Italy's House of Cards

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.