ITALY VOTES – AT 12:31 P.M. ET:  Italy voted in national elections today.  The outcome is unknown, but could affect the future of the European Union, already weakened by Britain's withdrawal.  From Newsmax: 

Italians voted Sunday in one of the most uncertain elections in years and one that could determine if Italy will succumb to the populist, euroskeptic and far-right sentiment that has swept through Europe.

The campaign was marked by the prime-time airing of neofascist rhetoric and anti-migrant violence that culminated in a shooting spree last month against six Africans. While the center-right coalition that capitalized on the anti-migrant sentiment led the polls, analysts predict the likeliest outcome is a hung parliament.

That's less-than-precise reporting.  Yes, there are fascists and far rightists.  (There are also Communists and far leftists, but that's left unsaid.)  There are also thoughtful voters who have had enough of the European Union and its demands.

That will necessitate days and weeks of back-room haggling and horse trading to come up with a coalition government that can win confidence votes in Parliament. Just which parties coalesce from among the three main blocs — the center-right coalition, center-left coalition and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement — will determine Italy's course.

"Basically it is very likely that, at the end of the day, none of these three groups will have an absolute majority and they will be forced to start talking to each other and see how to put together a coalition government," said Franco Pavoncello, dean of the John Cabot University in Rome.

More than 46 million Italians were eligible to vote from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. (0600-2200GMT), including Italians abroad who already mailed in ballots. Exit polls were expected after polls closed, projections sometime thereafter and consolidated results Monday.

With unemployment at 10.8 percent and economic growth in the eurozone's third-largest economy lagging the average, many Italians have all but given up hope for change. Polls indicated a third hadn't decided or weren't even sure they would vote.

"The situation is pretty bad," said Paolo Mercorillo from Ragusa, Sicily, who said he had decided not to even bother casting a ballot. "There aren't candidates who are valid enough."

COMMENT:   Italy has always been politically unstable.  Its instability today is increased by the refugee crisis, which is also destabilizing Western Europe's strongest nation, Germany.  The future does not look good.  Many of these countries aren't even reproducing their populations, and their new immigrants are forcing politicians to accept very damaging changes to culture. 

The future does not lie in Western Europe, which may soon be a memory.

March 4,  2018