This is not Romano Prodi’s first resignation as prime minister of Italy. In October 1998, two-and-a-half years into his first premiership, Mr Prodi quit after a one-vote defeat in the Chamber of Deputies. Then, as is likely now, a new centre-left coalition was cobbled together, but Italy’s politicians must make sure that any new coalition can govern effectively.

The parallels with 1998 are many, although this time it was a two-vote failure in the Senate that did for Mr Prodi. His first government was praised for its economic competence – it took Italy into the euro – and his second government has acted to reduce the budget deficit. But both were brought down by their internal contradictions: in particular, their reliance on the far left to secure a parliamentary majority.