!['Povera Patria', courtesy of Daniele Muscetta / flickr](http://isnblog.ethz.ch/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2315306622_f1d8bf15ca_d.jpg)
A dogmatic society ruled by organized criminals and an antidemocratic populist leader… Sounds like some post-Soviet state? Well actually, I mean Italy.
I don’t understand why the country continues to enjoy such a privileged place in the EU, the G-8, and among the Western elite generally. Italy shows a serious democratic deficit and presents some worrying features of failing governance.