OK, giving 55% to the first is crazy in any case. It makes the entire lower chamber into a single first-past the post circunscription, a parody of democracy.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi

But anger and indignation are one thing, political reality is another.

In terms of ethics and of democracy, there is nothing wrong with a government which has no majority negotiating its legislation case by case in the Senate. We know that "the markets don't like it", but leave that aside for the moment.

What do 5 Stelle want? Logically they have a legislative agenda of reform. A lot of these reforms ought to be acceptable to the left.

This situation might allow 5 Stelle to propose their own legislation on a quid pro quo basis, in return for approving certain government legislation. But they would have their bargaining power reduced by the fact that the PD would be obliged to negotiate with the PDL as well.

The 5 Stelle agenda would clearly be better served by some form of alliance, however minimal (confidence and supply?) in return for a list of issues where they would have PD support. Better leverage.

And if their reform agenda is pertinent, they will be delivering results, and need not fear an electoral backlash.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II}

European Tribune - Comments - Il Gattopardo

the common goal of remaining on good terms with the American hegemon and defending the West^TM from Communism^TM

tends to place responsibility on the coalitionists more than on the hegemon. Yet, for decades, the US manipulated Italian political life, using also the Vatican and the Mafia, in order to block Communist access to power. If Italian political life today is fragile and exposed to mafioso-fascist cynics like Berlusconi, a great deal of the cause lies in that earlier period.

bersani has no real jobs program that rings true, no new solutions, iow he's bankrupt, notwithstanding he's a safe(r) harbour still for centrists freaked by beppe's radicalism.

irony abounds... he got the most votes, but his power is constrained by forces to the left and right.

the spread will be back with a vengeance, and the techno-gvt is a card difficult to play twice.

so the euro will wobble again and the mealymouth centre left will continue to crumble under bersani's ineffectualism.

cutting renzi out was a big booboo.

best news in all this is how voters are deserting the lega nord.

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

First of all I just want to thank those extraordinary young people that made it possible to find the stages, the lights, the security services, the people that put us up in their homes, that have helped us with the camper. This is the difference between this grassroots movement and "the others". "The others" are paid and are carried around in buses with flags. We are all volunteers. This is why so many thanks are needed. I'll never be able to show my appreciation enough for these young people: they have been incredible. Then we have had a full dress rehearsal for the result. People say that they are finished and they know that. We haven't been aware that this is a generational war. What's needed is to be able to vote at 16 years old and to be a Senate representative at age 18, as in normal countries. There are about twenty million Italians that have stayed afloat during the crisis, that haven't wanted to take the plunge, because it's just possible that basically things are OK as they are. I don't know what we can do: hand back the country to Berlusconi, this "Mastrolindo" {cleaning geni} that has contributed to getting this country into a rut, for 6 months, a year. It's truly a crime against the galaxy, against the whole galaxy. Meanwhile we are perfecting our skills. We'll go into parliament and we won't even think of messy deals or even teeny weeny messy deals. We'll be an extraordinary force and we'll do everything that we have said we'll do in the election campaign. Citizen's income, let's start by being alongside the most vulnerable: nobody must get left behind. Let's start to use different words. There'll be 150 of us inside and a few million outside. This has been exceptional. The first entity in absolute terms after just three and a bit years, without money, without ever having accepted the reimbursement of expenses. Now we'd be eligible to have 100 million. We're not taking the money. We're going on like that. Wait for us in Parliament. It'll be a great pleasure to be able to observe what you do. I've been wondering where they will position us physically on the parliamentary benches, I hope behind all of you.
They will create a PDminusL - PDL super-government. We are the obstacle. They can no longer succeed against us. Let them resign themselves to that. They'll be able to keep going for 7 or 8 months and they'll produce a disaster but we'll try and keep them under control. We'll start to do what we've always said - our stars: water in public hands, schools in public hands, public health service. If they follow us they follow us. If they don't, the battle will be very harsh for them, very harsh. They cannot understand . They cannot conceive of things. They need psychiatric analysis. They are failed people. They've been there for 25, or 30 years, and they have brought the country to the point of catastrophe. What makes me feel really ill are the millions of people that have been staying afloat in the crisis, that have just been marginally affected by the crisis, that have managed to just get by to the detriment of the other lot of millions of people that cannot go on any more. Italy's problem is this set of people. And as long as the salaries and the pensions of these people are not at risk it's fine to immobilise the country. But this won't last long. This situation won't last long at all."

Renzi would form a government with Cinque Stelle.

It must last at the least two and a half years. It must quit once its main program points have been met and only if there is an economic turn-around.

There must be no goodiness in choosing Commission presidents. Under no circumstances is the opposition to have a single presidency. Only ruthless bastards of proven leftist convictions should be allowed to run parliamentary commissions. Key legislation shall no longer be parked in commission limbos. Or, any bill that remains over a set limit of time in commission must automatically be voted on the floor as is.

A law must be passed that heavily taxes the transmission of private channels in public places. Broadcasting state TV in public will be free of charge. If Strausburg rules against Italy on that, well, to hell with them. We'll pay the fine. We've been paying Berlusconi's abuses for decades. For once it will be for a good cause.

Reportedly, Bersani will make a speech in parliament offering radical reforms as a priority to meet the agenda of the five-star movement. He is supposedly pessimistic about the long-term stability of a government and would pass the buck to Renzi if he fails.

    Who are the ones who own our debt? To whom are we paying the interest that is destroying the State's budget? Only 15% are families, 40% are foreigners (and of those more than half are in France and Germany), 19% are finance funds and insurance companies, 20% are Italian banks and 6% the Bank of Italy (). The public debt is regularly transformed into something for market speculation. When States sell new bonds to replace those that are coming to maturity, markets experience speculators who are contributing to price falls so as to bring about higher interest rates. It's the usurer's technique. Thus the debt becomes an opportunity to maximise earnings in the market at the expense of the nation. As a consequence social inequality increases. 11% of Italian families are living in poverty and 7.6% are at risk (), from 2008 to June 2012 Italian families have been subjected to a hole of 330 billion euro (**). If financial powernbrokers use speculation to increase their earnings and they force governments to pay the highest possible interest rates, the result is recession for the State that's in debt as well as their loss of sovereignty. ...

    The spiral of increasing debt and interest rates is making Italy disintegrate, together with other European States. There are alternatives. These are being put into effect by some countries in South America and by Iceland. The burden of the crisis has to be distributed across creditors (mostly banks and financial institutions) and citizens. There has to be a really fierce attack on speculation....We are running into a wall and they are telling us there's no alternative. The risk is that we are going to reach default in any case with the devaluation of the debt and the Nation impoverished and on its knees." (Beppe Grillo blog)

Grillo's understanding of Italy's debt woes is reason to be optimistic. First of all, he rejects the idea that the debt is the result of profligate spending ("we have been really virtuous"). Instead, he pins the blame on speculators who are presently extracting more rent from Italy's coffers than can be reasonably managed.

Second, the growing burden of the debt is increasing inequality, insecurity and poverty. as well as putting a damper on growth.

And, finally, he sees the only remedy to the ballooning $2 trillion debt as some form of default which transfers the bulk of the losses to the speculators who risked their money betting on Italian sovereign bonds. It is these "banks and financial institutions" that must take haircuts, so that Italy can reduce its debt-load without foisting more red ink on working people who-to this point-have shouldered 100% of the losses from the financial crisis.

the rest of the article is overly dismissive. why should beppe's wealth be a problem? he's not jesus...

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter