Ferdinando Giugliano, Columnist

Italy Stumbles Into Its Next Absurd Crisis

A Five Star-Democrat coalition wouldn’t deliver the economic clarity that the country needs so desperately. 

Life’s a beach.

Photographer: NurPhoto/NurPhoto
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Italy is famous for its spells of political trouble, and the twists and turns of this summer’s government crisis are no exception.

Last week the country was staring at the prospect of a new national election, which looked set to crown Matteo Salvini, leader of the hard-right League, as prime minister. Now a coalition between the populist Five Star Movement (the League’s current ruling partner) and the center-left Democratic Party has emerged as a genuine possibility. That would avoid the need for an election as Five Star would simply swap one set of coalition allies for another.