Over the past weekend, a unique period in Italian history ended when Prime Minister Mario Monti, who oversaw the country's first-ever fully technocratic government, announced that he would soon resign. Monti made the surprise announcement on Saturday, saying he would leave his post following the approval of the 2013 budget, which the Italian parliament will vote on before Christmas. Monti said he decided to resign after the main party in the parliament, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, withdrew its support of the technocratic government. His departure may mark a return to political instability in Italy.

Monti's was the first government in the history of Italy to be completely made up of technocrats with no previous political affiliation (previous caretaker Cabinets in the early 1990s were comprised of a mix of politicians and technocrats). He came to power in November 2011, after Berlusconi resigned amid mounting pressure from financial markets. Unlike most governments, Monti's technocratic government garnered near-unanimous support from the Italian political establishment. Monti froze Italian political divisions for a year, keeping the country relatively isolated from the European financial crisis. Moreover, Rome received permanent political support from the European Commission and the European Central Bank.

In light of Monti's announcement, the debate in Italy — indeed, the rest of Europe — will turn to who will lead the southern European nation after elections, which likely will take place in February 2013. The election will probably come down to a battle between pro- and anti-European parties, and the protest vote, represented by the anti-system, anti-establishment Five Star Movement, probably will post a record performance.

This is because anti-EU sentiment is growing in Italy. While the Five Star Movement focuses primarily on criticizing mainstream Italian parties, it also advocates Italy's withdrawal from the European Union and a return to the lira. According to recent polls, the Five Star Movement is the second most popular party in the country. Berlusconi's party, which ranks as the country's third most popular party, has also increased its anti-EU rhetoric, criticizing the way Brussels and Germany are handling the European crisis.

Regardless of who wins the election, the next government will be purely political, not technocratic, and as such, it will not have full parliamentary support. Instead, it will have to make do with the number of seats it wins in the elections and contend with a strong opposition. Therefore, political instability probably will follow the February elections.

Notably, Italy is no stranger to instability. Long before the European crisis began, Italy had great difficulty achieving stable governments and approving structural reforms to its economy. Italy has had 61 governments in 66 years. The current economic downturn only aggravated a pre-existing trend, which will worsen further if the Italian economy contracts in 2013 as expected.

The rest of the eurozone will look to Italy with anxiety in 2013. Italy is the largest economy in the European periphery, and financial instability in this country is a threat to others, including Spain and France.

In 2012 the European Union created the tools to contain the financial aspect of the crisis. The implementation of a permanent rescue fund, known as the European Stability Mechanism, and the empowerment of the European Central Bank temporarily contained the financial crisis. However, the European elite have not yet resolved the economic downturn or the issue of rising unemployment, especially in the eurozone periphery. Such issues carry political as well as economic consequences.

If the February elections do not lead to the formation of a relatively stable government, Italy could be resigned to repeat the elections as Greece did earlier this year. Each failed election only adds to the population's distrust of traditional politicians and creates the opportunity for anti-European parties to grow. Again, Greece exemplifies this trend.

In most EU member-states, anti-European parties are not yet strong enough to take power, and despite the crisis, most people still believe in the European Union. However, the European Union weakens with every government that ends its term prematurely due to the economic crisis. 

Editor's note: An earlier version of this analysis claimed that Monti's departure may mark a return to political stability in Italy.