After Italy's Campaign Comes the Reality Check

Few have described the vices and virtues of Italians as well as film director Federico Fellini. But it was Ennio Flaiano, Fellini’s screenwriter, who gave what is still considered the best description of Italian politics to date: “Italy’s political situation is dire, but not serious,” Flaiano quipped in the mid-1950s.

As the country prepares for a general election Sunday, these words ring as true as they did 60 years ago. The electoral campaign of the past few weeks has been a combination of buffoonery, bravado and blissful neglect for the country’s budgetary stance.