Blog watch: commentators lambast Italian deadlock

As the impact of Italian indecision comes to light, bloggers, tweeters and commentators have not been as split when it comes to venting their feelings over the Italian election deadlock.

From media personalities to noted market commentators, there has been an outpouring of both anguish, disbelief and concern following the weekend’s polling. Here Citywire Global rounds up some of the stand out statements.

The majority of comments focused on the line-up and how comedian Beppo Grille and scandal-stricken Silvio Berlusconi dominated proceedings.

Sydney-based TV presenter Emma Alberici, who fronts news discussion programme Lateline, tweeted: ‘In an election race between a comedian, a lecher, a communist and an economist .. still stuns me that the economist came last’.

This theme was continued by Reuters deputy editor Ryan McCarthy, who used the counterparties.com blog to set out the candidates in the most accessible means.

‘This has been an election which featured an ex-prime minister who’s about to face trial for allegedly having sex with an underage night-club dancer and who was sentenced to four years in prison for tax evasion; a comedian running on an “antisystem” message; and Mario Monti, the country’s current prime minister, whose campaign a rival compared to a coma, and whose alliance is set to finish in fourth place.’

The failings of outgoing PM Mario Monti at the polls was a recurrent theme with Italian market commentator Alberto Nardelli summing up both Monti’s plight and the polling confusion neatly.

He said: ‘The only consistency between instant polls and projections: Monti's flop.’

Meanwhile, Matina Stevis, a reporter who contributes to both Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal, suggested there was some merit in the deadlock – as it would potentially awaken eurozone leaders from their slumber.

‘In the eurocrisis things have had to get ugly for policy action to be pushed through. #taly upset useful in pulling politicos out of complacency,’ she said.

A feeling of anger permeated a number of messages with Italian radio personality Carlo Pastore’s comments and linked banner receiving a wide array of circulation and retweets.

The Milan-based presenter tweeted: ‘No Pope. No government. No police chief. England who is punk now? Sleep now. Goodnight Italy, Goodnight everyone...'