Those dreading chaos and confusion in the wake of Pakistan`s upcoming elections should take heart: Italy is vivid proof that going to the polls can be a messy exercise, prompting surprise, suspense and soul-searching even in the most `mature` Western democracies.
There is undoubtedly much to love and admire in Italy; wonderful people, exquisite food, uplifting music, magnificent churches and glorious scenery. If I had more time, I would learn Italian, spend my weekends exploring Italian cities and eat nothing but Italian food for the rest of my life. (Of course I would not be able then to fit into those chic Italian clothes but one can dream.) As I said, Italy is good news for the body and for the soul.
The same cannot be said for Italian politics, however. Elections on Feb 24-25 have left Italy looking a bit frayed at the edges, in political deadlock, provoking fears of prolonged uncertainty and infighting. A resurgence of the country`s economic problems appears on the cards.
Leaders of the eurozone`s battered economies, hoping to get the bloc back on its feet, are watching in alarm as Italian politicians fiddle collectively while the country`s economy burns.
Even while many wring their hands over Italy`s political mess, there is grudging admiration for a nation which can produce the likes of the colourful former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and the country`s new rising star, comedian-turnedpolitician Beppe Grillo.
True, the current technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti is a careful, cautious academic who appears more at ease in international fora than in the cut and thrust world of Italianpolitics. But Monti`s time at the helm of government was never expected to be long and he has alienated many of his countrymen and women with his focus on austerity.
Pier Luigi Bersani, whose centreleft Democratic Party won a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, is also a solid and careful mainstream politician. But he cannot form a government because his party did not win a majority in the Senate where he was trumped by extraordinary performances from two of his rivals: Berlusconi, who had been forced from power not muchmore than a year earlier with Italy`s finances in ruins around him, and Grillo whose Five-Star Movement managed a stunning performance in the polls by winning a quarter of the votes.
However, neither Berlusconi nor Grillo command much respect in Europe as illustrated by a German opposition politician`s remark that `a pair of clowns` had won the Italian elections. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano cancelled a dinner with the said German after learning of his remarks. The comment is unlikely to endear Germans to Italians who are already chafing under the politics of austerity favoured/imposed by Berlin.
Many Italians, however, are more worried about just how `ungovernable` their country has become than about relations with their neighbours. Weeks of political horse-trading lie ahead. But forming a new governing coalition will not be easy.
Without the Senate majority he needs to govern, Bersani will have to come to a deal with Berlusconi`s centre-right People of Freedom movement or Grillo`s Five-Star Movement.
There is (hopeful) speculation that the winners could agree on a grand coalition including Bersani, Berlusconi and Monti. Just such a combination governed Italy from November 2011 until now. But no one believes this will happen this time around.
Whatever combination they manage to come up with, all eyes in Italy and the rest of Europe are on Grillo and his agenda for change which he first revealed on the internet and then took to town squares all over Italy.
The Five-Star Movement campaigned successfully against an establishment which they say is composed of corrupt, selfserving traditional parties which have failed the nation. The protest movement has certainly connected with huge numbers of Italians who want a change from the country`s traditional governing elite. Grillo`s message is simple: austerity, the euro and corruption are jointly to blame for Italy`s continuing ills.
He favours a referendum on Italy`s membership of the single currency, a move that Bersani warns would be a `disaster.
Grillo`s first comment after the election was a tweet saying simply: `Honesty will become fashionable.` He proposes to slash lawmakers` salaries, impose a salary limit for public sector managers of 12 times the average salary of their workers, and a minimum income for jobless Italians. Other policy planks include breaking down state monopolies in transport, energy and communications, free internet access for everyone and the abolition of state funding for newspapers which he says limits their independence.
His programme also has a strong ecological slant, promising incentives for green energy production, a tax on the use of cars in city centres and an extensive network of urban cycle tracks.
Recently, Bersani has started to court Grillo but the latter is having none of it at least for the moment and has accused his rival of making `indecent` proposals. Bersani is a `dead man talking`, says Grillo.
Even if a government is formed, it is expected to be weak and indecisive and unlikely to last long. As such, fresh elections are expected later in the year. This is definitely not good news for other eurozone economies. European leaders have been desperate to see a stable government in Italy, and are horrified at the triumph of populism in the eurozone`s third biggest economy.
That is why, despite their misgivings of Grillo, many are hoping that he will eventually join a government and start working seriously to get Italy`s finances in order. That may or may not happen. Like Grillo, Italian politics are unpredictable.
The writer is Dawn`s correspondent in Brussels.
Shada Islam, "A colourful medley," Dawn. 2013-03-02.Keywords: