Dear Jeffrey Sachs,



The analysis of the Italian situation and the connection with other factors has an enviable clarity. I would like to add 3 points that perhaps may change the relevance of Italy in the European context.



1) the international credibility and reliability of Italy is seriously damaged. Without the Italian participation at the lybian war, logistically speaking, the military operations of USA, UK, FR could be very costly and downsized. In such case, the Italian government was supposed to defend the national economic interests in lybia and to strongly reject any intervention against Gheddafi, a partner. Italy instead sacrificed its own interests. A country that is not reliable for his own partners, how can be considered important in Bruxelles? Whatever electoral force a premier might have behind him.



2) Democrats. The Italian politics and the public policies have been shifted to right wing side from 1990s. The tax revenue is proportionally higher than Germany year after after since 1990s making happy more the 'institutional financiers' than the citizens that would expect to see investment plans. The most famous plans are the privatization ones, that are considered a disgrace from all Italians, also by those that claim the need for a proper free market (employers like barriers rather than fair disruptive productive competition) . The founders of PD (democrats), ex communists and ex Christian democrats, have done much more on the privatization side than Berlusconi with terrible results. The Democrats that you mention are not at all liberals or socialdemocratics or socialists: they are Democrats and nothing. The reforms purposed by them in last 5-10 years were always in continuity with Berlusconi's agenda and with neoliberal/Austerity practices. The attacks at the trade unions for electoral calculations were worst than Berlusconi. The results, even from a liberal approach, are so little that the economic growth is under EU average after 3 years of fiscally subsidized jobs (2014-2016). Neither equity neither efficiency gains. A debacle. How can you count on the Italian democrats if they are conservatives also at the eye of other leftist parties in Europe? Macron, 21% in the French election while Melenchon, the proper socialist, 20%, are politically different from Renzi, ex Christian democratic. In Italy Renzi (democrats) has one surname: Ducetto di Rignano, the little Dux of the Province. Mussolini was the Dux. Just to give you the idea of the type of person the Democrats are able to produce for the top-level public office. Not elected to be premier but only a Meteora with autorative ambitions.



3) MS5 is better for non-American and paradoxically MS5 is acting as a new DC (Christian democrats of the 20st century) rather than a populist party.



Unfortunately, the Italian political system is dominated by cartel parties and such chaotic situation in 2018 was needed in 1990s, after the cold War and not now. After 25 years from the earthquake 1992, perhaps, we can remove the protagonists of the decline of the Italian Republic: the olders ought to "die" for having a new season. Better than nothing...



PS I did not vote for MS5