How Renzi triumphed
The Euro-election result in Italy was different from anywhere else in Europe. The governing party, the Democratic Party (product of a merger of most of what was left of the old Communist Party with sections of the old Christian Democrats), increased its support and got 41% of the vote. Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement got much less than it expected: 21%. The old right-wing ruling party, Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, was down to 17%. The hard-right Lega Nord was down to 6%, and the left-wing “Other Europe” slate got 4%. The victory of Matteo Renzi, leader of the Democratic Party and prime...