Italy failed the test

The Italian elections of 24-25 February 2013, gave Italians their first chance to vote after the ill-fated experiment of Mario Monti’s “technocratic government”. These elections were a test in many senses: they were a test for the parties involved to show signs of actual change and detachment from a political system that urgently needed to be cleaned up. They were a test of credibility for the country as a whole, to indicate to its European partners that it was able to achieve the political stability essential to Italy’s economic recovery. Finally, the elections were a test on the Eurozone and the feasibility of continuing austerity.