Italy is a country of 56,800,000 inhabitants. It is a republic and functions under the influence of such political parties as the Christian Democrats, the Democratic Party of the Left, the Italian Socialist Party, the Forza Italia, the Social Democratic Party, the Italian Renewal and many others. The per capita income is $21,500/$1.24 trillion and the unemployment rate is 12.2%. Italy's economy relies heavily upon tourism, machinery, motor vehicles, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, ceramics, and footwear. They export $250 billion primarily to EU countries and the U.S. They import $190 billion primarily from EU countries and OPEC countries.

Italy has forever been plagued by an unstable government. It has commonly been  referred to as "a republic without a government" and "a stalemate society." This is due partly to the fact that Italian society has always focused more on family  relations than on relations to the state. It is also due to the lack of a tradition of centralization. Regional divergences in culture have also played a hand in disrupting integrative policies. As a result, there exists a diverse array of political parties. These political parties are divided into coalitions, which themselves are divided into several factions. Each faction have their own separate offices and newspapers. 

On top of the localized political diversions, there exists a debate in Italy over national division. Because the north is more advanced industrially and technologically, and the south is more traditional and agricultural, the two halves seldom see eye to eye on issues that concern the entire nation. Therefore, issues are often raised concerning a split of northern and southern Italy. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    www.esteri.it/eng/index.htm