Political Commedia

The political abyss into which Italy is falling was created last week.  The Partito Comunista Italiano redux drove through their candidate to lead the Partito Democratico.  That this was done by the crudest of exclusionary and  brutally confrontational-towards-eligible-voters tactics is undeniable.  Now we face the results of their clenched fists.

The spread is 324 and rising (from under 300 only days ago) as markets react more quickly than Bersani's henchmen to the fact that there is an enormous part of the Italian electorate now looking to the Right for an administration after the general election.

Most would vote for a Monti government again but there is no institutional or constitutional mechanism to deliver such an administration.  Nothing would induce most of the electorate, Right, Left or Centre, to vote for the Partito Comunista currently posing as the Democratic Party.  The Centre and Right is also trying to cope with a Berlusconi redux, not least because he is giving off a faint air of being gaga.  So while it is politically the case that a clear call from the Right will attract a majority, Berlusconi is now unable to make that call.

Perhaps there is a constitutional solution to keeping Monti in power but it's hard to think what it might be.  The President of the Republic has used his democratic powers to their limits  enabling a Monti administration during the current legislature which ends in April 2013; as does Napolitano's presidency in May.  Italy has: an indecent electoral system; an embedded, elderly nomenklatura  of both Left and Right fighting for their lives and life-styles; a potential prime minister of the centre right denied leadership of his Party by communist apparatchiks (of all ages); and a highly competent administration about to be driven from office early by this destruction of democracy within Italian political parties spreading to the entire body politic.

 The Mayor of Florence is sooooo right: to the scrapyard with old men and their old politics.   Otherwise it's only reasonable that a comedian should lead the country.