GRIDLOCK ITALIAN STYLE

Suppose one day you're at this important meeting. You shuffle casually through the meeting brochure awaiting the main speaker.

And there it is, right on the second page in the bold print of his bio: the main speaker reveals he's had 33 jobs in 38 years. Lots of diversity, not much else. And it's no spreadsheet error. Spreadsheets have been properly vetted and banned from the meeting.

How much confidence does that instill in you? The title of his talk isn't about changing jobs rapidly. It's about managing companies. A gross exaggeration you claim. Maybe. But whether you realize it, you've just been introduced to the Italian government.

Only for the record it's worse, much worse. It's 63 governments in the last 68 years. One guy, Silvio Berlusconi, the one-time friend of George W. Bush, managed to interrupt that merry go round.

Berlusconi is the only one to serve out his full five year term. The irony of his downfall centered on a, surprise, sex scandal. Europeans always criticize the US for it prudishness. But the truth is sex scandals have sabotaged more political careers there than you can wiggle a G-string at.

Italy represents the third largest economy of the of EU, no small change matter. They just elected  87 year old Giorgio Napolitano to a second term in a compromise vote to try to remove what's been an ugly standoff from the front burner when the February election deadlocked. 

For the past two years Italy's endured an economic crisis that recently suffered another blow when it's bonds were downgraded to BBB+ and a scandal over derivatives at Monte dei Pachi, the world's oldest and Italy's third largest bank, in February complicate what many now believe adds to the Eurozone's many already significant fiscal problems. 

Gridlock American style can't hold a G-string to Italy's. So does that give us a sigh of relief and yet another good reason to justify more QE? Can someone please run that by Paul Krugman?