The Annuals of Japanese Political Science Association
Online ISSN : 1884-3921
Print ISSN : 0549-4192
ISSN-L : 0549-4192
“Weak” Government and “Strong” Parliament:
Parliamentary Government and Bicameralism in Italy
Tomoaki Ikeya
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2023 Volume 74 Issue 1 Pages 1_123-1_149

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Abstract

  “Weak” government and “strong” parliament are a hallmark of the Parliamentary government and the bicameralism in Italy. The government must have the confidence of the House of Deputies and the Senate. President of the Council of the Ministers, which is the official appellation of the prime minister, cannot dissolve both Houses. Governments were unstable and the cohesion of the governmental parties wasn’t high. On the other hand, the Communist Party excluded from the government was a crucial member of the law-making process in both Houses. After the transition to the Second Republic, bipolar competition in the national elections realized the governmental alternation. Instability of the governments and the low cohesion of governmental parties remained. The 2013 and 2018 national elections couldn’t make clear electoral winners and the formation of a new government, in which the role of the President of the Republic was very important, didn’t go smoothly. Many Italians including political class and citizens long for transition from consensus model to the Westminster model of government, but the realization is very hard under the unstable party system.

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© 2023 JAPANESE POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION
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