From ANSA and corriere.it:
At the headquarters of Home Office, 174 symbols of political parties have been registered Today on the eve of next General Elections. 174 political parties among which the voter has to pick from.
It's interesting noting that, during the 2001 elections the candidate parties were 186, while they reached the staggering figure of 250 in 1996.
So, like for a lot of other things in this country, it's fair to say that there's crisis.
Even if notoriously the great majority of these parties just arise as an expedient for rival coalitions to disperse the votes in districts where they are weak, or as a well-rewarding family business to get electoral reimburses, you really can say shortage of money and initiatives in Italy is actually in every sphere.
I mean, only 174 political symbols! What, they want everybody to know we don't believe in politics anymore?