Italy At Election Cross Roads

xinhuanet.com :    Italians will be going to the polls to elect their next prime minister in little more than five weeks, in a vote whose importance will resonate far beyond Italy’s borders.

Due to a political crisis sparked last year when parliamentary allies of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi walked out during a key confidence vote, the dates for the national vote was moved up a month to Feb. 24-25.