If you’re confused about the current crisis in Italian politics …
… it’s not surprising. The country has effectively had no government in the two and a half months since a general election and it is possible that a new set of elections will now have to be called.
The proposed new governing alliance is an unlikely combination of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), which has most of its support in the south, and the far-Right League, which has most of its support in the north. This alliance nominated as Prime Minister a virtually unknown law professor with no political experience but, in a matter of day, he has stepped down over the refusal of the President to accept a nomination for Finance Minister of a fierce critic of Italy’s membership of the Eurozone.
Italy is a founder member of the European Union and the Eurozone and this crisis impacts the whole of the EU and of course Britain. At a time when we need a strong Europe to counterbalance the chaos coming from the current occupant of the White House, the Italian crisis has worldwide implications.
You might find it helpful to see the current constitutional conflict in the context of a short guide to the Italian political system which I have written here.