Premier too weak to lead

The vote is a bitter defeat for Prime Minister Berlusconi, but there is no winner here either, comments the business daily Il Sole 24 Ore: "Referendums, with their brutal 'yes or no' dualism represent the easiest solution in complex situations. In this case the referendum served to fire a salvo against stagnating politics in the context of a no less stagnant economy, against an ossified and effectively prostrate government. ... Against a prime minister who is too weakened by his private and public lapses to perform his leading role effectively and who above all is no longer in synch with a country that was under the spell of his charisma for 17 years. ... The problem is that not even the others know what to do next. A void is opening up in Italian politics and it's not clear who can fill it or how."

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Energy, » Justice, » Italy
All available articles from » Stefano Folli

» To the complete press review of Tuesday, June 14, 2011