Democracy, Italian-Style
Italy is a democracy, a government ruled by the people. The people have not always run Italy. For a while, Italy had kings. Then, it had a dictator, a ruler with all the power. In 1922, Benito Mussolini was a dictator in Italy. He led Italy into World War II (1939–1945). After Italy lost the war, a republic replaced the dictatorship. A republic is a government in which people can choose their leaders.
The Parliamentary System
Italy is now governed by a parliament. A parliament is a ruling body like the U.S. Congress. Italy's parliament is made up of two houses, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. A parliament is a ruling body like the U.S. Congress. Italy's parliament is made up of two houses, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
In the United States, the people choose a president. In Italy, members of parliament, rather than the people, vote for the prime minister. A prime minister is a lot like the president of the United States. The prime minister runs the government, makes treaties or agreements with other countries, and meets with leaders of other nations.
Italy also has a president, but the president's role is unlike the U.S. president's role. The Italian president stands for unity among all parts of government. The president serves under the prime minister.
Majority Rules
In the United States, a president is elected every four years. Once elected, a president can only be reelected for one more turn in office. In Italy, a prime minister can stay in power as long as he or she has a majority of support from members of parliament. A majority is more than half. When there is no longer majority support, a prime minister must quit and a new government will be formed.
In February 2006, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, the Italian president, signed an order ending parliament early. His action opened the way for new parliamentary elections in April 2006. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's House of Freedom coalition did not win a majority in parliament. Instead, parliament elected Romano Prodi as Italy's new prime minister with an extremely small majority of the votes. He will remain prime minister until he no longer has the majority of support in parliament.
Coalition Governments
There are many political parties in Italy. To keep one party from taking too much power, multiple parties join together to form coalition governments. Parties that join a coalition government agree to support one candidate for prime minister in exchange for getting something their party wants. Coalitions are important because they prevent one party from controlling too much of parliament.
Sometimes these coalition governments are not very strong. Weak coalitions may fall apart soon after the prime minister is elected. If this occurs, a new election must take place. Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the longest-lasting Italian prime minister in the modern republic's history. He served from 2001–2005.