View source for Politics of Italy

{{Short description|Political system of Italy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox political system
| name                          = Politics of Italy
| native_name                   = Sistema politico italiano
| image                         = Emblem of Italy.svg
| image_size                    = 100
| caption                       = [[Emblem of Italy]]
| type                          = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[republic]]
| constitution                  = [[Constitution of Italy]]
| legislature                   = [[Italian Parliament|Parliament]]
| legislature_type              = [[Bicameralism|Bicameral]]
| legislature_place             = [[Palazzo Madama, Rome|Palazzo Madama]]<br/>[[Palazzo Montecitorio]]
| legislature_speaker           =
| legislature_speaker_title     =
| upperhouse                    = [[Senate of the Republic (Italy)|Senate]]
| upperhouse_speaker            = [[Ignazio La Russa]]
| upperhouse_speaker_title      = [[President of the Senate (Italy)|President of the Senate]]
| upperhouse_appointer          =
| lowerhouse                    = [[Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|Chamber of Deputies]]
| lowerhouse_speaker            = [[Lorenzo Fontana]]
| lowerhouse_speaker_title      = [[President of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|President of the Chamber of Deputies]]
| lowerhouse_appointer          =
| title_hos                     = [[President of Italy|President]]
| current_hos                   = [[Sergio Mattarella]]
| appointer_hos                 = Parliament
| title_hog                     = [[Prime Minister of Italy|Prime Minister]]
| current_hog                   = [[Giorgia Meloni]]
| appointer_hog                 = President
| title_hosag                   =
| current_hosag                 =
| appointer_hosag               =
| cabinet                       = [[Council of Ministers (Italy)|Council of Ministers]]
| current_cabinet               = [[Meloni Cabinet]]
| cabinet_leader                = Prime Minister
| cabinet_deputyleader          =
| cabinet_appointer             = President
| cabinet_hq                    = [[Palazzo Chigi]]
| cabinet_ministries            = [[Council of Ministers (Italy)#Ministers|21]]
| judiciary                     = [[Judiciary of Italy|Judiciary]]
| judiciary_head                = [[Alfonso Bonafede]]
| courts                        =
| court                         = [[Supreme Court of Cassation (Italy)|Supreme Court of Cassation]]
| chief_judge                   = [[Giovanni Mammone]]
| court_seat                    = 
| court1                        = [[Constitutional Court of Italy|Constitutional Court]]
| chief_judge1                  = [[Giovanni Amoroso]]
| court_seat1                   =
}}
{{Politics of Italy}}
The '''politics of Italy''' are conducted through a [[parliamentary republic]] with a [[multi-party system]]. [[Italy]] has been a [[democratic republic]] since 2 June 1946, when [[Kingdom of Italy|the monarchy]] was abolished by [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|popular referendum]] and a [[Constituent Assembly of Italy|constituent assembly]], formed by the representatives of all the [[anti-fascist]] forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the [[liberation of Italy]], was elected to draft a [[Constitution of Italy|constitution]], which was promulgated on 1 January 1948.

[[Executive power]] is exercised by the [[Council of Ministers (Italy)|Council of Ministers]], which is led by the [[Prime Minister of Italy|Prime Minister]], officially referred to as "President of the Council" (''Presidente del Consiglio''). [[Legislative power]] is vested primarily in the [[Bicameralism|two houses]] of [[Italian Parliament|Parliament]] and secondarily in the Council of Ministers, which can introduce bills and holds the majority in both houses. The [[Judiciary of Italy|judiciary]] is [[Judicial independence|independent]] of the executive and the legislative branches. It is headed by the [[High Council of the Judiciary (Italy)|High Council of the Judiciary]], a body presided over by the [[President of Italy|President]], who is the [[head of state]], though this position is separate from all branches. The current president is [[Sergio Mattarella]], and the current prime minister is [[Giorgia Meloni]].

The [[Economist Intelligence Unit]] rated Italy as a "[[Democracy Index|flawed democracy]]" in 2024.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Democracy Index 2024 |url=https://image.b.economist.com/lib/fe8d13727c61047f7c/m/1/609fbc8d-4724-440d-b827-2c7b7300353d.pdf |access-date=23 November 2020 |publisher=[[Economist Intelligence Unit]] |page= |language=en}}</ref><sup>:16</sup> According to the 2025 [[V-Dem Democracy indices]] Italy was the 30th most liberal democratic country in the world.<ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2025 |title=The V-Dem Democracy Report 2025 |url=https://www.v-dem.net/documents/60/V-dem-dr__2025_lowres.pdf |access-date=14 October 2023}}</ref> A high degree of fragmentation and instability, leading to often short-lived [[coalition government]]s, is characteristic of Italian politics.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/04/24/why-is-it-so-hard-to-form-a-government-in-italy Why is it so hard to form a government in Italy?: They designed it that way], ''The Economist'' (24 April 2013).</ref><ref>[https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/explaining-italys-fragmented-politics Explaining Italy's Fragmented Politics], [[Stratfor]] (18 April 2013).</ref> Since the end of [[World War II]] in 1945, Italy has had 69 governments, at an average of one every 1.11 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.governo.it/it/i-governi-dal-1943-ad-oggi/i-governi-nelle-legislature/192 |title= I Governi nelle Legislature |date= 9 November 2015 |publisher=Governo Italiano Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri| language=it |access-date=27 April 2022}}</ref>

==Government==
{{main|Government of Italy}}
[[File:Political System of Italy.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|The political system of Italy]]
The [[Italian constitution]] is the result of the work of the [[Constituent Assembly of Italy|Constituent Assembly]], which was formed by the representatives of all the [[anti-fascist]] forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the [[liberation of Italy]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McGaw Smyth |first1=Howard |title=Italy: From Fascism to the Republic (1943-1946) |journal=The Western Political Quarterly |date=September 1948 |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=205–222 |doi=10.2307/442274|jstor=442274 }}</ref> Article 1 of the Italian constitution states:<ref name=ItaConst>{{cite web|title=The Italian Constitution|url=http://www.quirinale.it/page/costituzione|publisher=The official website of the Presidency of the Italian Republic}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|Italy is a democratic Republic, founded on labour. Sovereignty belongs to the people and is exercised by the people in the forms and within the limits of the Constitution|Article 1 of the Constitution of Italy}}

By stating that Italy is a [[democratic republic]], the article solemnly declares the results of the [[1946 Italian constitutional referendum|constitutional referendum]] which took place on 1 June 1946. The [[Italy|State]] is not a hereditary property of the [[King of Italy|ruling monarch]], but it is instead a ''[[Res Publica]]'', belonging to everyone.

The people who are called to temporarily administer the republic are not owners, but servants; and the governed are not [[Commoners|subjects]], but [[Citizenship|citizens]]. And the [[sovereignty]], that is the power to make choices that involve the entire community, belongs to the people, in accordance with the concept of a [[democracy]], from the Greek ''demos'' (people) and ''kratìa'' (power). However, this power is not to be exercised [[Rule of the mob|arbitrarily]], but in the forms and within the limits established by the [[rule of law]].

