It is often remarked that Italian governments come and go with a regularity that exceeds most other democracies. There have been close to 70 changes of government in Italy since the Second World War, so why would you take any notice of any particular government’s downfall? However, this writer, used to make a habit of reading foreign news stories in full in the Irish Examiner, still remembers the resignation of Massimo D’Alema. D’Alema had quit after a poor showing in regional elections in 2000, recognising that it was difficult to continue governing. Reading the reports of his resignation, it seemed at the time to be an almost excessively honourable course of action. D’Alema’s Wikipedia page doesn’t even tell you why he resigned. Today, it feels like a whole different era, because today it feels like nobody resigns for things they should promptly be resigning for.
