First: Fausto Bertinotti, leader of the extreme-left communist party "Rifondazione Comunista", after the good results at the elections asked and obtained (yesterday) to become President of the Chamber of Deputies, which means a great deal of power and influence, but in an institutional (non-partial) role.
Why, would you ask, he went for that, considered this supposedly is a leader of the local anti-global and anti-capitalist movement, followed and voted by many who have not very much faith or interest in the institutions or the State? Why hasn't he asked for the Ministry of Labour or something like that? Did they really voted him to seat there wagging a bell to keep order among the oligarchs? I'd doubt it, although, you never know of what people can be happy for.
After being nominated by the parliament, during his inaugural speech he dedicated his "victory" (although it's not a victory but an assignment the assembly gave him, with a small majority) to the "operai". "Operai" in Italian means "workers", but not any kind of worker: "operai" are only those involved in the production of things. Funny, because most of his voters now are not "operai" at all, but people with precarious service jobs in the tertiary. "Operai" was just this Marxist reference dropped there to reassure them the new role was not going to corrupt him or something.

Anyway, why not being more useful to the "workers" taking active part in the new government, trying to do something good there? (In fact, as many observers noted, having asked for the Chamber of deputies mr. Bertinotti renounced to any further front-line important seat in the government for his party) Why did he do that?

I have an answer: the reason is that, somehow, he already knows this new government won't last. And he knows that after the fall of the government and of Romano Prodi there's a chance for a big coalition among the center-left and the center-right that will leave out all the radical parties including his own.
So, mr. Bertinotti just looked ahead in this deal, because being President of the Chamber of Deputies will last longer than the government, giving him prestige, possibly for the whole expected five years until new elections. He knows Romano Prodi's government will end way before than that, putting his party out of the spotlight.
I think he's giving a hint to everyone, actually.

Second: Italy has officially the oldest political oligarchy in the world. Since it's an oligarchy we're talking about here, whose only purpose is to prolong its permanence in the institutions regardless any change in governments and balance of powers, the rate of elderliness among its members it's actually a sign of success.
President of the Republic: 86 years old; President of the Senate: 73 years old; Next Prime Minister, 68 years old; Former Prime Minister, 71 years old, President of the Chamber of Deputies, 66 years old, and so on. Pension is NOT an option for them, it's a bad word.
I have nothing against old men, even thought they are the ones who screwed up this world the most. But when Giulio Andreotti, 87 years old, was about to be voted as the new President of Senate, I wondered if they actually weren't all mesmerized by the past Woytila image we all have in mind. After all the oligarchy is always at Vatican's service.
Remember Woytila? Climbing stairs as if it were the Everest? Shaking all the time, crying for the old polish song, mumbling in the microphone incomprehensible preaches? Imposing to the world, for a decade, the show of his illness as if it was a merit itself?
Now, who among the oligarchs wouldn't be happy with a nice old italian leader going around trembling from photo op to photo op dribbling saliva and losing memory? We might even start to gain respect in Europe finally. We could move our partners to pity.