Italy’s political crisis is a moment of reckoning for European liberal democracy

After months of wrangling, Italy’s political crisis has a hit an impasse, with new elections now increasingly likely.

• James Newell
• The Conversation

The country faces an institutional crisis without precedent in the history of the Italian republic.

Its implications extend well beyond Italy, to the European Union as a whole.

Since an election on March 4, there have been endless vain attempts to form a government – with the likely outcome changing every 24 hours.

By mid-May, the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the League, both populist parties, had come together to draft a programme for government featuring tax cuts and spending plans.

But it sent…

• Italy’s political crisis…