Italy – Comment: Local elections – all eyes on Rome

On Sunday and Monday local elections were held in Italy. It was the first big occasion to measure the political temperature since the general elections in February. In my view the two most significant developments in Rome’s voting (and maybe a sign for things to come also on the national level) were:

Czerulf: Italy – Revealing the Wheel

Spinning the wheel – and the winner is?

President Napolitano is going to reveal tomorrow who will be the next Prime Minister of Italy and the terms and conditions of this assignment. Will it be Giuliano Amato, Enrico Letta, Matteo Renzi or Mister X?

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via The Economist: The old guard is back in charge

The Economist gives his view on a turbulent week in Italy that culminated in the re-election of Giorgio Napolitano to the Presidency of the Italian Republic.

Czerulf: Italy – Napolitano’s To-Do List

Napolitano’s To-Do List consists of few items only, but they are all marked as VERY URGENT

Yesterday, while writing on Italy – Napolitano pushed into extra time, I was chatting to a friend who lives outside Italy. Regarding the re-election of Napolitano as President of the Italian Republic he asked me a simple question: How is a 87-year-old man supposed to lead the country out of this crisis? In my view his to-do list consists of only few items, but they should all be marked as very urgent. Let’s have a look:

Czerulf: Italy – Napolitano pushed into extra time

Giorgio Napolitano needs to go into extra time

Italy has witnessed a dramatic week. The Italian parliament was called in to elect a new President of the Republic. In normal times this could have been a straight forward affair, since the post is of mainly representative nature. But these are not normal times. With the economy in free fall, the unemployment rate on a level not seen in two decades and the trust in the political class on an all-time low, the President is now regarded as the only institution able to hold the Italian Republic together, not a minor assignment by any means. The task has fallen again onto Giorgio Napolitano‘s (age 87) shoulders.