The Formation of the Monti Government and the Role of the President of the Republic

Abstract

after the approval of the budget and the stability law, the prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who had led the government for the longest period in the history of the Italian Republic, formally resigned. 1 Twenty-four hours later, the president of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, invited Mario Monti, whom he had made a Life Senator just four days earlier, to form the next government. 2 An academic and president of the Bocconi University in Milan, Monti had been the European commissioner chosen by the Berlusconi government in 1994 and reappointed by the Massimo D'Alema centerleft government in 1999. On 16 November, having accepted the president's nomination, Monti presented a list of ministers, none of whom were members of Parliament, and they were all sworn in on that very day. Thus, one of the shortest government crises ever was resolved in less than three days. 3 In Italy, which has seen 58 governments since 1948, the formation of a new Cabinet is not in itself deserving of particular attention. However, the formation of the Monti government immediately raised great interest. It appeared to mark the end of a long political era and of a majority that only three years earlier had obtained a large electoral success. Secondly, the new executive was led by a figure selected from outside the parties and was made up of people who are

Defining and classifying technocrat‐led and technocratic governments

“…An initial observation, based on the data we have presented, is that we seem to find them in political systems where the head of state plays a key role in government formation (Blondel & Müller‐Rommel ). For example, in the case of Monti, President Napolitano was central in bringing about this outcome (Fusaro ). Such research might also consider the extent to which constitutional provisions or more informal norms play a role in different countries and how they do so.…”

“…Average duration, parliamentary support and electoral volatility of the 24 technocrat-led governments in theEU-27 Member States, 1945-2013 …”

Dodging the bullet: How crises trigger technocrat‐led governments

“…Indeed, studies have provided evidence that stronger presidential powers correlate with a higher share of nonpartisan cabinet ministers (Amorim Neto & Samuels ; Amorim Neto & Strøm ; Schleiter & Morgan‐Jones , ). In some countries, such as Portugal, Finland and Italy, technocratic governments were even called ‘presidential governments’, formed by the president and relying primarily on his support (Amorim Neto & Lobo ; Fusaro ; Raunio ). Extrapolating from cabinet ministers to the PM, the expectation is: H3 :A powerful president increases the likelihood of the formation of a technocrat‐led government. …”

Living Parallel Lives: Italy and Greece in an Age of Austerity

“…An initial attempt by Monti and Napolitano to include the main parties directly in the cabinet failed, due to the reluctance of groups in the Democratic Party (PD) and PdL to work in the same government with their former adversary. The two main parties therefore decided only to support the government in parliament without taking any ministerial responsibility (Fusaro 2012).…”