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Italy struggles with 'nightmare' election

result
By Alan Johnston
BBC News, Italy
26 February 2013

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The inconclusive election has left many Italians stunned

The words "Italy ungovernable" appear in large

black letters on the front of one of the country's
bigger newspapers.
The headline pretty much sums up the mood in the
aftermath of this inconclusive election.
To govern Italy you need a working majority in both
houses of parliament.
And it looks unlikely that any faction will be able to build
one in the Senate.

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It is very hard to see any stable government emerging.

"What we have seen materialise is what the international observers and markets
consider the worst of nightmares," said a columnist in the Repubblica newspaper.
"To create a government in these conditions is impossible."
The centre-left Democratic Party has fallen badly short

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of the commanding position that seemed well within its

grasp at the start of the campaign.
It was torpedoed by extraordinary performances from
two of its rivals.
Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was almost
written off as the campaigning began.

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This election will always
be remembered for the
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the new citizens' protest
network - the Five Star
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He had been forced from power not much more than a year earlier with Italy's finances
in ruins around him.
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He was mired in scandal and his party was in disarray. He seemed a spent force.

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But Mr Berlusconi presented himself as the anti-austerity candidate. He came talking
not only of tax cuts, but of actually handing back some tax already paid.
With countless families here on their knees financially, Mr Berlusconi's promises were
seductive.
And he is back now at the very centre of the Italian political mess.

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But this election will always be

remembered for the stunning
performance of the new citizens'
protest network - the Five Star
Movement.
Led by its guiding star, the comedianturned politician Beppe Grillo, it was
born and bred on the internet.
But it emerged from the web and took
its argument into town squares all over
Italy.

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The citizen activists oppose what they regard as the corrupted, self-serving traditional
parties - the entire failed political establishment.
The movement has connected with huge numbers of Italians who have developed a
contempt for the governing elite.
It won a quarter of the vote. It has become the largest single faction in parliament and
a major political force in this country.

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It is an astonishing result that will resonate across Europe.

But how will the Five Star Movement wield its newfound influence?
"There is a lot of hope in these young people - clean hands, clean faces - that Grillo is
bringing into parliament," said journalist and film-maker Annalisa Piras.
"They are all non-politicians full of ideas, full of energy, so they could bring about
change.
"But things could also go terribly wrong because they
are very inexperienced and they don't have a proper,
credible political programme."
So what might emerge from the debris of these
results?
There is a lot of talk of the prospect of fresh elections
soon in an attempt to arrive at a more conclusive
outcome.
Another possibility is the formation of a very broad and

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Beppe Grillo's
platform
Beppe Grillo's 5-Star
Movement is now the largest
faction in the lower house, and
he may have a kingmaker role
in the Senate. Many of his
policies are vague, but some
of his aims include:

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unlikely set of partners in a coalition government that

would re-work Italy's much-criticised election law.

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based on proportional
representation halving
number of MPs end of
public funding of parties

And once better legislation was in place, a fresh vote

would be called.
Is it possible that the poor showing of the centre-left
Democratic Party might lead to ructions within it?

His MPs will only take part

of their salary, and will
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terms

Its leader, Pier Luigi Bersani, ran a deeply uninspiring

campaign.

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He felt he had a healthy lead in the polls and he sat on

it, playing safe.
The young mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi, had
challenged for the party leadership just months before.

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Had he won he might well have run a very much more

dynamic election campaign.

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Might the Democratic Party now decide that it is time

to turn to its young leader in waiting?

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