What in the world is happening with Italy?

Modern Italy has never been a politically stable country and sure, it's not exactly the most progressive country in the EU. You could also generally count on the government to have laws and then ignore them as they saw fit, pretty much leaving people alone. In recent months though, it's going from the friendly, disheveled but still charming neighbor to the downright nasty and bizarre guy ranting in your face until you call the police.

Between the government fingerprinting Roma (gypsies), the right wing mayor of Rome banning food, drink and singing on the streets and then the story of a man who failed his driving test because he was gay. Really, what the heck is going on?