Napolitano, who floated down the Via dei Fori Imperiali last Saturday in the Presidential convertible Flaminia like some sort of surreal image of the future of the Republic, said that „The Letta Government is a temporary arrangement“ and will only remain in office for 18 months, at which point he will be on the verge of turning 90 years of age. I have to ask myself by whose authority the State President presumes to dictate the duration of a government’s term in office? And why 18 months? From July to December 2014 Italy will hold the Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, around the time of the European Parliamentary elections in June 2014 and the re-appointment of the European Commission.