But Italy's gerontocracy, he adds, is a symptom, not the cause, of the country's malaise.

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In a society which does not revere age and experience, these letters make a compelling case for gerontocracy.

ECONOMIST: The letters of Sir John Gielgud: Of plays and play | The

The 266th pope will inherit a gerontocracy obsessed with turf and Italian politics, uninterested in basic management practices and hostile to reforms.

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Sunday's Italian press lauds the fact that the new ministers' average age is only 53, in what has come to be seen by voters as a tired gerontocracy.

BBC: Optimism greets Italy's grand coalition