Italy's political crisis deepens, Grillo refuses to support govternment

[Ghost Dog]

Source: Reuters

Populist leader Beppe Grillo slammed the door on overtures from centre-left boss Pier Luigi Bersani with a stream of insults while Nichi Vendola, Bersani's junior coalition partner, ruled out a government alliance with the centre-right...

... Bersani put out cautious feelers to Grillo on Tuesday, suggesting there could be agreement on a short list of measures common to both sides. But he said those supporting a centre-left government would have to back it in a confidence vote, which would be essential before it could be installed...

... Grillo responded on his blog by calling Bersani a "dead man talking" and a political stalker, accusing him of making "indecent proposals" and calling on him to resign. The centre-left slumped to well below the winning majority that opinion polls had predicted.

Grillo said 5-Star would not give a vote of confidence to the centre-left or anybody else, but would support laws that reflected its own programme to abolish a despised electoral law, slash the privileges of a discredited political class and remove public funding from the parties...

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/02/27/uk-italy-vote-idUKBRE91L0N920130227

---

(Emphasis added - this is all about sweeping out cronyism and corruption. Something similar is probably going on in Spain).

[loudsue]

1. So they want PRIVATE funding for elections? That is the mess the USA is in.

Too many special interests.

[pampango]

2. Grillo won't work with the center-left coalition. That coalition won't work with the center-right

coalition of Berlusconi. I have not seen a statement from Grillo or Berlusconi that a there is no chance of their groups cooperating. Has there been one and I missed it?

Interesting that 5-Star wants to remove public funding of political parties. I suppose public funding has a downside that I had not thought about. We have so much trouble here with massive private funding of our political parties and elections that public funding seems like a better alternative at first sight.