Italia har en astronomisk gjeld på 1900 milliarder euro – 15.000 milliarder kroner. Under normale forhold kunne det gått bra, men forholdene er alt annet enn normale.

Papandreous sjokkmelding om folkeavstemning over redningspakken virker som en torpedo under Italia. Ikke minst er utspillet et friere til populisme, i en meget farlig situasjon. Hvis grekerne kan gjøre opprør mot Brussel, så kan vel italienerne?

EU forlanger at Italia i løpet av en uke vedtar nye arbeidslivregler, som gjør det lettere å si opp folk. Sist noen forsøkte en slik reform ble de skutt og drept av Røde Brigader. Det var i 1999 og 2002, så nylig herjet venstreterroren.

The EU has taken centre stage in this unfolding drama by demanding that the country commits to far-reaching labour and pension reforms by next week.

The key disputes are over «Article 18» protecting workers from being laid off for economic reasons, and «firm level agreements» that undercut the power of trade unions to craft deals across sector.

There is growing anger among Italy’s Left that Europe is intruding in sensitive political areas, effectively taking sides in a bitter ideological conflict within the country and giving itself licence to reshape Italian society.

The terrorist Red Brigades-PCC assassinated Massimo D’Antonna in 1999 and Professor Marco Biagio in 2002 for spear-heading changes in labour law.

Nå frykter regjeringen at terroren kan våkne igjen.

In Rome, labour minister Maurizio Sacconi evoked the dangers of a fresh cycle of terrorism unless great care is taken in pushing through reforms. The EU has demanded the changes as quid pro quo for shoring up Italy’s bond market.

«We must stop creating tension over labour reform which could lead to a new wave of attacks. I am not afraid for myself because I have protection. I am afraid for the people who are not protected and could become a target of political violence,» he said.

Tidligere Fiat-sjef, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, foreslo mandag en nasjonal samlingsregjering. – Vi har ikke et minutt å miste, sa han.

Former Fiat chief Luca Cordero di Montezemolo called for a national salvation government, warning that Italy risks «exploding» on its current course.

«There is not a minute to lose. The savings of the Italian people, social cohesion and Italy’s euro membership are all at risk,» he said.

Det heter at Italia er for stor til at det kan gå over ende, men også for stor til å kunne reddes.

Tid er det kriselandene, EU og verdensøkonomien har minst av. Den lille marginen EU skaffet seg sist torsdag er nå blåst bort.

The risk for Italy is that Europe spends weeks or months activating its machinery while the crisis goes from bad to worse. Fiscal austerity is already tipping the country back into slump, endangering the debt dynamics of its €1.9 trillion public debt. Unemployment jumped sharply in September to 8.3pc.

For Italy – deemed too big to fail, and too big to bail – the toxic mix of likely recession and discredited leadership is bringing the crisis to a head.

Italy’s crisis deepens on eurozone slump, bail-out doubts
Italy’s borrowing costs have once again surged to danger levels amid growing doubts over the viability of Europe’s bail-out machinery, dashing hopes that last week’s summit deal would at last contain the crisis.