===Head of state===
{{Further|President of Italy}}
[[File:Sergio Mattarella Presidente della Repubblica Italiana.jpg|thumb|right|180px|upright|[[Sergio Mattarella]], [[President of Italy]] since 3 February 2015]]
As the [[head of state]], the [[President of Italy]], officially denoted as President of the Italian Republic, represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the [[Constitution of Italy|Constitution]]. The president serves as a point of connection between the [[Separation of powers|three branches of the government]], but has got considerably less powers than those previously given to the [[King of Italy]]. The President of Italy is the [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Italian Armed Forces]] and chairs the [[High Council of the Judiciary (Italy)|High Council of the Judiciary]]. A president's term of office lasts for seven years.<ref name=ItaConst />

The President of Italy is elected by an [[electoral college]] of minimum 658 members (according to the number of [[Senators for life in Italy|senators for life]]). It comprises both chambers of the Italian Parliament—the [[Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|Chamber of Deputies]] and the [[Senate of the Republic (Italy)|Senate of the Republic]]—meeting in [[joint session]], combined with 58 special electors appointed by the [[Regional council (Italy)|regional councils]] of the 20 [[regions of Italy]]. Three representatives come from each region (save for the [[Aosta Valley]], which due to its small size only appoints one), so as to guarantee representation for localities and minorities.

===Legislative branch===
{{further|Italian Parliament}}
{{multiple image
| width1            = 130
| width2            = 130
| image1            = Lorenzo Fontana in 2024 (cropped).jpg
| caption1          = [[Lorenzo Fontana]], [[List of Presidents of the Italian Chamber of Deputies|President of the Chamber of Deputies]] since 14 October 2022
| image2            = Ignazio La Russa datisenato 2022.jpeg
| caption2          = [[Ignazio La Russa]], [[List of Presidents of the Italian Senate|President of the Senate]] since 13 October 2022
}}
With article 48 of the [[Constitution of Italy#The Parliament .28Articles 55-82.29|Constitution]], which guarantees the [[right to vote]], the people exercise their power through their [[elected representatives]] in the [[Italian Parliament|Parliament]].<ref name="ItaConst"/> The [[Italian Parliament|Parliament]] has a [[Bicameralism|bicameral system]], and consists of the [[Italian Chamber of Deputies|Chamber of deputies]] and the [[Italian Senate|Senate]], elected every five years.<ref>Article 60 of the Italian Constitution</ref> The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical functions, but do so separately.

The [[Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|Chamber of Deputies]], the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, has 400 members, of which 392 are elected from Italian constituencies and 8 from Italian citizens living abroad. Members of the Chamber of Deputies are styled ''[[The Honourable]]'' (Italian: ''Onorevole'')<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dizionari.corriere.it/dizionario_italiano/O/onorevole.shtml|title=onorevole [o-no-ré-vo-le] agg., s.|series=Dizionario di Italiano|website=[[Corriere della Sera]]|access-date=15 June 2020|language=it}}</ref> and meet at [[Palazzo Montecitorio]] in [[Rome]].

The [[Senate of the Republic (Italy)|Senate of the Republic]], the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, has 200 members, of which 196 are elected from Italian constituencies and 4 from Italian citizens living abroad. In addition, there is a variable number (currently 6) of [[senator for life|senators for life]] (''senatori a vita''), either appointed by the President of the Republic or rightfully so as former Presidents of the Republic. Members of the Senate are styled ''[[Senator]]'' or ''[[The Honourable]] Senator'' (Italian: ''Onorevole Senatore'')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dizionari.corriere.it/dizionario_italiano/O/onorevole.shtml|title=onorevole [o-no-ré-vo-le] agg., s.|series=Dizionario di Italiano|website=[[Corriere della Sera]]|access-date=15 June 2020|language=it}}</ref> and meet at [[Palazzo Madama, Rome|Palazzo Madama]] in [[Rome]].

===Executive branch ===
{{Further|Prime Minister of Italy|Council of Ministers (Italy)}}
[[File:Giorgia Meloni Official 2023 crop.jpg|thumbnail|right|180px|[[Giorgia Meloni]], [[List of prime ministers of Italy|prime minister]] since 22 October 2022]]

The [[Constitution of Italy#The Government .28Articles 92-100.29|Constitution]] establishes the Government of [[Italy]] as composed of the president of the council ([[Prime Minister of Italy]]) and ministers. The [[President of Italy]] appoints the prime minister and, on their proposal, the ministers that form its [[Cabinet of Italy|cabinet]].<ref name="ItaConst"/>

The [[Prime Minister of Italy]], officially the President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic,<ref>{{cite web|title=Interoffice memorandum: Change of name of country|url=http://unterm.un.org/dgaacs/unterm.nsf/c2f5f1ea9d52ce7485256dc5006e5940/a7c582eab561fa3f852573b600767fad/$FILE/Italy.pdf|publisher=United Nations Secretariat|access-date=28 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003523/http://unterm.un.org/dgaacs/unterm.nsf/c2f5f1ea9d52ce7485256dc5006e5940/a7c582eab561fa3f852573b600767fad/$FILE/Italy.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> is the [[head of government]] of the [[Italy|Italian Republic]]. The Prime Minister of Italy must have the confidence of the [[Italian Parliament]] to stay in office. The Prime Minister of Italy is the president of the [[Council of Ministers of Italy|Council of Ministers]] which holds executive power and the position is similar to those in most other [[parliamentary system]]s. The formal [[Italian order of precedence]] lists the office as being, ceremonially, the fourth-highest Italian state office after the president and the heads of the legislative chambers.

The [[Council of Ministers (Italy)|Council of Ministers]] is the principal executive organ of the [[Government of Italy]]. It comprises the President of the council (the [[Prime Minister of Italy]]), all the [[Minister (government)|ministers]], and the undersecretary to the President of the council. Deputy ministers ({{langx|it|viceministri}}) and junior ministers ({{langx|it|sottosegretari}}) are part of the government, but are not members of the Council of Ministers.

===Judicial branch===
{{Further|Law of Italy|Judiciary of Italy|Constitutional Court of Italy|Court of Cassation (Italy)}}
The [[law of Italy]] has a plurality of sources of production. These are arranged in a hierarchical scale, under which the rule of a lower source cannot conflict with the rule of an upper source (hierarchy of sources).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dirittoeconomia.net/diritto/fonti_diritto/gerarchia_fonti.htm|title=GERARCHIA DELLE FONTI|access-date=26 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> The [[Constitution of Italy|Constitution of 1948]] is the main source.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/italy.php|title=Guide to Law Online: Italy &#124; Law Library of Congress|website=www.loc.gov}}</ref>

The [[Constitution of Italy#The Judicial Branch .28Articles 101-113.29|Constitution]] states that [[justice]] is administered in the name of the people and that [[judge]]s are subject only to the [[law]].<ref name="ItaConst"/> So the [[judiciary]] is a branch that is completely autonomous and independent of [[Separation of powers|all other branches of power]], even though the [[Ministry of Justice (Italy)|Minister of Justice]] is responsible for the organization and functioning of those services involved with [[justice]] and has the power to originate disciplinary actions against [[judge]]s, which are then administered by the [[High Council of the Judiciary (Italy)|High Council of the Judiciary]], presided over by the [[President of Italy|President]].<ref name="ItaConst"/>

