Don Silvio's Curtain Call

I found it perfectly fitting that the Prime Partier's departure from Parliament was met with spontaneous all-night parties, the likes of which could only be found in his Sardinian hideaway (sans pole dancers, of course).  But before he handed over the reins to our serious President to consider, like a tired-out Don (although they get facelifts to hide their identities, not to flaunt them) he got into his limo to allow the competing family to control the clan.  I would have loved to witness the scene, with no bargaining chips left, of Silvio heading to the table--cards in hand to give his "conditions" for leaving well enough alone.

foto from imdb

He stated that his right-hand man, the guy really pulling the political strings, someone as close to him as you can get to Don Vito's Hagen, Gianni Letta, should be Vice Premier under a new government.  It was his last-ditch attempt as master puppeteer to manage the machinations of the country that had seemingly lost its way, no fault of his own.  Letta has been the guy in charge while Don Silvio (self-proclaimed "Part-time Prime Minister") jetted around strutting his showman stuff while generously opening his heart and wallet to those that needed him:  the lonely hooker with a heart (Ruby Heartstealer, in fact, straight out of central casting) who was gifted with thousands so she can get a leg up (purportedly to "open her beauty salon and get off the streets"), "loans" to "friends" like aging Talent Scout Lele Mora who in return for his booty, brought in the booty, and childhood buddy, Lucio Stanca (former head of IBM) who learned that 58 million euro could quickly buy you a website for $5.99 on GoDaddy (www.italia.it). 

While his minions gathered around him to bid him Addio, his beloved Tessio, Umberto Bossi, would betray him in the end.  Sollozzo, aka Roberto Formigoni, showed his loyalty by flipping off the crowd as he entered the Don's residence.  His delfin, his Sonny boy, the highly disagreeable and unfathomably homely Alfano (now party head) was angling for position, but, like Sonny, no one took that too seriously.  

But in the end, Letta, understanding that it might be his head next, demurred and Italy's President gave Silvio a condition of his own: In the final scene, we have the Don, as he nods his approval agreeing at last that he would not return on the ballot box.  As he leaves to go back to his palazzo, seeing his likely future perhaps even behind bars, he utters one final departing monition:

 "We can pull the plug on Monti*, anytime we want."

* Economist Mario Monti, head of Milan's University of Bocconi and a Technocrat who will most likely head a provisional government.  

As for Monti, formerly with Goldman Sachs along with his buddy Draghi now at the European Central Bank, who remarked how beautifully this gorgeously sunny Roman day was starting (he's from Milan, after all), a comedian had this to consider:

So, let me get this straight:  These banks fail, leaving the State to bail them out.  Once back in business, they leave the States to fail, who then turn around and make these same bankers head of those very same States.

And in a plot twist worthy of Mario Puzo, the curtain closes on Italy.

Click here for the video clip of the closing scene...