Between a rock and a hard place — that seems to be Italy’s niche in a crowded world.
How it ended up there is a long story; but suffice to say, Italy has no one to blame but itself. Or, more accurately, its own political class.
Italy is staring into an abyss of huge public debt and constant high unemployment. Its young generation has no future. Many in Europe and beyond express surprise: Italy has so much to offer, after all. It boasts the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, it has taste and a rich history. The language of Dante — the native tongue of barely 60 million on a planet of well over 7 billion — is the fifth most studied in the world.
And yet today, Italy’s dark side is on full display. The lovely peninsula, once an influential bridge between Europe and Africa, and the enterprising land of renowned poets, scientists and explorers, is shuffling toward economic irrelevance.
One could call it the Latin-Americanization of the most Latin of countries — but playing with words can’t dispel the severity: Italy’s decline has been accompanied by unprecedented levels of inequality, making a bad situation worse.
Inequality is everywhere, and not just in the stats. When middle-class Argentinians move here and then quickly move back because there isn’t really much difference between Italy and parts of South America, you know something is wrong. Friends from Buenos Aires — fully integrated, fluent in Italian and holders of Italian passports — did just that.
It is now clear to everyone that the Bel Paese has been punching well below its weight in Europe for a long time.
From the outside, the tilting of the social scales is not obvious to anyone looking in on our sun-kissed country. How could people be unhappy there? The Italian media has not yet picked up on this either. Are the country’s journalists waiting for rioters to plunder high-street shops as proof of the irremediable chasm between the haves and the have-nots?
To make matters worse, we are burdened with an unwieldy public debt (well over €2 trillion) and our levels of private indebtedness have skyrocketed. Rent-to-own and credit cards have now become fixed features of Italian life. Taking on personal debt is no longer taboo: It indicates that you’re clever and have the initiative and the guts to make your way out of the quagmire.
This kind of blind confidence and self-aggrandizement fits with a swaggering type of Italian-ness anyway. To be understated and steadfast is on the way out. Life’s really too short for that, especially in painful times like these. Let’s at least enjoy ourselves a bit longer, right?
Italians have modeled their spending on wealthier nations, yet salaries are stagnating, and savings are being eaten into like never before. Many will have to depend on an inheritance to get by — the savings their parents put away during better times; others won’t even have that to rely on.
Record-low interest rates may encourage people to splash out more, and squirrel away less. But how will that help Italy in the long term? Nobody really knows.
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It is now clear to everyone that the Bel Paese has been punching well below its weight in Europe for a long time. No wonder: It didn’t want to pursue the reforms that would have kept it afloat and it is taking in more water every day.
The problem originates from Italy’s political culture, that terrible blot of an otherwise beautiful landscape: a weak executive paired with a highly fragmented legislative power, and innumerable veto-wielding committees and apparatuses that weigh the whole machinery down.
Not even former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who did enjoy an unheard-of parliamentary majority, could manage to pass certain laws that would have prevented his judicial ruin and the subsequent dismemberment of that very majority. (Every cloud has a silver lining.)
The system — set up over various decades of sophisticated politicking — is exceptionally poorly designed. But the truth is that reforming Italy’s constitutional order and political culture is a Herculean task. No leader has been brave enough to grab the bull by the horns.
Until now. This autumn, Italians will be called to cast their vote on a major constitutional reform, one with the potential to break through Italy’s legislative gridlock. In a referendum likely to be held in October or November, Italians will decide whether to abolish the Senate and provide the party with the most votes in future parliamentary elections with a strong, ruling majority.
If Italy gets its act together, it could find itself in a position to replace Britain as the third indispensable leg of the EU.
The vote is a unique opportunity for Italians. It’s a chance for the country to wriggle out of a narrow corner and face the challenges ahead with strength and political unity. If Italy gets its act together, it could find itself in a position to replace Britain as the third indispensable leg of the EU.
The trouble is that Italians are very much aware their country should do better, and they are getting increasingly restless. After decades of eternal inactivity — the infamous immobilismo imposed by social and political heavyweights who only want to feather their own nests — ordinary Italians are now profoundly fed up. They are ready to pounce on the first opportunity to voice their dissatisfaction.
This is a serious problem for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, the author and principal champion of the constitutional reform.
Italians in Naples protest against austerity cuts and lack of jobs in Italy | Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
His arch-rival, the insurgent 5Star Movement, has gained traction across wide swathes of the electorate, and they are campaigning against the reforms. The party lacks experience in government, but it is seen by nearly a third of the electorate as determined to put their country back on track.
If 5Star manages to steer a No vote to this badly needed reform, the results could be disastrous for the country. Especially now, when the establishment, under Renzi, appears to be trying to atone for its sins.
How deeply ironic it would be if the anti-establishment party convinced the country to vote down progress.
Alessio Colonelli has written for the Independent, Open Democracy, Left Foot Forward and LSE blog “Euro Crisis in the Press.”