What is still left for the Left in Italy? Piecing together a post-communist position on labor and employment

The persistence of high unemployment poses a serious and divisive policy challenge for Italian Left political parties. Their participation in governing coalitions with Centrist parties has deepened conflicts between the Rifondazione comunista, neo-communists who remain steadfast in demanding direct state action to create jobs, and those among the post-communist majority of the Democratici di Sinistra who prefer a neo-liberal road to more employment through more flexible labor markets. The Italian unemployment problem is discussed, and the opposing solutions of the Italian Left are subjected to the scrutiny of their value in a rapidly changing world economic climate.