FT社评：意大利需要蒙蒂

Mario Monti’s decision to step down as Italy’s prime minister has rattled markets, which had grown comfortable with the relative stability of technocratic government. Rome’s borrowing costs shot up and the stock market dropped after his resignation announcement.

马里奥·蒙蒂(Mario Monti)决定辞去意大利总理职务，引发市场动荡。之前在技术官僚政府治下，意大利市场在相对的稳定中取得了良好的增长。在蒙蒂宣布辞职后，意大利政府借贷成本飙升，股市受挫。

But Mr Monti made the right choice. On Friday, the secretary of Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right People of Liberty party declared that the government had reached the end of the road. In theory, Mr Monti could have asked for a formal vote of confidence. But seeking to strike a deal with Mr Berlusconi would only have added to political uncertainty. Besides, there should be no compromise with the media tycoon-cum-politician who has all too often sacrificed the future of his country to his own personal interest.

但蒙蒂的选择是明智的。上周五，西尔维奥·贝卢斯科尼(Silvio Berlusconi)的中右翼自由人民党(People of Liberty)书记宣布，现任政府已经走到穷途末路。理论上，蒙蒂可以寻求举行正式信任投票。但尝试与贝卢斯科尼达成政治交易，只能徒增政治不确定性。此外，面对着一个每每将个人利益凌驾于国家前途之上的传媒大亨兼政客，也不应该与他妥协。

The general election originally scheduled for the spring is now likely to be held in February. The return of politics to Rome is to be welcomed. The technocratic interlude was needed to help Italy to restore its credibility. However, only an elected government will have the legitimacy to implement the reforms Italy needs. The economy must be guided out of deep recession and there is a mountain of debt to be dealt with.

原定于春季举行的大选如今可能将提前至明年2月。让意大利政治回归常态，是会受到欢迎的。意大利需要技术官僚的过渡政府来恢复信用。然而，只有民选政府才拥有实施意大利所需改革的合法性。政府必须将意大利经济拖出深度衰退的苦海，并且应对巨额债务。

Unfortunately, the political choice on offer seems inadequate to the task. On the right, Mr Berlusconi plans a comeback. But as the man who has contributed more than anyone to Italy’s crisis, he lacks the credibility to run Rome again. The polls show this.

不幸的是，现有的政治选择似乎无法应付艰巨的任务。右翼的贝卢斯科尼计划卷土重来，但作为意大利危机的罪魁祸首，他缺乏重掌政府大权的信誉。民调表明了这一点。

The comedian Beppe Grillo has no such toxic legacy, but his Five Star Movement lacks a coherent economic programme. Pier Luigi Bersani, the leader of the Democrats, has shown reassuring pragmatism on economic policy. But his leftwing allies are very likely to tie his hands when it comes to cutting expenditure and reforming the labour market.

喜剧演员毕普·格里罗(Beppe Grillo)没有这些“劣迹，但他的“五星运动(Five Star Movement)缺乏条理清晰的经济方案。民主党领导人皮耶·路易吉·贝尔萨尼(Pier Luigi Bersani)的经济政策体现出了振奋人心的实用主义，但在削减开支和改革劳动力市场方面，他很可能会被左翼盟友缚住手脚。

All of which leaves a political space for Mr Monti, who has been asked by centrist groups to run for prime minister. As a grand commis who has spent his entire life above the political fray, the one-time economics professor is rightly worried about losing his non-partisan role. But at this critical juncture, his liberal instincts could be a striking alternative to Mr Berlusconi’s populism and a helpful counterweight to the uncertain reforming spirit of the Democrats.

这一切都为蒙蒂留出了政治空间，中间派也呼吁他参与总理竞眩作为毕生游离于政治争斗之外的要员，这位曾经的经济学教授有理由为失去无党派的地位而担忧。但在这个关键的十字路口，他的自由主义本能可以很好地代替贝卢斯科尼的民粹主义，并有效地平衡民主党在改革动力方面的不确定性。

Italians have learnt to appreciate Mr Monti’s sober style. At the very least his presence in the electoral race would give voters a greater choice and bring much-needed quality to Italian politics.

意大利人已经学会欣赏蒙蒂的冷静风格。他若能参选，至少能拓宽选民的选择面，并为意大利政治带来急需的质量。