with
distrust. He wasn’t used to being consistently cared for and didn’t “attach”
himself to Spain right away, not to mention that Spain had originally wanted to
trade Romano for Veneziano.

Nonetheless, Spain eventually realizes how harmful his
valorization of Veneziano is to Romano’s self-esteem.

One strip, in particular, depicts Spain apologizing to
Romano upon realizing that Romano has his own way of expressing affection,
crude as it may be.

Ex: Romano mistakes German soldiers as enemies and ‘sacrifices’
himself to allow Spain to get away.

When Romano’s reprimanded by Spain, who perceived his
behaviour to be rude and him acting out, he gets frustrated with Spain and
snaps at him for not understanding this.

The resolution of this strip involves Spain learning to
value Romano for who he is, instead of constantly
comparing him to his brother and valuing him for what he has to offer as a conquered territory.

Romano’s Inferiority Complex in Adulthood: 

The problem now is that Romano’s inferiority complex still
resides with him in the present. Unlike that one childhood strip, however,
Romano isn’t able to openly express his affection for Veneziano.

Their sudden unification left a ridge in their relationship
that has yet to be rectified.

Ex: Romano refused to rely on Veneziano during the Second
Industrial Revolution. This refusal was so strong that he moved to America to
sustain himself.

Despite this, Romano cares
about Veneziano, but he doesn’t express this at a face-to-face level.

He looks after Veneziano behind his back by confronting Germany…

…and yet, will insult and degrade Veneziano and his
accomplishments straight to his face.

It’s not so much that he compares himself to his brother
more than he hates being compared to him by others. Veneziano continues to be valorized,
meanwhile Romano still comes second.

Ex: Romano snaps at Prussia for referring to him as Italy’s
older brother.

One of the few people who puts Romano first is Spain. This
is likely why he’s the first person Romano calls when he immigrates to
America. Romano canonically finds it easier to talk to Spain than with
Veneziano.

It’s not like this hostility toward Veneziano has gone away
either. The division in their relationship is still very much present.

Ex: Romano refuses to cooperate with Veneziano, the consequences
of which are seen in their country’s total economic performance.

Ex: Romano expresses frustration over his brother’s infantilization
of him. He wants to work, but Veneziano tends to take over.

Romano’s actually an extremely dedicated worker if he’s motivated enough. The issue
is that either Veneziano doesn’t give him a chance, or he stubbornly
refuses to cooperate.

While some have argued that in more recent strips, Romano
and Veneziano appear to be getting along better,
this still doesn’t compensate for why Romano continues to refer to
Veneziano as “stupid/ idiot little brother.”

Until Romano stops referring to Veneziano like that, the
inferiority complex and subsequent compulsion to degrade his brother down a
notch have not truly gone away. 

Remember that Romano doesn’t express his affection using words. Even with Spain, the person whom he’s closest with, he still refers to him with insults. Nothing about the tone or the way the insults are used indicate fondness. If anything, Romano uses actions to show that he cares.

The persistence of feelings of worthlessness:

Much of Romano’s childhood inferiority affected who he is as
a person.

He’s an extremely sensitive and insecure character, having always
felt like he was never good enough.

Ex: He’s noted to be a crybaby.

Ex: He cries when his audition doesn’t make the cut for a
movie. Notice how he immediately cites other people caring about his brother
more than him as a reason for this.

Ex: He cries when Germany points out that Veneziano is
taller than him.

His character notes are the best and most explicit
indicators of his inferiority complex:

1)     
He’s said to only be aloof with Veneziano.

2)     
He’s said to detest Veneziano “a bit.”

All in all, it’s not that Romano hates or resents Veneziano.
He hates and resents being compared to him.