Italian Vocabulary in the News

The Italian Press Digest, in an article on Italian elections next spring, mentions that Italian President Carlo Ezeglio Ciampi has considered early elections for Parliament in order to avoid an ingorgo istituzionale - an institutional bottleneck. Since both the presidency and Legislature's terms will expire on the same day, Ciampi is concerned about the transition to new officials given the current state of affairs (international terrorism, the economy in Italy, and the elections themselves).