| Summary/Abstract |
ITALY IS AGAIN at a crossroads. An attempt to carry out a constitutional reform that would have changed the country's political system has fallen through. Italy faces a new political crisis as the ruling party's policy is increasingly rejected both by the opposition and by the population. Where the nation will go from now on depends on a set of factors in its economy and its domestic and foreign policy. To make matters worse, developments in Italy are a source of special concern for the European Union. With the EU being plagued by economic, political and social crises, domestic instability in member countries causes it particular anxiety. The situation in Italy, which is one of the founders and leaders of the EU, exercises a direct effect on the pan-European political climate. Due to the high degree of mutual integration of the economies and political systems of the member countries, political instability in Italy threatens the stability of the EU as a whole.
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