Italy All a-Twitter

Thanks to Philippe Ridet, Le Monde's highly perceptive eyes and ears in Rome, we now know what Mario Monti was doing at 11:30 pm on Christmas night: he was tweeting inspirational words to the Italian electorate. Yes, as Ridet wryly suggests, Monti is not the "couche-tôt" we thought he was ... More to the point, what are the odds a man who stays up late on Christmas composing an electoral communication will not seek the office he covets? It only remains to find out how exactly he intends to campaign.

Meanwhile, I plan to spend some time parsing Monti's electoral program, and I would encourage anyone seriously interested in this election to do the same. One way or another, it will be the Scriptural centerpiece: Berlusconi will decry it, Grillo will ridicule it, Bersani must figure out how to gracefully amend it, and Monti of course has positioned himself atop it. But is it any more than a collection of truisms, as some have suggested? I'll put my opinion up in a few days, and will be eager to hear yours.