They voted for a clown and an aged gigolo and have thrown Italy back to the years of uncertainty and instability of government, an election every 9 months or so. During the 1950's -1990's, Italy muddled along from government to government, but the country did build the third largest economy even amidst the violence of the Red Brigade and the crime spree which ensnared many top politicians.
Crime and violence may have gone down, but the instability of government has made a comeback with the center-left Luigi Bersani holding a narrow majotity in the lower house (with the largest share of the votes, 29.5%, he gets a bonus which pushed his seat total to 340 of 630; Berlusconi made a great comeback with a surprising 29.2% ( mosty from the north) and Grilli got 25% thanks to social media that brought new voters out to protest against the austerity measures imposed by Mario Monti, the outgoing prime minister whose party fared very badly.
The Senate, (where seats are distributed on a regional basis,) is deadlocked, as a result of Grillo's showing, with Bersani winning only 121 seats, falling short of the 158 needed for a majority; Berlusconi won 117 seats and the reaminder spread between Grillo and the other parties.
So here you have it. Vox Populi......the voters protest, a gigolo. a clown and a new Pope. Ciao Italia. Hell, it's better han the droll French Hollande and the boring Brit Cameron, with "Brunhilde" Merkel cracking the whip. Bring " Ruby and the Bunga, Bunga" parties