Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has narrowly avoided being struck with a Vegemite sandwich. The 51-year-old was targeted with the yeasty s...

What significant numbers of voters in Italeigh have in common is a profound sense that conventional politicians have let them down. They lie, they cheat, they make promises that they have no intention of keeping - and, most seriously, they preside over a collapse in living standards that throws thousands of people out of work and creates real, palpable misery.

This is a potential game changer and a warning for austerity politicians from the third biggest economy in Europe. Watch the fear spread throughout the political classes.

Even though Fellini was not around to direct them, the recent general elections certainly look like they are following his scripts.

This triumph of pragmatism and realism over vision means the two major parties are essentially advocating minor variations of the same sorts of policies. A major economic upswing might still save the Tories, just as a 'Black Wednesday' style catastrophe could catapult Labour to a majority - but neither is that likely in the 26 months before voters go to the polls.

Grillo causes a big problem for polling companies. While mainstream candidates tend to end up close to predictions, new, populist, and radical parties often confound them.

When the technocratic government led by Prime Minister Mario Monti took over from Silvio Berlusconi's discredited right-of-centre administration in November 2011, Italy was on the brink of economic and financial collapse.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could run for office again next year, his party has indicated. Berlusconi said he has been "besieg...

The conundrum of Italian politics is that those who are doing best are those who can portray themselves as the 'anti politician' candidates.

It's a great big world out there, and this week a lot of crazy stuff has been happening in it. We start in the USA, the alpha and the omega of crazy.

Silvio Berlusconi, former three-term prime minister of Italy, was sentenced to four years behind bars on Friday over tax evasion charges. Berluscon...