The [[judiciary of Italy]] is based on [[Roman law]], the [[Napoleonic Code]] and later [[statute]]s. It is based on a mix of the [[adversarial system|adversarial]] and [[inquisitorial system|inquisitorial]] [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] systems, although the [[adversarial system]] was adopted in the Appeal Courts in 1988. Appeals are treated almost as new trials, and three degrees of trial are present. The third is a legitimating trial.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Italy Country: Strategic Information and Developments|isbn=978-1438774664|date=3 March 2012}}</ref>

In November 2014, Italy accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the [[International Court of Justice]].<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/en/declarations/it Declarations recognizing the jurisdiction of the Court as compulsory: Italy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616204207/http://www.icj-cij.org/en/declarations/it |date=16 June 2018 }}, International Court of Justice.</ref>

==Political parties and elections==
{{elect|List of political parties in Italy|Elections in Italy}}
Before 2021, the minimum voting age for all elections was 18 years old, aside for Senate elections, where the minimum voting age was 25 years old. Following the approval of Constitutional Law No. 1/2021, the minimum [[voting age]] for the Senate of the Republic became the same as for the Chamber of Deputies (18 years old and no longer 25). The [[2022 Italian general election]] was the first one in which both chambers had identical electoral bodies.<ref>{{cite news|author=Laura Biariella|title=Senato: elettorato attivo (anche) ai 18enni|website=AltaLex|date=2021-07-08|url=https://www.altalex.com/documents/news/2021/07/08/senato-elettorato-attivo-anche-ai-18enni}}</ref>

===Chamber of Deputies===
[[File:Risultati elezioni politiche italiane 2022 - Camera dei deputati - Per liste.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Composition of the Chamber of Deputies following the [[2022 Italian general election|25 September 2022 election]]]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+
! colspan="2" rowspan="1" |Coalition
! colspan="2" rowspan="1" |Party
! style="text-align:center;" |Seats
! style="text-align:center;" |%
|-
| rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color|Centre-right coalition}}" |
| rowspan="5" style="text-align:left;" |[[Centre-right coalition (Italy)|Centre-right coalition]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Brothers of Italy}}" | 
| align="left" |[[Brothers of Italy]] 
|119
|29.7
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Lega per Salvini Premier}}" |
| align="left" |[[Lega per Salvini Premier|League]] 
|66
|16.5
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Forza Italia (2013)}}" |
| align="left" |{{Lang|it|[[Forza Italia (2013)|Forza Italia]]|italic=no}} 
|45
|11.2
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Us Moderates}}" |
| align="left" |[[Us Moderates]]
|7
|1.7
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |'''Total seats'''
|'''237'''
|'''59.2'''
|-
| rowspan="6" bgcolor="{{party color|Centre-left coalition}}" |
| rowspan="6" style="text-align:left;" |[[Centre-left coalition (Italy)|Centre-left coalition]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Democratic Party (Italy)}}" |
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Democratic Party - Democratic and Progressive Italy|Democratic Party-IDP]] 
|57
|14.4
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Greens and Left Alliance}}" |
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Greens and Left Alliance]]
|12
|3.0
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|More Europe}}" |
| style="text-align:left;" |[[More Europe]]
|2
|0.5
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Civic Commitment}}" |
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Civic Commitment]]
|1
|0.5
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Aosta Valley (political coalition)}}" |
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Aosta Valley (political coalition)|Aosta Valley]]
|1
|0.5
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |'''Total seats'''
|'''68'''
|'''17.0'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Five Star Movement}};" |
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" |[[Five Star Movement]] 
|'''52'''
|'''13.0'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Action (Italy)}};" |
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" |[[Action - Italia Viva]]
|'''21'''
|'''5.2'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|South Tyrolean People's Party}};" |
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" |[[South Tyrolean People's Party]]
|'''3'''
|'''0.7'''
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|South calls North}}" |
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | [[South Calls North]]
|'''1'''
|'''0.25'''
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Associative Movement of Italians Abroad}}" |
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" |[[Associative Movement of Italians Abroad]] 
|'''1'''
|'''0.25'''
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:left;" |'''Total'''
|'''400'''
|'''100'''
|}

===Senate of the Republic===
[[File: Risultati elezioni politiche italiane 2022 - Senato della Repubblica - Per liste.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Composition of the Senate following the [[2022 Italian general election|25 September 2022 election]]]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+
! colspan="2" rowspan="1" |Coalition
! colspan="2" rowspan="1" |Party
! style="text-align:center;" |Seats
! style="text-align:center;" |%
|-
| rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color|Centre-right coalition}}" |
| rowspan="5" style="text-align:left;" |[[Centre-right coalition (Italy)|Centre-right coalition]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Brothers of Italy}}" | 
| align="left" |[[Brothers of Italy]] 
|65
|32.5
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Lega per Salvini Premier}}" |
| align="left" |[[Lega per Salvini Premier|League]] 
|30
|15.0
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Forza Italia (2013)}}" |
| align="left" |{{Lang|it|[[Forza Italia (2013)|Forza Italia]]|italic=no}} 
|18
|9.0
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Us Moderates}}" |
| align="left" |[[Us Moderates]]
|2
|1.0
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |'''Total seats'''
|'''115'''
|'''57.5'''
|-
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Centre-left coalition}}" |
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:left;" |[[Centre-left coalition (Italy)|Centre-left coalition]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Democratic Party (Italy)}}" |
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Democratic Party - Democratic and Progressive Italy|Democratic Party-IDP]] 
|40
|20.0
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Greens and Left Alliance}}" |
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Greens and Left Alliance]]
|4
|2.0
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |'''Total seats'''
|'''44'''
|'''22.0'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Five Star Movement}};" |
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" |[[Five Star Movement]] 
|'''28'''
|'''14.0'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Action (Italy)}};" |
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" |[[Action - Italia Viva]]
|'''9'''
|'''4.5'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|South Tyrolean People's Party}};" |
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" |[[South Tyrolean People's Party]]
|'''2'''
|'''1.0'''
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|South calls North}}" |
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | [[South Calls North]]
|'''1'''
|'''0.5'''
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Associative Movement of Italians Abroad}}" |
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" |[[Associative Movement of Italians Abroad]] 
|'''1'''
|'''0.5'''
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:left;" |'''Total'''
|'''200'''
|'''100'''
|}

===Political parties===

Italy's dramatic self-renewal transformed the political landscape between 1992 and 1997. Scandal investigations touched thousands of politicians, administrators and businessmen; the shift from a proportional to the [[Scorporo|scorporo system]] (with the requirement to obtain a minimum of 4% of the national vote to obtain representation) also altered the political landscape.  Party changes were sweeping. The Christian Democratic party dissolved; the Italian People's Party and the Christian Democratic Center emerged. Other major parties, such as the Socialists, saw support plummet. A new [[liberalism|liberal]] movement, {{Lang|it|[[Forza Italia (1994)|Forza Italia]]|italic=no}}, gained wide support among moderate voters. The [[National Alliance (Italy)|National Alliance]] broke from the  neo-fascist [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI). A trend toward two large coalitions (one on the center-left and the other on the center-right) emerged from the April 1995 regional elections. For the 1996 national elections, the center-left parties created the [[The Olive Tree (Italy)|Olive Tree]] coalition while the center-right united again under the [[House of Freedoms]]. These coalitions continued into the 2001 and 2007 national elections.<ref>Geoffrey Pridham, ''Political Parties and Coalitional Behaviour in Italy'' (2013),</ref>

