Radical reforms may end era of political instability

THE era of revolving door-style Italian government could finally be over if the new parliamentary reform commission, approved…

THE era of revolving door-style Italian government could finally be over if the new parliamentary reform commission, approved in parliament this week, achieves its ambitious aim of radical constitutional and institutional change.

In the post-war era, Italian political life has been blighted by apparent, chronic instability. There have been 54 governments since 1946, meaning that the average government life-span was less than one year. Such frequent change has inevitably undermined good government, making it difficult to initiate and sustain consistent policies in almost any area.

Furthermore, Italian government has been rendered even more difficult by the sheer size of both houses of parliament (315 senators and 630 deputies) and by the fact they have duplicate functions in relation to legislation. The upshot of this has been that, for decades now, Italian cabinets have governed largely by use of ministerial decrees, directives which take immediate effect but which must subsequently be approved in parliament.

Constitutional and institutional reform have long been at the centre of Italian political debate but an inability to agree on the precise nature of those reforms has so far thwarted all attempts to rewrite the 1948 constitution. The reform commission approved this week is perhaps the first parliamentary body created since 1948 with the potential to initiate changes as fundamental as those introduced 49 years ago.

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Among those issues it is expected to consider will be the need for greater regional autonomy; the elimination of the remaining 25 per cent of proportional representation in parliament; the duplicate role of both houses of parliament; the number of parliamentarians to be elected the direct election of the prime minister; the direct election of the state president.

The last two mentioned issues the roles of prime minister and president, could prove the biggest stumbling blocks on the commission's path. The opposition centre-right is pushing for the direct election of the prime minister while the main party in the centre left government, Democratic Left (PDS), lays the emphasis on a government mandate for a particular party rather than for a leader.

The question of the election and subsequent role of the president is also likely to divide the commission with parties such as Alleanza Nazionale and Mr Lamberto Dini's Italian Renewal Movement calling for direct election by voters, while the PDS favour election of the president by parliament and local government officials.

Further trouble up ahead could come from the government ally, the ultra-left Rifondazione Communista which will resist attempts to abolish the 25 per cent proportional vote on which its electoral fortunes largely rest.