The 2013 elections and the Italian political system

Abstract

Journal of Modern Italian StudiesPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: AbstractThe February 2013 Italian general elections were characterized by the highest volatility to date. Although, thanks to the majority bonus, the Partito Democratico (Democratic Party) obtained the absolute majority of seats in the House of Deputies, it could not be considered the winner of the elections. Lacking a majority in the Senate, it was obliged to form a government with Silvio Berlusconi's party and with the rather small number of parliamentarians elected in former Prime Minister Mario Monti's list. In spite of his last-minute surge, Berlusconi was a clear loser, having lost almost six million votes in respect of his 2008 victory.

Neo-trasformismo: Historical legacies and populist revolt

“…The second main feature of the new political system was an incipient system of party alternation with Berlusconi and the center right alternating in power with various center left governments: an unprecedented pattern in Italian political history (Pasquino, 2014: 432).…”

“…However, the government produced by the eighteenth parliament which emerged from the electoral earthquake of 2013 did not include M5S representatives since these refused to collaborate with any of the existing political forces. Instead, the immediate result was a government of ‘broad agreements’ including members of both the PD and the Berlusconi coalition (Pasquino, 2014: 433). This government, which was engineered by the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, had as its fundamental purpose constitutional reform.…”

Winds of Change

“…As in 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi and Forza Italia (FI) entered parliament, the Movimento 5 Stelle's (M5S) electoral results were unforeseen (Bordignon and Ceccarini 2013;D'Alimonte 2013). The party led by Beppe Grillo won nearly one quarter of the total votes and reshaped the Italian political scene (Newell 2014;Pasquino 2014): bipolarism faded away; left and right became obsolete categories; new policy issues entered the political and media agenda; innovative patterns of party organisation and intraparty democracy were introduced. The new parliament also registered an unusually high rate of renewal.…”