Italy, both economically and politically, has seen some tumultuous times. Since the close of World War II, Italy has managed to get through more than 45 governments, four of which have collapsed in the past six years. In these post-war years, the Italian economy has been no more stable than the government- as Italy has undergone an economic shift away from a system based on agriculture and towards a more industrialized economy, North-South divides have been created that persist into the present day (Geographic, 1999).
Historically speaking, the political plight of Italy has been bound up in its economy. As in most nations, political stability is intrinsically linked to economic stability. Within the construct of the European Community, Italy's economic situation has often dictated the nature of its relationship with its neighbors. And throughout Italy's 50 years of reform and regression, she has managed to maintain a close relationship with the European Community. Indeed, often that relationship has not been as close as the Italians would like; since the advent of the Euro and the European Union, the bulk of Italy's political focus has hinged upon the goal of making itself economically acceptable for monetary integration with the rest of the Union. This has been particularly true in the last decade, as the emergence of the European Union has dominated the political and economic scene; in November of 1997, The Economist noted that "no other country in Europe is so keen to swap its national currency for the euro" (Bishop, 1997).
In the final analysis, Italy has taken many steps over the last six years to ready itself for the European Monetary Union, and in this endeavor it has ultimately been successful: Italy is a member (though admittedly the "euro zone's laggard for four years"(Business Week, 2000)) of the European Union. And sadly, some age-old political trends continue to rock the stability of the nation as a whole, ...