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La dolorosa vita

There is the volcanic eruption in Indonesia, violence and aggression has broken out anew in Syria and now, in Italy, a “palace coup” by a schoolteacher has forced beleaguered prime minister Enrico Letta to let go of his fractious coalition government after just nine and a half months in power. It was a bitter Valentine’s Day for Letta who was shown the door by his own party, the Democratic Party. Italy has been on a downward spiral with the economy contracting by nine per cent in seven years and unemployment reaching its highest in four decades. However, the public may have given Letta more time to sort out some of the pressing problems had not there been a coup of sorts led by challenger Matteo Renzi, the mayor of Florence and secretary of Letta’s party. Renzi’s call for a “way out of the quagmire with a radical programme and profound change” has won over the party and now, the 39-year-old is hoping to make history as the youngest prime minister of Italy. Self-professedly an admirer of US President Barack Obama and regarding former British prime minister Tony Blair as his role model, the ambitious Renzi is also a self-acclaimed risk taker. “If I had not taken risks at certain points in my life I would still be in my second term as mayor of Florence province,” he once said.

However, it remains to be seen if risk-taking will get Italy stability and an economic recovery. It has begun to resemble countries like Nepal with three governments in about two years. Since the ouster of Silvio Berusconi in 2011, first there was Mario Monti, who was practically imposed on Italy by the European Union., followed by Letta. It should be noted that Berlusconi, despite the charges of corruption and philandering against him, was one of the longest serving Italian prime ministers. And though he is out of the presidential palace, his ambitions have not ended. Further instability may be a signal to bring him back on Italy’s political centrestage once more.