Italy's usual approach to European Union diktats consists of giving them a sober welcome then trying to stop them making any difference to how Italians conduct their affairs – the opposite of Britain, which bellyaches about the EU yet obeys its rules.
The pattern was visible last month in the elevation of Mario Monti, right, as head of a government of unelected technocrats. Italy's parliament, that "circus of ferocious beasts" as it has been called, gave Mr Monti carte blanche to do everything necessary to save Italy and the euro. But already cries of pain and threats of dissent are being heard from every corner of the Italian political world: some about pensions, others about residence tax, others about a heavier burden on families, the Northern League denouncing the way reforms are being shoved through.
