Why the fret about Italy?

John O'Sullivan describes the results of the Italian elections thus (Monday night):
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"Italy’s full election results will not be known until tomorrow morning, but their broad outline is already clear. The two large coalitions of left and right are about equal; the center Left Olive Tree coalition leads the center-right House of Freedom by two percent and shrinking. The much-touted centrist party, led by “technocrat” Mario Monti but backed by Angela Merkel and the European Union, received between 10 and 11 percent of the vote. And the left-right populist coalition headed by comedian Beppe Grillo won a quarter of the votes and is now in the position of kingmaker that Monti’s party was (quite confidently) aiming at.

Another way of looking at these results is that they amount to a strong recovery by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi; a disappointment for the center-left’s Pier Luigi Bersani, who expected a solid win; and a severe defeat for Monti (who, after all, was prime minister a few weeks ago); and a humiliation for Germany’s Angela Merkel, who more or less dismissed Berlusconi and appointed Monti in his place to ensure that Italy followed Berlin’s policy of economic austerity in defense of the euro."

If the results hold up as expected some serious repercussions are possible. Don't expect the Italians to be worried though. They are used to weak governments which only last a short time. It is the rest of Europe which has much to fear. Why? Berlusconi's Party has campaigned against austerity and so did Beppe Grillo. If the two parties form a coalition, they might just destabilize the EU enough to take Greece and Spain as well as Italy out of the EU and German domination. What are the odds? Grillo is no fan of Berlusconi, so if there is a coalition, it must be led by someone other than Bunga bunga. Berlusconi has already agreed. Grillo is a "moderate" (meaning leans to the Left but does not want to be part of it) and the fate of the EU falls on his shoulders. If he joins Bersani, austerity remains in place and Grillo would accept what he campaigned against and what gave a reason for his Party to exist. We live in interesting times. The Eurocrats hope that they will prevent a center right coalition and force a redo as they did in Greece. What is the chance that any coalition will work and rescue Italy? SLIM TO NONE. Italy needs to privatize, become more efficient and shrink the Government. It's not gonna happen.