The Government led by Enrico Letta has received a vote of confidence from Parliament (Assembly and Senate) and can now exercise its prerogatives and responsibilities.
After two months of political crisis, the government led by Enrico Letta seems to respond, at least partially, to the demand for the renewal of Italy’s political class.
No one can ignore the challenges that await the new government. It lays the foundation for an alliance that will have difficulty transcending its half-progressive, half-conservative nature, with an obscure political line and a center-left electorate in turmoil, baffled by the pact made with Berlusconi.
This government is, after all, the product of urgency and a somewhat nebulous election result. Without a decisive majority and with the Democratic Party (Pd) — the country’s leading party — in difficulty due to its disastrous handling of the presidential election.
Yet, this government somehow represents a turning point in the quagmire of Italian politics. In one stroke, almost all the leading figures who have directed and influenced the life of the country over the past twenty years have been swept away.
And the result is surprising for now: the center-left is losing its historical leaders.
For the first time since 1994, the center-right is part of a government team without Silvio Berlusconi. The outgoing Prime Minister, Mario Monti, has also been left by the wayside. We are undoubtedly witnessing the end of a cycle.
The average age of Letta’s team members is significantly lower compared to the outgoing cabinet. Many young people and many women. With the appointment, for the first time in Italy’s history, of an African-origin minister. This is the most striking illustration of the changes emerging in Italian society and its demographic structure. Nevertheless, these choices today mark a point of no return.
It will now be difficult to revert to the symbols of the old generation in the next elections or when forming a new government. Italy is making a clean slate, an operation that pushes back one of Italy’s typical vices: the quasi-feudal guardianship of dominant positions.
For Enrico Letta, however, this is only a first step. And to take it, he had to pay the price: he entrusted the powerful Ministry of the Interior to Angelino Alfano, the right-hand man of the Cavaliere. A ministry that is also crucial for the legal troubles of the Pdl leader.
The discontent of the center-left will eventually manifest; the confrontation of the past twenty years is too open to forget overnight the conflicts of interest, the tailor-made laws, and the economic policies that have increased inequalities (10% of the richest families now own nearly 45% of the country’s total wealth).
No doubt Enrico Letta knows that the main obstacle on his path will be the Cavaliere. This will be the real uncontrollable variable for the new occupant of Palazzo Chigi.
Enrico Letta will have to demonstrate that this mariage de la carpe et du lapin (an unlikely pairing) is beneficial for the country.
