The man who would be PM

The Italian Obama? Nichi Vendola

Last night, in a trendy bar in Brussels’ beautiful Parc Cinquantenaire, three hundred young, professional, Italians crowded into a room, each vying for space. Elbows were sharpened. The atmosphere was electric. You'd think it was an intimate gig by a big rock band. There was a buzz and an energy. There was passion and determination. There was beer and there were burgers but neither was of any interest to this crowd, who’d hurried to the venue after work to secure themselves a prime spot. They were all here to see the man who would be the next prime minister of Italy and they hung on to his every word.

Nichi Vendola has been dubbed ‘the Italian Obama’. His following has been called cult-like and his politics ‘all things to all people’. But for these people here, many of whom left Italy because they saw no future for themselves in their native, he is the best hope they have for a revival of their homeland. A former communist, openly gay and devoutly Catholic, he may seem an extreme choice but, after two decades of Berlusconi, it’s Vendola’s extreme difference that makes him such an attractive proposition to many.

Three topics dominated the agenda: ‘precarious’ jobs, the stability pact and the bankruptcy of the European left. Vendola didn’t have all the answers but he was honest enough to admit it and humble enough to invite free thinking on the issues.

Young Italians, like young Spaniards, young Egyptians and young Tunisians are desperate for change. Who knows? Come 2013 they may finally get it. Fingers crossed.