The day after Romano Prodi’s government fell, the majority of left-wing and right-wing newspapers frothed around the two dissenting ‘radical’ left wing senators* Fernando Rossi and Franco Turigliatto, both of whom had refused to vote for their government in the senate, helping to cause the collapse of the government.

That so much attention should be paid to the two is hardly surprising. The narrative of Prodi’s government, both present and past, reads best when dressed in bickering and betrayal. During the vote in the senate, various members of the government shouted abuse at the two senators. ‘Shithead’, Manuela Palermi (Comunisti Italiani) was apparently heard wailing at one of the two.

Less attention was paid to the fact that, had the two errant senators voted in favour of the government’s motion, it would have made no difference. In fact, the government was brought down by a number of influential ‘senators for life’ – senators who are appointed, not voted in, in recognition of their service to the state.

In particular one Senator, Giulio Andreotti, had a decisive vote. Andreotti, several times Prime Minister, and devout catholic, had seemingly made signs to Prodi’s government that he would support them, and then, slyly had withdrawn that support.

Interviewed the day after, Andreotti smiled and said that it was hardly the end of the world. And indeed, Andreotti would know, having orchestrated the rise and fall of many governments.

Some spoke of conspiracies – hardly surprising, given the list of characters and the country involved. Prodi’s government was targetted by the Vatican and the US, for its support of homosexuals and pacifists the story went. Conspiracy, though, involves an element of secrecy. It was no secret that pro-Vatican politicos like Andreotti took a dim view on attempts, however feable, by Prodi’s government to introduce legislation protecting the rights of co-habiting couples. It was no surprise that anything less than support for American bomber-command would have failed to win Senator Francesco Cossiga’s vote of support.

No surprise.

The government fell on a motion of confidence on its foreign policy. The government resurrected itself with no major change in its foreign policy. The theme that brought it down has miraculously dissappeared While many on the ‘radical’ left dislike the pro-NATO line that the government is taking, they can’t be seen to be involved in any move that might make way for a new Berlusconi government. Berlusconi and the opposition will fight tooth and nail with the government on any issue apart from financing ‘peace-keeping’ missions.

And so, the outcome of all this turmoil? Prodi’s government wins a vote of confidence in both the senate and chamber with a new programme consisting of twelve points. Notably absent is DICO – the legislation that is being brought to extend various property and pension rights to cohabiting (and same-sex) couples. This had been a central theme in the government’s election campaign, and something that according to opinion polls would be widely welcomed by the majority of Italians. Unfortunate then that Andreotti, and various neo christian democrats within the government disagreed.

So, a vote on Afghanistan, is really a vote on homosexual rights – and not surprisingly, the homosexuals lose (along with co-habiting hetrosexuals, and very probably the afghans). It’s a political six-degrees of separation, on acid.

*It’s interesting how journalists casually use the word radical to describe the left-wing of Prodi’s government – taking a cue from umpteen press releases from Berlusconi’s spin-doctors. The same word ‘radical’ was never used to describe right-wing and often xenophobic party the Lega Nord when it was in government with Berlusconi.