First, let me note that for anyone who has not finished the second season of House of Cards, I recommend you stop reading here as there are spoilers in this piece.
Italy has a fresh
face as Prime Minister. Matteo Renzi’s meteoric rise to power vastly exceeds the
fictional one of House of Cards’ main protagonist Frank Underwood, in both the speed
and cunning with which he reached the highest position in his nation. Those who
chastise the writers of House of Cards for being unrealistic in their portrayal
of a whip so quickly ascending to the role of presidency, would be advised to
have a look at the very real events that occurred in Italy.
Mr. Renzi was a
relative unknown not so long ago. He was the mayor of Florence since 2009
(relinquishing this post just a few days ago) and became Secretary of the
Democratic Party (Partito Democratico or PD) in Italy last year. This national
party also happened to be the party of the former Prime Minister Enrico Letta,
who was recently ousted. This does not appear to make much sense on first
glance, how did this obscure Mayor of Florence replace a Prime Minister from
his own party? Mr. Renzi was very busy upon assuming his new position within
the PD, with his first order of business was to mercilessly criticize the
sitting Prime Minister from his own party, Mr. Letta. Unlike House of Cards,
where almost everyone surrounding Frank Underwood seems to be uniquely predisposed
to manipulation, Mr. Renzi’s blatant gambit for power did not go unnoticed.
Everyone knew what the the young ambitious politician wanted. Mr. Letta did not go quietly, but Enrico Letta
was never a good politician,
and lacked the charisma that the man who took his place has in spades. Mr.
Renzi got the support of the majority of the PD to oust Mr. Letta, and formed a
coalition within the parliament enacting him as Prime Minister on February 22
of this year.
This move was
never popular with the public, and opinion polls after these political machinations
clearly show this. That being said, Italy is currently in crisis with unbelievably
high unemployment and a deep recession. Enrico Letta, and Mario Monti before
him, were both Prime Ministers of a more stale and technocratic nature, and not
much seems to have improved concretely in the lives of ordinary Italians under
their watch. This explains why in the last election voters turned out in droves
to vote for Beppe Grillo, a comedian who seemed to offer something radically
new. This also elucidates why Italians, despite not liking the method with
which he got to his position, are willing to give their new Prime Minister leeway
in his ambitious proposals to remedy Italy’s numerous ills. That being said, Mr.
Renzi does not seem to see the need to go to the polls until his term is up,
and by his term we really mean the term he ruthlessly seized from Mr. Letta.
Italy has had
its fair share of interesting politics, and that is not meant to be a positive
statement (Mr. Berlusconi’s failure to leave politics still casts a pall on
Italy). This however, takes it to another level. Desperation for new blood
should not result in one man being above requiring a democratic mandate, even
being elected as an MP would be a good start. Getting insiders within his party
to support him does not count. Mr. Renzi is the youngest Prime Minister since
Italian unification in 1861, and is the first person to become Prime Minister without
having been elected to the national parliament. These are accomplishments the
fictional President Underwood could only have dreamed of. Back-stabbing
politics, blind ambition, and a disregard for the democratic process are not
qualities that should be encouraged however. They make for great TV, but
horrible politics.
