The Changing Role of the President of the Republic of Italy under the Second Republic

Abstract

As the Italian First Republic was called the ‘Republic of Parties’, the parties had very strong powers and the role of the President of the Republic was thought to be ceremonial. Although the Second Republic has led a bipolar electoral competition and the alternation in national government, parties are not the central actor in the political system. The instability of the party system and the sharp confrontation between the government and the oppositions have gave the President of the Republic more important political role. The presidents have had great influences on the political scenes. In this article I argue the changing role of the Presidents of the Second Republic focusing especially on their use of the formal and informal powers. The article concludes that in the unstable political situation the most important role of the President of the Second Republic is to represent the national unity as the article 87 of the Constitution of Italian Republic provides.