This marks a new period of political instability for Italy. The two chambers of the new Parliament are scheduled to meet for the first time on March 23rd. Formal discussions will then begin in early April to form a government.
The absence of a majority forces Italian political leaders into long and complex calculations and negotiations. The results confirm from an arithmetic perspective that an alliance between the populists of the M5S and the far right of the League is the only possible way to achieve a parliamentary majority.
However, this possibility has so far been categorically rejected by the leaders of the two groups. Moreover, many M5S voters are now positioned on the left and would thus reject an alliance with the far right.
Another option would be for the center-right bloc led by Silvio Berlusconi to take the lead in the negotiations and try to rally members of other parties to reach the majority threshold.
If no majority emerges in the coming weeks, it will be up to the Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, to unravel the tangle of these results.
He could then grant an “exploratory mandate” to the person he believes is capable of securing a majority in Parliament.
This would be a President’s government or a “scope” government with a limited term and with the objective of handling current affairs and passing a new electoral law less convoluted than the current one, which aimed to prefigure a result for a coalition between Matteo Renzi’s PD and Silvio Berlusconi’s FI.
However, the voters decided otherwise, leaving the two partners marginalized and, in the case of the former, obliged to resign.
What can be concluded from this situation? Negatively, one might admit that “ungovernability” is now an endemic disease of the country; positively, that the stellone (the good star) might allow finding a solution to keep afloat.
It’s true neither offers great prospects, but sometimes it is necessary to be satisfied with little.
Moreover, how can we forget what Mussolini said, who, despite his efforts, stated: “Governing the Italians is not difficult, it is useless”!
