Sharemarket down as Italy impasse raises fear of new Europe crisis THE Australian sharemarket fell sharply today, as an indecisive national election in Italy raised the prospect of another sell-off in European bond markets that could rekindle the European debt crisis. Italy was headed for a political impasse after a left-wing coalition led by the Democratic Party's Pier Luigi Bersani failed to secure a majority in the Senate, despite scoring a razor-thin lower-house majority over former premier Silvio Berlusconi.