If there’s one thing about Italy worth remembering, it’s the warning to expect the unexpected.
Nowhere is this more pertinent than in Italian politics, where revolving-door governments are a fact of life, some lasting mere months.
The latest individual to experience this political reality was reform-minded prime minister Matteo Renzi, who resigned recently after losing an important vote on key reforms. These were measures he advocated to deal with Italy’s seemingly endless political and economic problems that were becoming a significant concern in Italy and for other members of the European Union.
Making matters worse are the unprecedented economic problems still confronting Greece and the shock effect of the British vote to leave the EU. That means Italy’s growing economic and financial problems are no longer solely a problem for the Italian populace but also for other EU members, many concerned that any faltering of the Italian economy could undermine other EU states.
This increasingly worrisome situation also has serious implications for other countries, including Canada, which recently finally concluded a trade agreement with the EU.
Some fear that if the Italians are incapable of doing something soon to reverse their faltering economy, this could undermine support for the EU, possibly resulting in other seemingly vulnerable EU countries adopting economic policies that undermine the EU’s solidarity, even its future.
This could conceivably endanger the commitment to the EU’s common currency (Britain is the only major EU nation still using its own currency).
It’s precisely because of such concerns that Renzi had attempted to persuade Italian voters to back his proposed changes as a key step in dealing with Italy’s growing economic problems, including its banking system.
However, as has happened since the restoration of Italy’s democratic system, attempting to make significant changes, even if considered warranted, is never easy in a highly politicized nation where governments are normally based on shaky and unpredictable coalitions.
In the immediate postwar period, coalitions were normally formed with each political group fully expecting its own specific interests to be accepted by the disparate parties sharing power, regardless of who became prime minister.
Even the Christian Democrats, who often dominated coalitions, had their own factions vying for their share of power, whether based on conservative economic policies and positions acceptable to the powerful and influential Catholic Church, or on other non-religious factors and considerations.
In some cases, candidates in elections representing the Christian Democrats had links with organized crime, especially in places such as Palermo in Sicily where the Mafia had historically entrenched itself, including among Catholics.
So powerful was the Sicilian Mafia that even Benito Mussolini could not totally control them. The American military provided the Sicilian Mafia with arms and support in order to defeat Mussolini’s remaining armed forces.
Notwithstanding the passage of time, the Mafia in Sicily and elsewhere still remains a force to be reckoned with whenever its power and interests are challenged.
However, as already mentioned, ever since the end of the Second World War, Italy has been subjected to unpredictable politics with various parties across the political spectrum, each determined to advance its own narrow interests regardless of the consequences for Italian society.
The result was the well-known revolving-door governments that have dominated Italy over the past seven decades.
In such a self-serving political environment, it wasn’t surprising that a controversial individual like Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s richest individual — who described himself as “the Jesus Christ of politics” — managed to become prime minister three times, despite his erratic and controversial behaviour and dubious business actions, including his much-publicized sexual involvement with a Moroccan underage female that resulted in charges against him.
Many Italians had hoped Renzi would be able to introduce a new kind of politics that would serve the best interests of all members of Italian society.
Unfortunately, that day has yet to arrive.
Harry Sterling, a former diplomat, is an Ottawa-based commentator.