{{Main|Italian general election, 2006}}

This emerging bipolarity represents a major break from the fragmented, multi-party political landscape of the postwar era, although it appears to have reached a plateau since efforts via referendums to further curtail the influence of small parties were defeated in 1999, 2000 and 2009.<ref>Günther Pallaver et al. eds. ''Populism, Populists, and the Crisis of Political Parties: A Comparison of Italy, Austria, and Germany 1990-2015'' (2018) [https://www.amazon.com/Populism-Populists-Crisis-Political-Parties-ebook/dp/B07F3HP38J/  excerpt]</ref>

==Regional governments==
{{main|Regions of Italy}}
Five regions ([[Aosta Valley]], [[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]], [[Sardinia]], [[Sicily]] and [[Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol]]) have special charters granting them varying degrees of autonomy. The ''raisons d'être'' of these charters is in most cases the presence of [[Languages of Italy#Historical linguistic minorities|significant linguistic and cultural minorities]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senato.it/japp/bgt/showdoc/17/DOSSIER/0/1022617/index.html?part=dossier_dossier1-sezione_sezione11-h1_h17|title=LA TUTELA NELLE REGIONI AD AUTONOMIA SPECIALE|access-date=17 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> but in the case of Sicily it was to calm down separatist movements.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dirittoconsenso.it/2020/12/18/statuto-speciale-regione-siciliana/|title=Introduzione storica allo Statuto speciale della Regione siciliana|date=18 December 2020 |access-date=17 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> The other 15 regions were in practice established in 1970, even if their ideation had been a much earlier idea.

{{Presidents of Italian Regions}}

==History of the post-war political landscape==
[[File:ElezioneMilano.jpg|thumb|Campaigners working on posters in [[Milan]], 2004]]
{{Main|History of the Italian Republic}}

===First Republic: 1946–1994===
{{Main|Aftermath of World War II}}
{{Further|Iron Curtain|Origins of the Cold War|Cold War (1947–1953)}}
[[File:Alcide de Gasperi 2.jpg|thumb|[[Alcide De Gasperi]], the first republican [[Prime Minister of Italy]] and one of the [[Founding fathers of the European Union]]. He was Prime Minister from 1945 to 1953.]]

There have been frequent government turnovers since 1945, indeed there have been 66 governments in this time.<ref>"Pasta and fries".''The Economist'' (24 February – 2 March 2007 Issue) Volume 382, Number 8517</ref> The dominance of the [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democratic]] party (DC) during much of the post-war period lent continuity and comparative stability to Italy's political situation,<ref name="Almagisti 2015">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Almagisti |first=Marco |year=2015 |title=Subculture politiche territoriali e capitale sociale |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/subculture-politiche-territoriali-e-capitale-sociale_%28L%27Italia-e-le-sue-Regioni%29/ |encyclopedia=[[Enciclopedia Treccani]] |language=it |location=[[Rome]] |publisher=Treccani |series=L'Italia e le sue Regioni |access-date=10 September 2022}}</ref> mainly dominated by the attempt of keeping the [[Italian Communist Party]] (PCI) out of power in order to maintain [[Cold War]] equilibrium in the region (see [[May 1947 crisis]]).<ref>Frederic Spotts and Theodor Wieser, eds. ''Italy: A Difficult Democracy: A Survey of Italian Politics'' . (1986)</ref>

The Italian Communists were in the government only in the national unity governments before 1948, in which their party's secretary [[Palmiro Togliatti]] was minister of Justice. After the [[1948 Italian general election|first democratic elections]] with [[universal suffrage]] in 1948 in which the Christian Democracy and their allies won against the popular front of the Italian Communist and [[Italian Socialist Party|Socialist]] (PSI) parties, the Italian Communist Party never returned in the government.

The system had been nicknamed the "imperfect bipolarism", referring to more proper bipolarism in other [[Western countries]] (such as [[France]], [[Germany]], the [[United Kingdom]], and the [[United States]]) where right-wing and left-wing parties alternated in government. Meanwhile, rising post-war tensions between right-wing and left-wing parties in Italy brought to the [[radicalization]] and proliferation of numerous [[Left-wing terrorism|far-left]] and [[Right-wing terrorism|far-right]] [[terrorist organization]]s throughout the country.<ref name="Drake 2021">{{cite book |last=Drake |first=Richard |year=2021 |chapter=The Two Faces of Italian Terrorism: 1969–1974 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xG0cEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT36 |title=The Revolutionary Mystique and Terrorism in Contemporary Italy |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |edition=2nd |pages=36–53 |isbn=9780253057143 |lccn=2020050360}}</ref><ref name="Martin-Prager 2019">{{cite book |author1-last=Martin |author1-first=Gus |author1-link=C. Augustus Martin |author2-last=Prager |author2-first=Fynnwin |year=2019 |chapter=Part II: The Terrorists – Terror from Below: Terrorism by Dissidents |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f8p-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA189 |title=Terrorism: An International Perspective |location=[[Thousand Oaks, California]] |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |pages=189–193 |isbn=9781526459954 |lccn=2018948259}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Clark |first=Simon |year=2018 |chapter=Post-War Italian Politics: Stasis and Chaos |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2V9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 |title=Terror Vanquished: The Italian Approach to Defeating Terrorism |location=[[Arlington County, Virginia]] |publisher=Center for Security Policy Studies at the [[Schar School of Policy and Government]] ([[George Mason University]]) |pages=30–42, 48–59 |isbn=978-1-7329478-0-1 |lccn=2018955266}}</ref><ref name="Balz 2015">{{cite book |author-last=Balz |author-first=Hanno |year=2015 |chapter=Section III: Terrorism in the Twentieth Century – Militant Organizations in Western Europe in the 1970s and 1980s |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZCsBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA297 |editor-last=Law |editor-first=Randall D. |title=The Routledge History of Terrorism |location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |series=Routledge Histories |pages=297–314 |isbn=9780367867058 |lccn=2014039877}}</ref>

====Entrance of the Socialists to the government====
The main event in the First Republic in the 1960s was the inclusion of the Italian Socialist Party in the government after the reducing edge of the [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democracy]] (DC) had forced them to accept this alliance. In 1960, attempts to incorporate the [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI) within the [[Tambroni Cabinet]], a [[Neo-fascism|neo-fascist]]<ref name="Ceccarini-Newell 2019">{{cite book |author1-last=Newell |author1-first=James L. |author2-last=Ceccarini |author2-first=Luigi |year=2019 |chapter=Introduction: The Paradoxical Election |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ6SDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 |editor1-last=Newell |editor1-first=James L. |editor2-last=Ceccarini |editor2-first=Luigi |title=The Italian General Election of 2018: Italy in Uncharted Territory |location=[[Cham, Switzerland]] |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |page=4 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-13617-8_1 |isbn=978-3-030-13617-8}}</ref> far-right party and the only surviving political remnant of the [[Republican Fascist Party]] that was disbanded in the aftermath of the [[Italian Civil War]] (1943–1945), led to short-lived [[riot]]s in the summer of the same year;<ref name="Levy-Bessel 2000">{{cite book |author-last=Levy |author-first=Carl |author-link=Carl Levy (political scientist) |year=2000 |orig-year=1996 |chapter=From Fascism to "Post-Fascists": Italian Roads to Modernity |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aJvzjv12CkcC&pg=PA188 |editor-last=Bessel |editor-first=Richard |editor-link=Richard Bessel |title=Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany: Comparisons and Contrasts |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=188–190 |isbn=9780521477116}}</ref> as a consequence, [[Fernando Tambroni]] was eventually replaced by the Christian Democrat politician [[Amintore Fanfani]] as Prime Minister of Italy.

[[Aldo Moro]], a relatively left-leaning Christian Democrat, inspired the alliance between the Christian Democracy and the Italian Socialist Party. He would later try to include the Italian Communist Party as well with a deal called the "[[Historic Compromise|historic compromise]]". However, this attempt at compromise was stopped by the [[kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro]] in 1978 by the [[Red Brigades]] (BR), an extremist [[Left-wing terrorism|left-wing terrorist organization]].<ref name="Rossi 2021">{{cite journal |author-last=Rossi |author-first=Federica |date=April 2021 |title=The failed amnesty of the 'years of lead' in Italy: Continuity and transformations between (de)politicization and punitiveness |editor-last=Treiber |editor-first=Kyle |journal=[[European Journal of Criminology]] |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=381–400 |location=[[Los Angeles]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] on behalf of the [[European Society of Criminology]] |doi=10.1177/14773708211008441 |doi-access=free |issn=1741-2609 |s2cid=234835036 |quote=The [[Years of Lead (Italy)|1970s in Italy]] were characterized by the persistence and prolongation of political and social unrest that many Western countries experienced during the late 1960s. The decade saw the multiplication of [[Far-left politics|far-left]] [[Terrorism in Italy|extra-parliamentary organizations]], the presence of a [[militant]] [[Far-right politics in Italy|far right movement]], and an upsurge in the use of politically motivated violence and state repressive measures. The increasing militarization and the use of political violence, from [[sabotage]] and damage to property, to [[kidnapping]]s and [[Targeted killing|targeted assassinations]], were justified by left-wing groups both as necessary means to achieve a revolutionary project and as defences against the threat of a neo-fascist coup.}}</ref>

The Italian Communist Party was at this point the largest communist party in [[Western Europe]], and remained such for the rest of its existence. Their ability to attract members was largely due to their pragmatic stance, especially their rejection of political extremism and to their growing independence from the [[Soviet Union]] (see [[Eurocommunism]]). The Italian Communist Party was especially strong in regions like [[Emilia-Romagna]] and [[Tuscany]], where communists had been elected to stable government positions.<ref name="Almagisti 2015"/> This practical political experience may have contributed to their taking a more pragmatic approach to politics.<ref>Joan Barth Urban, '' Moscow and the Italian Communist Party: From Togliatti to Berlinguer'' (IB Tauris, 1986).</ref>

====Years of Lead====<!-- This section is linked from [[Italian Social Movement]] -->
{{See also|Strategy of tension|Years of Lead (Italy)}}

On 12 December 1969, a roughly decade-long period of extremist left- and right-wing political terrorism, known as The Years of Lead (as in the metal of bullets, {{langx|it|anni di piombo}}), began with the [[Piazza Fontana bombing]] in the center of [[Milan]]. Neofascist [[Vincenzo Vinciguerra]] later declared the bombing to be an attempt to push the Italian state to declare a [[state of emergency]] in order to lead to a more authoritative state. A bomb left in a bank killed about twenty and was initially blamed on [[anarchism|anarchist]] [[Giuseppe Pinelli]]. This accusation was hotly contested by left-wing circles, especially the [[Maoist]] Student Movement, which had support in those years from some students of Milan's [[university|universities]] and who considered the bombing to have all the marks of a fascist operation. Their guess proved correct, but only after many years of difficult investigations.<ref>David Moss, ''The Politics of Left-Wing Violence in Italy, 1969-85'' (1989)</ref>

[[File:Strage di bologna funerali 1.jpg|thumb|Funerals of the victims of the 2 August 1980 [[Bologna massacre]], the deadliest attack ever perpetrated in Italy during the Years of Lead]]
The strategy of tension attempted to blame the left for bombings carried out by right-wing terrorists. Fascist "black terrorists", such as ''[[Ordine Nuovo]]'' and the ''[[National Vanguard (Italy)|Avanguardia Nazionale]]'', were in the 1980s and 1990s found to be responsible for several terrorist attacks. On the other extreme of the political spectrum, the leftist Red Brigades carried out assassinations against specific persons, but were not responsible for any blind bombings. The Red Brigades killed socialist journalist [[Walter Tobagi]] and in their most famous operation kidnapped and assassinated [[Aldo Moro]], president of the [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democracy]], who was trying to involve the [[Italian Communist Party|Communist Party]] in the government through the ''[[historic compromise|compromesso storico]]'' ("historic compromise"), to which the radical left as well as Washington were opposed.<ref>Robert C. Meade Jr.. ''Red Brigades: The Story of Italian Terrorism'' (1989)</ref>

The last and largest of the bombings, known as the [[Bologna massacre]], destroyed the city's railway station in 1980. This was found to be a neofascist bombing, in which [[Propaganda Due]] was involved. On 24 October 1990, Prime Minister [[Giulio Andreotti]] (DC) revealed to the Parliament the existence of [[Gladio]], [[NATO]]'s secret "stay-behind" networks which stocked weapons in order to facilitate an armed resistance in case of a communist coup. In 2000, a Parliament Commission report from the [[The Olive Tree (Italy)|Olive Tree]] (centre-left) coalition concluded that the strategy of tension followed by Gladio had been supported by the United States to "stop the PCI and, to a certain degree, the PSI [Italian Socialist Party] from reaching executive power in the country".<ref>Leonard Weinberg,  "Italian neo‐fascist terrorism: A comparative perspective." ''Terrorism and Political Violence'' 7.1 (1995): 221-238.</ref>

====1980s====
[[File:Milano - Palazzo di Giustizia - panoramio - MarkusMark (1).jpg|thumb|[[Milan]]'s Palace of Justice, where the investigation of ''[[mani pulite]]'' began.]]
With the end of the lead years, the Communist Party gradually increased their votes under the leadership of [[Enrico Berlinguer]]. The [[Italian Socialist Party]], led by [[Bettino Craxi]], became more and more critical of the communists and of the [[Soviet Union]]; Craxi himself pushed in favor of [[Ronald Reagan]]'s positioning of [[Pershing II]] missiles in Italy, a move many communists strongly disapproved of.

As the Socialist Party moved to more moderate positions, it attracted many reformists, some of whom were irritated by the failure of the communists to modernize. Increasingly, many on the left began to see the communists as old and out of fashion while Craxi and the socialists seemed to represent a new liberal socialism. The Communist Party surpassed the Christian Democrats only in the [[1984 European Parliament election in Italy|European elections of 1984]], held barely two days after Berlinguer's death, a passing that likely drew sympathy from many voters. The election of 1984 was to be the only time the Christian Democrats did not emerge as the largest party in a nationwide election in which they participated.

In 1987, one year after the [[Chernobyl disaster]] following a referendum in that year, a nuclear phase-out was commenced. Italy's [[List of nuclear reactors#Italy|four nuclear power plants]] were closed down, the last in 1990. A moratorium on the construction of new plants, originally in effect from 1987 until 1993, has since been extended indefinitely.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://energytrends.pnl.gov/italy/it004.htm |title=Italy - National Energy Policy and Overview |access-date=2005-08-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050906154331/http://energytrends.pnl.gov/italy/it004.htm |archive-date=6 September 2005 }}</ref>

In these years, [[political corruption|corruption]] began to be more extensive, a development that would be exposed in the early 1990s and nicknamed ''[[Tangentopoli]]''. With the ''[[mani pulite]]'' investigation, starting just one year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the whole power structure faltered and seemingly indestructible parties, such as the Christian Democrats and the Socialist Party, disbanded whereas the Communist Party changed its name to the [[Democratic Party of the Left]] and took the role of the Socialist Party as the main [[Social democracy|social democratic]] party in Italy. What was to follow was then called the transition to the Second Republic.

===Second Republic: 1994–present===
From 1992 to 1997, Italy faced significant challenges as voters, disenchanted with past political paralysis, massive government debt, extensive [[Corruption in Italy|corruption]] and [[organized crime in Italy|organized crime]]'s considerable influence, collectively called ''Tangentopoli'' after being uncovered by ''mani pulite'', demanded political, economic and ethical reforms.

In the [[Referendums in Italy|Italian referendums]] of 1993, voters approved substantial changes, including moving from a proportional to the [[scorporo]] system which is largely dominated by a [[First Past the Post electoral system|majoritarian electoral system]] and the abolition of some ministries, some of which have been reintroduced with only partly modified names, such as the Ministry of Agriculture reincarnated as the Ministry of Agricultural Resources.

Major political parties, beset by scandal and loss of voter confidence, underwent far-reaching changes. New political forces and new alignments of power emerged in the March 1994 national elections. This election saw a major turnover in the new parliament, with 452 out of 630 deputies and 213 out of 315 senators elected for the first time.
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = horizontal
| image1            = Romano Prodi 1999 (cropped).jpg
| width1            = 150
| image2            = Silvio Berlusconi 1996.jpg
| width2            = 160
| caption1          = [[Romano Prodi]], Prime Minister from 1996 to 1998 and from 2006 to 2008, and long-time leader of the [[Centre-left coalition (Italy)|centre-left coalition]]
| caption2          = [[Silvio Berlusconi]], Prime Minister from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006 and from 2008 to 2011, and long-time leader of the [[Centre-right coalition (Italy)|centre-right coalition]]
}}

The 1994 elections also swept media magnate [[Silvio Berlusconi]] (leader of [[Pole of Freedoms]] coalition) into office as prime minister. However, Berlusconi was forced to step down in December 1994 when the [[Lega Nord|Northern League]] withdrew support. The Berlusconi government was succeeded by a [[technical government]] headed by Prime Minister [[Lamberto Dini]], which left office in early 1996.

A series of center-left coalitions dominated Italy's political landscape between 1996 and 2001. In April 1996, national elections led to the victory of a center-left coalition, [[The Olive Tree (Italy)|The Olive Tree]], under the leadership of [[Romano Prodi]]. Prodi's government became the third-longest to stay in power before he narrowly lost a vote of confidence, by three votes, in October 1998.

In May 1999, the Parliament selected [[Carlo Azeglio Ciampi]] as the [[List of Presidents of the Italian Republic|President of the Republic]]. Ciampi, a former prime minister and Minister of the Treasury and before entering the government also the governor of the [[Banca d'Italia|Bank of Italy]], was elected on the first ballot by a comfortable margin over the required two-thirds of the votes.

A new government was formed by the [[Democrats of the Left]] leader and former communist [[Massimo D'Alema]], but in April 2000 he resigned following poor performance by his coalition in regional elections.

The succeeding center-left government, including most of the same parties, was headed by [[Giuliano Amato]], a social democrat, who had previously served as prime minister in 1992–1993 and had at the time sworn never to return to active politics.

National elections held on 13 May 2001 returned Berlusconi to power at the head of the five-party center-right [[House of Freedoms]] coalition, comprising the Prime Minister's own party, [[Forza Italia (1994)|Forza Italia]], the [[National Alliance (Italy)|National Alliance]], the [[Lega Nord|Northern League]], the [[Christian Democratic Centre]] and the [[United Christian Democrats]].

Between 17 May 2006 and 21 February 2007, Romano Prodi served as prime minister of Italy following the narrow victory of his The Union coalition over the House of Freedoms led by Silvio Berlusconi in the April 2006 Italian elections. Following a government crisis, Prodi submitted his resignation on 21 February 2007. Three days later, he was asked by President [[Giorgio Napolitano]] to stay on as prime minister and he agreed to do so. On 28 February 2007, Prodi narrowly survived a senate [[no confidence vote]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6403561.stm |title=Italian Prime Minister survives senate vote |publisher=BBC News |date=2007-02-28 |access-date=2010-08-09}}</ref>

On 24 January 2008, the [[Prodi II Cabinet]] went through a [[2008 Italian political crisis|new crisis]] because [[Italian Minister of Justice|Minister of Justice]] [[Clemente Mastella]] retracted his support to the Cabinet. Consequently, the Prodi Cabinet lost the [[vote of confidence]] and the President Giorgio Napolitano called [[2008 Italian general election|a new general election]].

The election set against two new parties, the [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]] (founded in October 2007 by the union of the Democrats of the Left and [[Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy|The Daisy]]) led by [[Walter Veltroni]]: and [[The People of Freedom]] (federation of Forza Italia, National Alliance and other parties) led by Silvio Berlusconi. The Democratic Party was in alliance with [[Italy of Values]] while The People of Freedom forged an alliance with the Northern League and the [[Movement for Autonomy]]. The coalition led by Berlusconi won the election and the leader of the centre-right created the [[Berlusconi IV Cabinet]].

The Monti government had the highest average age in the western world (64 years), with its youngest members being 57. The previous Italian Prime Minister [[Mario Monti]] is 70, his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi was 75 at the time of resignation (2011), the previous head of the government Romano Prodi was 70 when he stepped down (2008), the Italian President Giorgio Napolitano is 88 and his predecessor Carlo Azeglio Ciampi was 86. In 2013, the youngest among the candidates for prime minister ([[Pier Luigi Bersani]]) is 62, the others being 70 and 78. The current average age of Italian university professors is 63, of bank directors and CEOs 67, of members of parliament 56 and of labor union representatives 59.<ref name="svd.se">{{cite news|url=https://www.svd.se/ung-ilska-mot-italiens-politiska-dinosaurier|title=Ung ilska mot Italiens politiska dinosaurier – SvD|newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet|date=28 February 2012 }}</ref><ref name="espresso.repubblica.it">{{cite web|url=http://espresso.repubblica.it/archivio/appoggio/2011/09/07/news/il-parlamento-italiano-maschio-e-di-mezza-eta-1.124884|title=Il Parlamento italiano? Maschio e di mezza età|date=7 September 2011|website=l'Espresso}}</ref><ref name="lastampa.it">{{cite web|url=http://www.lastampa.it/2012/05/17/italia/abbiamo-i-potenti-piu-vecchi-d-europapolitici-e-manager-sfiorano-i-anni-bvZs8WQYLtO40axUjOYsoJ/pagina.html|title=Abbiamo i potenti più vecchi d'EuropaPolitici e manager sfiorano i 60 anni|website=LaStampa.it|date=17 May 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senato.it/leg/16/BGT/Schede/Statistiche/Composizione/Copertina.html|title=senato.it – Distribuzione dei Senatori per fasce di età e per sesso|website=senato.it}}</ref>

The new Italian government headed by [[Enrico Letta]] took two months to form and made international news when Luigi Preiti shot at policemen near the building where they were swearing in the new government on Sunday 28 April 2013.

Former Prime Minister [[Matteo Renzi]] became the youngest prime minister at 39 years and his government had the youngest average age in Europe.

==== Grand coalition governments ====
At different times since his entering the Italian Parliament, [[Silvio Berlusconi]], leader of the centre-right, had repeatedly vowed to stop the "communists", while leftist parties had insisted that they would oust Berlusconi. Thus, despite the fact that the executive branch bears responsibility toward the Parliament, the governments led by Mario Monti (since 2011) and by Enrico Letta (since 2013) were called "unelected governments"<ref>{{cite web|title=Monti names unelected government|url=http://euobserver.com/economic/114299|publisher=EU observer}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=A Berlusconi Reminder as Italy Faces Another Unelected Premier|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/17/world/europe/a-berlusconi-reminder-as-italy-faces-another-unelected-premier.html?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Italy has 4th Government in 3 Years; the Last 3 Unelected|url=http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.it/2014/02/italy-has-4th-government-in-3-years.html|publisher=Mish's Global Economic Trend Analsysis}}</ref> because they won a vote of confidence by a Parliament coalition formed by centre-right and left-right parties that had in turn obtained parliamentary seats by taking part in the elections as competitors, rather than allies. While formally complying with law and procedures, the creation of these governments did not comply with the decision made by people through the election.

Meanwhile, in 2013, a ruling by the [[Constitutional Court of Italy]] established that the Italian electoral system employed to elect the Parliament breached a number of Constitutional requirements.<ref>{{cite news|title=Italy's top court rules electoral law breaches constitution|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-law-unconstitutional-idUSBRE9B30YW20131204|work=Reuters}}</ref> Notably, the Court observed the following four facts:<ref name="cortecostituzionale.it">{{cite web|title=Giudizio di leggitimità costituzionale in via incidentale|url=http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/actionSchedaPronuncia.do?tipo_view=P&anno=2014&numero=1|publisher=Corte Costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana}}</ref> 1) "such a legislation deprives the elector of any margin of choice of its representatives"; 2) "all of the elected parliamentarians, with no exception, lack the support of a personal designation by the citizens"; 3) the electoral law has regulations which "exclude any ability on the part of the elector to have an influence on the election of his/her representatives"; 4) and contains conditions such that "they alter the representative relationship between electors and elected people...they coerce the electors' freedom of choice in the election of their representatives to the Parliament...and consequently they are at odds with the democratic principle, by affecting the very freedom of vote provided for by art. 48 of the Constitution". This implies that, despite being called – and acting as – a legitimate "parliament",<ref>{{cite web|title=Italy Constitutional Court: parliament legitimate, electoral law unconstitutional|url=http://jurist.org/paperchase/2014/01/italy-constitutional-court-parliament-legitimate-electoral-law-unconstitutional.php|publisher=Jurist}}</ref> the legislative assembly of Italy was chosen with a vote system by which the right to vote was not exercised according to the Italian fundamental chart of citizen's rights and duties. The issue was a major one, to the extent that the Constitutional Court itself ruled that the Italian Parliament should remain in charge only to reform the electoral system and then should be dissolved.<ref name="cortecostituzionale.it"/>

The new government led by [[Matteo Renzi]] proposed a new electoral law. The so-called [[Italicum]] was approved in 2015 and came into force on 1 July 2016.

==== Since 2016 ====
[[File:Alte cariche dello Stato Italiano alla parata del 2 giugno 2023.jpeg|thumb|The [[Italian order of precedence|most important offices of the Italian State]] have pinned on the jacket, during the military parade of the ''[[Festa della Repubblica]]'' celebrated every 2 June, a [[cockade of Italy]].]]

Renzi resigned after losing a [[2016 Italian constitutional referendum|constitutional referendum]] in December 2016, and was succeeded by [[Paolo Gentiloni]]. The centre-left cabinets were plagued by the aftermath of the [[European debt crisis]] and the [[European migrant crisis]], that fueled support for populist and right-wing parties.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fear of migrants feeds growth of Italy's far right |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/fear-of-migrants-feeds-growth-of-italy-s-far-right-1.3393398 |access-date=10 June 2021 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |date=17 February 2018}}</ref> In 2017, the so-called Italicum was replaced by a [[Italian electoral law of 2017|new electoral law]], which uses a [[parallel voting]] system to assign seats.<ref>[http://www.corriere.it/politica/cards/come-funziona-rosatellum/iter_principale.shtml Rosatellum, come funziona la legge elettorale e cosa prevede]</ref><ref>[http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2017-09-21/rosatellum-20-tutti-rischi-nuovo-patto-nazareno-082520.shtml?uuid=AEVDe3WC Rosatellum 2.0, tutti i rischi del nuovo Patto del Nazareno]</ref>
[[File:Covid-19 San Salvatore 09.jpg|thumb|Exhausted nurse takes a break in an Italian hospital during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Italy|COVID-19 emergency]].]]

The [[2018 Italian general election|2018 general election]] produced once again a [[hung parliament]] that resulted in the birth of an unlikely [[Conte I Cabinet|populist government]] between the anti-system [[Five Star Movement]] (M5S) and Salvini's [[Lega (political party)|League]], led by [[Giuseppe Conte]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/opinion/populists-rome-five-star-movement.html |title=Opinion – The Populists Take Rome |date=24 May 2018 |access-date=2 June 2018 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> After fourteen months, [[2019 Italian government crisis|the League withdrew its support to Conte]]. The M5S subsequently allied with the [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]] and other smaller left-wing parties to form a [[Conte II Cabinet|new cabinet]], once again headed by Conte.<ref>{{cite news |title=Italy's Conte forms coalition of bitter rivals, booting far-right from power |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20190905-italy-coalition-conte-five-star-populists-democrats |access-date=9 September 2019 |work=France 24 |date=5 September 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=New Italian government formed, allying M5S and the center-left {{!}} DW {{!}} 4 September 2019 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/new-italian-government-formed-allying-m5s-and-the-center-left/a-50287864 |access-date=9 September 2019 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=4 September 2019}}</ref>

