Indeed, in this last year Italy has worked hard to overcome the longstanding political and economic impasse and has started to regain credibility and sobriety at the international level. However, nowadays it seems that there is no hope left for any effective politics and that the much hoped for happy ending, typical of every Italian comedy, is broken.

With the resignation of Monti, Italy jumps back to a year ago, when we were on the brink of an abyss. The political majority inside parliament -- in other words what remained of Silvio Berlusconi’s political power -- didn’t agree with the last proposed development plan and stability law, breaking down the mutual trust towards the technocratic government. Therefore, put on trial by those who had left him with a country in shambles, during an intense meeting with the president of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, the prime minister declared that he would work to pass the stability law and then resign.

Paradoxically, those responsible for the Italian crack and loss of any credibility as an international actor are the same people who today identify Monti’s political measures as the source of each Italian problem, without recognizing all the work done in the last year to overcome the crisis.

Since Berlusconi left the baton to the technocratic government, it was clear that the path to bringing Italy back to normal would be uphill with a lot of unknown bends. The appointment of Monti, indeed, came from the inability of previous executives to manage the deep mistrust in the political system, with the clear intent of carrying the Italians towards new elections. The general feeling (and hope) was that every political actor was finally ready to assume and share its own responsibility in the name of a common national interest. It was an illusion: The Italian political arena has never recovered from its self-interest attitudes, and what we are experiencing these days is the most undeserved outcome. For the first time in our republic’s history, the chambers will be dissolved on Christmas Eve and we will prepare for anticipated elections in the early months of the new year.

The challenges and issues on the table are many, from growth and employment to the safety of public finances. In fact, the structural reforms that were neglected in the past and carried by Monti may only show some productive outcomes over time. These are all elements that whoever wins the elections has to consider, in addition to also being responsible for honoring the commitments to Europe. However, since the market reflects political trends, it may not be a coincidence that just 10 minutes after Berlusconi announced his return to the stage, the Milan Stock Exchange turned negative and the spread between Italian BTPs and German Bunds spiked to over 360 points.

Thus for Italians, the present under the Christmas tree is very bitter. Although efforts and sacrifices were made, there is that cruel awareness that we are all victims of the worst politics. 2012 wasn’t an easy time but all the ingredients to become a normal country were there: the hope to be competitive, the will to succeed and the pride in making sacrifices. Nowadays, we wait shamefully for 2013’s new developments, wishing that the future won’t signal a definitive return to the past. This would really be a true Italian screwball comedy.

*Valeria Giannotta is an assistant professor at the department of political science and international relations at İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University.