The Italian Government Merry-Go-Round

Sometimes it seems that the Italian government strives to reach new levels of dysfunctionality. After all, there have been close to sixty governments since the country formed a democratic republic in 1946 following World War II, and political scandals seem to be the norm rather than the exception. On the other hand, it may be that term limits are simply a theoretical concept, and politicians and their parties mutate as the economy, geopolitics, and social programs demand.

La Santa Trinità
Much like many democratic governments today, the Italian government is divided into three branches. The executive branch has two members: the presidente, who is elected by an electoral college, and the primo ministero, who is generally the leader of the party that has the largest representation in the Chamber of Deputies (the prime minister is also sometimes called il Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri). The legislative branch consists of a bicameral Parlamento, which includes the Senato della Repubblica and the Camera dei Deputati (Chamber of Deputies). The Corte Costituzionale (Constitutional Court) rounds out the government.

La Casa Bianca
Wondering where all the machiavellian intrigue takes place? In Rome there's the Palazzo Montecitorio, where the Chamber of Deputies is located. Palazzo Madama is the Senate seat, and the president of Italy lives in the Palazzo del Quirinale, a splendid formal papal palace. Palazzo Chigi is the center of the Italian government.

If It Ain't Broke...
Recently the Italian government has made an effort to pass electoral reform laws, drafting a proposed amendment in which "one half of the seats in Parliament would be assigned through the old system of preferenze, or preferences, whereby electors write their 'preferred' candidate's name on the ballots."

Another concept central to the reforms is the liste bloccate, or frozen list. According the Italian Press Digest, "...in the frozen list system, seats [would be] assigned to the candidates of the winning party of coalition in the same order in which the candidates' names appear."

For an example of how arcane and complex the current system is, consider this rule: "...the total number of the votes obtained by the first unelected candidate of the winning lists is subtracted from the total proportional quota votes of the same list. This is called scorporo, or separation." No wonder Italian voters have become alienated from the political process.