Italy and Greece Find New Leaders and Hopefully Some Leadership

The economic decline of the Eurozone, and Greece and Italy in particular, has been documented from every angle and in minute detail over the past year. Some said that the euro was destined to fail from the beginning; others believe that the problems were in the details. But everyone agrees that something had to change. To place the blame squarely at the feet of the departing leaders would be grossly unfair and simplifying matters enormously. But it is fair to say that bad decisions have been made. Both Greece and Italy have seen new leaders accept power as the new week begins. Of course, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou resigned last week to make way for a coalition led by former European Central Bank Vice President Lucas Papademos. According to

, “Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero decided not to seek reelection and polls show Mariano Rajoy, leader of the conservative People's Party, will win an absolute majority in the Nov. 20 vote. Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates resigned in March after parliament rejected his government's deficit-cutting plan.” Italy, meanwhile, has named Mario Monte as the successor to Silvio Berlusconi. Monte, the former European Commissioner, has received a mandate to form a new government. It might seem like a dream job, to lead his country and put together a Justice League of Italy, but Monte has a hell of a tough road ahead of him. According to the

, “Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Sunday nominated ex-European commissioner Mario Monti to form a new government, a day after Silvio Berlusconi quit after dominating politics for nearly two decades.” "In a moment of particular difficulty, Italy must win the challenge to bounce back and must be increasingly an element of strength, not weakness, in a European Union that we helped found," Monti told reporters after being given the mandate. Good luck in your new jobs, chaps. You are going to need it.