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Italy’s Woes Show Ungovernable Europe Is the New Standard

  • Political fragmentation becomes standard in Europe’s capitals
  • Italians could be headed to new vote as soon as this fall
A man walks past the Palazzo Chigi in Rome. 

A man walks past the Palazzo Chigi in Rome. 

Photographer: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images

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As the ruling coalition in Rome collapses and Italy heads for its fourth government in as many years, the nation that boasts the third largest economy on the continent is looking less like Europe’s outlier and more like the trendsetter.

Parliaments in Spain and Belgium are hung, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition hangs by a thread in Berlin, and the U.K.’s new prime minister, Boris Johnson, governs with the narrowest of majorities -- a single seat. All of them potentially face snap elections in coming months.