Roman Dysfunction(s)

In Rome, dysfunctional governing comes in not just one, but two, distinct forms.

Two weeks after the indecisive election for another Italian government (Luigi Bersani's left coalition now holds a slim majority of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies, but only  about 40% of the seats in the equally important Senate), there is no clear way out of the political impasse. Mr. Bersani is attempting to form a coalition government, proposing, on March 6, an eight-point program that would remove Italy from the European clutches of a "cage of austerity". He has solicited the support of the Five Star Movement (M5S). But forming a coalition seems next to impossible this time. Beppe Grillo, the "spokesman" for the Movement (which holds the balance of power in the Senate) is having none of it, rejecting any and all of Mr. Bersani's overtures, as well as talk of a new, non-party technocratic government much like the outgoing one. Mr. Grillo himself  wants a referendum on whether Italy should default on its massive outstanding public debt, and remain part of the euro zone. And neither of these two parties wants to align with the right-leaning coalition led by former Prime Minister Mr. Berlusconi (who on March 7 was yet again sentenced to a jail term), even though Berlusconi's PdL coalition won nearly as many Senate seats as did Mr. Bersani's PD party. Parliament is set to reconvene on March 15, but very likely with no Prime Minister. One can only think that sooner rather than later financial markets will again say "basta", and Italian/German bond-yield spreads will widen to another crisis point. And if, as the way out of the deadlock, it is decided to ask Italians to vote again, would another election make any difference?

Meanwhile, in the walled-off-state-within-Rome known as the Vatican, there's also an effort underway to pick a new leader - Cardinals will begin their Conclave deliberations on Tuesday, during which they will seek to replace Benedict XVI. The Pope announced last month he was retiring, ostensibly because he was too old and frail to keep going (his words were that he no longer had the "strength of mind and body"). But many now think it was because he was unable to keep order. Scandal and turmoil are roiling the Roman Curia (the central administration of the Catholic Church), especially since the leaking of secret documents last year (the so-called "Vatileaks' affair) by the Pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele. Pope Benedict's police arrested Mr. Gabriele (who apparently was motivated by disgust with Vatican plotting, in-fighting, and scandal) ; but a few months later, Benedict changed his mind, pardoned the butler, and instead appointed three cardinals to investigate. Their report - all 300 pages - was submitted in December. Word is the contents were of such an explosive nature - replete with material relating to the blackmailing of gay priests, and to continuing, gross "irregularities" at the Vatican Bank (its official name is the Institute for Works of Religion; one of its unofficial functions is reportedly the laundering of Mafia money) - that Benedict decided right then to quit. Pity the new cardinal who steps in as the new Pope.    

Effective leadership, sorely needed in Rome, though elsewhere too, seems a rarity. Without it, the sweeping structural reforms required for the Italian economy, and the Catholic church, won't happen.