Monti’s lack of popular mandate could come back with a vengeance

One of the main reasons why the euro crisis has calmed down is Mario Monti – the Italian Prime Minister who replaced Silvio Berlusconi last year, and who now heads a ‘technocratic’ government of professors, economists and former government officials.

But while Monti is pushing through some vital changes in Italy, his lack of a clear mandate from voters could backfire – and spell big problems for the eurozone.

There’s clearly a paradox here: Monti took over from Berlusconi (who re...