In 2020, Italy was severely hit by the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Italy|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>[http://www.salute.gov.it/nuovocoronavirus Nuovo coronavirus], ''Minsitero della Salute''</ref> From March to May, Conte's government imposed a [[2020 Italy coronavirus lockdown|national quarantine]] as a measure to limit the spread of the pandemic.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51810673 |title=Italy extends emergency measures nationwide}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Beaumont |first1=Peter |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/10/from-confidence-to-quarantine-how-coronavirus-swept-italy |title=From confidence to quarantine: how coronavirus swept Italy |date=10 March 2020 |work=The Guardian|access-date=12 March 2020 |last2=Sample |first2=Ian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The measures, despite being widely approved by public opinion,<ref>{{cite web |last1=De Feo |first1=Gianluca |title=Sondaggio Demos: gradimento per Conte alle stelle |url=https://www.youtrend.it/2020/03/20/sondaggio-demos-gradimento-per-conte-alle-stelle/ |website=YouTrend |access-date=22 March 2020 |language=it-IT |date=20 March 2020}}</ref> were also described as the largest suppression of [[constitutional right]]s in the history of the republic.<ref>{{cite news |title=Blog {{!}} Coronavirus, la sospensione delle libertà costituzionali è realtà. Ma per me ce la stiamo cavando bene |url=https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2020/03/18/coronavirus-la-sospensione-delle-liberta-costituzionali-e-realta-ma-per-me-ce-la-stiamo-cavando-bene/5739296/ |access-date=22 March 2020 |work=Il Fatto Quotidiano |date=18 March 2020 |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Un uomo solo è al comando dell'Italia, e nessuno ha niente da ridire |url=https://www.linkiesta.it/2020/03/italia-coronavirus-conte-uomo-solo-al-comando/ |access-date=4 March 2020 |work=Linkiesta |date=24 March 2020 |language=it-IT}}</ref> With more than 100,000 confirmed victims, Italy was one of the countries with the highest total number of deaths in the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Italy mourns its 100,000 dead as third wave builds |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2021/0318/1204668-corovirus-global/ |access-date=10 June 2021 |agency=[[Raidió Teilifís Éireann]] |date=18 March 2021}}</ref> The pandemic caused also a [[Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic|severe economic disruption]], which resulted in Italy being one of the most affected countries.<ref>[https://www.agi.it/economia/news/2020-04-14/coronavirus-fmi-crisi-economica-8331041/ L'Italia pagherà il conto più salato della crisi post-epidemia], AGI</ref> In February 2021, these extraordinary circumstances brought to the formation of a [[Draghi Cabinet|national coalition government]] led by former president of the European Central Bank [[Mario Draghi]], following [[Italia Viva|IV]]'s decision to [[2021 Italian government crisis|withdraw its support to the second Conte cabinet]]. On 13 February 2021, Draghi was sworn in as Italy's new prime minister. The [[Draghi Cabinet]] had support across the broad political spectrum.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mario Draghi sworn in as Italy's new prime minister |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56049115 |publisher=BBC News |date=13 February 2021}}</ref> In January 2022, Italian President [[Sergio Mattarella]] was re-elected to serve a second consecutive seven-year term.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sergio Mattarella: At 80, Italy president re-elected on amid successor row |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60183929 |publisher=BBC News |date=29 January 2022}}</ref>

On 21 July 2022, following a [[2022 Italian government crisis|government crisis]] which ended with FI, League and the M5S deciding to withdraw their support to the government, Prime Minister Draghi resigned. President [[Sergio Mattarella]] consequently dissolved the Parliament<ref>{{cite web | url=https://apnews.com/article/elections-legislature-italy-802d6ab0965feebf4e3f7bda1659df42 | title=Italy heads to early election after Draghi's coalition fails | website=[[Associated Press]] | date=21 July 2022 }}</ref> and called a [[2022 Italian general election|snap election]], which resulted in the [[Centre-right coalition (Italy)|centre-right coalition]], led by [[Giorgia Meloni]], gaining an absolute majority of seats.<ref>{{cite news|date=27 September 2022|title=Italy's far-right Meloni begins tricky government talks|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220927-italy-s-far-right-meloni-begins-tricky-government-talks |access-date=2 October 2022|work=France 24|publisher=Agence France-Press}}</ref> Meloni was formally sworn in as Italy's first female prime minister on 22 October 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=Who is Giorgia Meloni? The rise to power of Italy's new far-right PM |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63351655 |work=BBC News |date=21 October 2022}}</ref>

== Democratic performance ==
Italy is generally described as a high-performing or middling democracy by [[democracy indices]]. The Economist described Italy as a flawed democracy in its 2024 Democracy Index, notably due to Italy's bad 'political culture' (6.88 out of 10 points). This measures popular support for democracy as opposed to military or expert rule.<ref name=":0" /><sup>:11,16</sup> By contrast, Italy received almost full marks for its 'electoral process and pluralism' (9.58 points). In the global ranking, Italy came in 37th place.<ref name=":0" /> Similarly, according to the 2025 [[V-Dem Democracy indices]] Italy was the 30th most liberal democratic country in the world. It scored top 4 in the world for participative democracy, i.e. active citizen participation via civil society and local elections.<ref name="vdem_dataset" />

[[Freedom in the World|Freedom House]] qualified Italy as free with 89 out of 100 points in 2024, citing its competitive multiparty elections and general granting of civil liberties. For press freedom however, Freedom House awarded Italy only five out of six points, citing common defamation suits against journalists with serious financial costs for defendants, even if acquitted after a lengthy procedure.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italy: Freedom on the Net 2024 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/italy/freedom-net/2024#C |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Freedom House |language=en}}</ref> The think tank also raised substantial concerns about [[LGBTQ rights in Italy|Italian LGBT]] and migrant rights, substantial regional inequalities and endemic [[corruption in Italy]] and organised crime.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italy: Country Profile |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/italy |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Freedom House |language=en}}</ref> Global State of Democracy classified Italy as a high-range performer in all categories, except for the rule of law. As an example of flawed rule of law, the ranking cites that the central government reassigned the judges responsible for migrant detention, in what the opposition called retaliation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italy - December 2024 {{!}} The Global State of Democracy |url=https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/report/italy/december-2024 |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=www.idea.int}}</ref> The [[Polity data series|Polity project]] describes Italy as a full democracy (10 out of 10) since 1948.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Polity5 Annual Time-Series, 1946-2018 |url=https://www.systemicpeace.org/polity/Italy2010.pdfv}}</ref>

==See also ==
{{portal|Italy|Politics}}
* [[Censorship in Italy]]
* [[Elections in Italy]]
* [[History of Italy]]
* [[List of political parties in Italy]]
* [[List of presidents of Italy]]
* [[List of prime ministers of Italy]]
* [[Political history]]
* [[Anti-fascism]]
* [[Post–World War II anti-fascism]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite journal |last1= Diermeier | first1= Daniel |last2= Eraslan | first2= Hülya |last3= Merlo | first3= Antonio | title = Bicameralism and government formation | journal = [[Quarterly Journal of Political Science]] | volume = 2 | issue = 3 | pages = 227–252 | publisher = Now Publishing Inc. | doi = 10.1561/100.00005004 | date = August 2007 | hdl= 10419/117965 | hdl-access = free }}
* {{Cite journal |last= Pasquino | first= Gianfranco | title = Political history in Italy | journal = [[Journal of Policy History]] | volume = 21 | issue = 3 | pages = 282–297 | publisher = Now Publishing Inc. | doi = 10.1017/S0898030609090137 | date = July 2009 | s2cid= 154060795 }}
::Discusses political historians such as Silvio Lanaro, Aurelio Lepre, and Nicola Tranfaglia, and studies of Fascism, the Italian Communist party, the role of the Christian Democrats in Italian society, and the development of the Italian parliamentary Republic. [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/315859/summary excerpt]

{{Italy topics}}
{{Politics of Europe}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics of Italy}}
[[Category:Politics of Italy| ]]