>I recall some years ago when they absolutely laid into Silvio Berlusconi and recommended the left-wing candidate despite Berlusconi being, in theory at least, the more 'business friendly' candidate. They rightly argued that he was mostly just friendly to his own businesses.
I seem to recall they were rather taken with the unelected technocrat Mario Monti, as prime minister.
> I seem to recall they were rather taken with the unelected technocrat Mario Monti, as prime minister.
Yes, he - in theory - was in tune with their values. He did manage to accomplish a few things like liberalizing store opening hours, and this: http://blog.therealitaly.com/2015/04/16/fixing-italy-a-littl... but didn't really accomplish as much as many had hoped.
The fact that he was unelected is part and parcel of how the system works in Italy, as the prime minister is not directly elected. For that matter, Matteo Renzi wasn't either.
I seem to recall they were rather taken with the unelected technocrat Mario Monti, as prime minister.