Italian Republic

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Italy

Constitution President Giorgio Napolitano Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Council of Ministers Parliament Legislatures Senate Chamber of Deputies Constitutional Court Court of Cassation Corte d'Assise Political parties The People of Freedom Democratic Party General elections: 2006, 2008 Referendums Regions Provinces Municipalities Foreign relations

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The politics of Italy take place in a framework of a parliamentary, democratic republic, and of a multi-party system. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Constitution of the Italian Republic (Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947 with 453 votes in favour and 62 The President of the Italian Republic (Presidente della Repubblica Italiana is the Head of State of Italy, and as such is intended to represent national unity Giorgio Napolitano (born June 29 1925) is an Italian Politician and former lifetime senator, the eleventh and current President of the Italian In Italy, the Prime Minister of Italy (officially the President of the Council of Ministers, Italian Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri) is the country's (born 29 September 1936 is an Italian politician, Entrepreneur, Real estate and Insurance Tycoon, Bank and Media proprietor In Italy the Council of Ministers is the name of the government composed of the President of the Council (that is the Italian Prime minister) the ministers The Parliament of Italy ( Parlamento Italiano) is the national parliament of Italy. This is a list of Legislatures of the Italian Republic. The Italian Senate ( Italian: Senato della Repubblica, 'Senate of the Republic' is the Upper house of the Parliament of Italy. The Italian Chamber of Deputies ( Camera dei Deputati) is the Lower house of the Parliament of Italy. The Constitutional Court of Italy (Corte costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana is a Supreme court of Italy, the other being the Court of Cassation The Supreme Court of Cassation (Corte Suprema di Cassazione is the major Court of last resort in Italy. The Corte d'Assise is an Italian court composed of two professional judges Giudici Togati, and six popular judges Giudici Popolari. Several Political parties operate in Italy, and historically they have been even more than today The People of Freedom ( Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL is a liberal-conservative History Premises Following the run-up to the The Democratic Party ( Partito Democratico, PD is a Centre-left political party in Italy. This page gathers the results of Elections in Italy. Italy elects on national level a Parliament consisting of two houses, the Chamber In the Italian general election 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006 A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The Constitution of Italy, provides for only two kinds of legally binding Referenda: a legislative referendum, which can only be called In Italy, a Province (in Italian provincia) is an administrative division of intermediate level between Municipality ( Comune In Italy, the comune, (plural comuni) is the basic Administrative division of both provinces and regions and may be properly approximated in This article describes the foreign relations of Italy. International organization participation AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic is a form of a Republic which operates under a Parliamentary system of government Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its A multi-party system is a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition Executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers, which is led by the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, commonly referred to as "premier" or "prime minister" in English. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. In Italy, the Prime Minister of Italy (officially the President of the Council of Ministers, Italian Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri) is the country's Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The Parliament of Italy ( Parlamento Italiano) is the national parliament of Italy. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State Italy has been a democratic republic since 2 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum (see birth of the Italian Republic). Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita The birth of the Italian Republic (officially on June 2, 1946) is a key event of Italian contemporary history. The constitution was promulgated on 1 January 1948. The Constitution of the Italian Republic (Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947 with 453 votes in favour and 62 New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Government

The 1948 Constitution of Italy established a bicameral legislature (parliament), an executive branch composed of a Council of Ministers (cabinet), headed by the President of the Council (prime minister), and an independent judicial branch headed by the 'Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura'. The Constitution of the Italian Republic (Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947 with 453 votes in favour and 62 TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A  parliament is a Legislature, especially in those A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of Government, typically representing the executive branch. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation.

Head of State

Main article: President of the Italian Republic

Giorgio Napolitano was elected President on 10 May 2006. The President of the Italian Republic (Presidente della Repubblica Italiana is the Head of State of Italy, and as such is intended to represent national unity Giorgio Napolitano (born June 29 1925) is an Italian Politician and former lifetime senator, the eleventh and current President of the Italian

As the head of state, the President of the Republic represents the unity of the nation and has many of the duties previously given to the king of Italy. Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state The president serves as a point of connection between the three branches of power: he is elected by the lawmakers, he appoints the executive, and is the president of the judiciary. The president is also the commander-in-chief of armed forces.

The President of the Republic is elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term. His election needs a wide majority that is progressively reduced from two-thirds to one-half plus one of the votes as the ballots progress. The only Presidents ever to be elected on the first ballot are Francesco Cossiga and Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. Francesco Cossiga (born July 26, 1928) is an Italian politician and former President of the Italian Republic. (born 9 December 1920) is an Italian politician and banker He was Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was President from 1999 Mr. Ciampi was replaced by Giorgio Napolitano, who was elected on 10 May 2006. Giorgio Napolitano (born June 29 1925) is an Italian Politician and former lifetime senator, the eleventh and current President of the Italian While it is not forbidden by law, no president has ever served two terms.

Usually, the President tries to stay out of the political debate, and to be an institutional guarantee for all those involved in the political process. The president can also reject openly anti-constitutional laws by refusing to sign them, since he acts as the guardian of the Constitution of Italy. The Constitution of the Italian Republic (Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947 with 453 votes in favour and 62

Executive

Main articles: President of the Council of Ministers of Italy and Council of Ministers of Italy

The President of the Republic appoints the Council of Ministers and its President (the prime minister). In Italy, the Prime Minister of Italy (officially the President of the Council of Ministers, Italian Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri) is the country's In Italy the Council of Ministers is the name of the government composed of the President of the Council (that is the Italian Prime minister) the ministers In Italy, the Prime Minister of Italy (officially the President of the Council of Ministers, Italian Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri) is the country's This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. The prime minister advises the President of the Republic on the composition of the rest of the Council of Ministers (the cabinet), which comprises the ministers in charge of the various governmental departments. In practice, the President accepts prime minister's advice, and submits the proposed Council for a vote of confidence from both parliamentary chambers. A Motion of Confidence is a motion of support proposed by a government in a Parliament or other assembly of elected representatives to give members of parliament (or

The government has the power to issue decrees. A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law. Decrees have to be confirmed in the parliament, and "decree jam" has been a problem in recent years, as governments try to reform the structure of the state using chiefly decrees instead of passing laws directly through the parliament.

The prime minister, through the cabinet, effectively runs the government of Italy. The current Prime Minister is Silvio Berlusconi. (born 29 September 1936 is an Italian politician, Entrepreneur, Real estate and Insurance Tycoon, Bank and Media proprietor

Legislative branch

Main article: Parliament of Italy

Italy elects a parliament consisting of two houses, the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati), which has 630 members and the Senate of the Republic (Senato della Repubblica), comprising 315 elected members and a small number of senators for life). The Parliament of Italy ( Parlamento Italiano) is the national parliament of Italy. The Parliament of Italy ( Parlamento Italiano) is the national parliament of Italy. In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral The Italian Chamber of Deputies ( Camera dei Deputati) is the Lower house of the Parliament of Italy. The Italian Senate ( Italian: Senato della Repubblica, 'Senate of the Republic' is the Upper house of the Parliament of Italy. A senator for life is a member of the Senate elected or appointed for lifetime As of 15 May 2006, there are seven life senators of whom three are former Presidents. A senator for life is a member of the Senate elected or appointed for lifetime Both houses are elected for a maximum of five years, but they may be dissolved before the expiration of their normal term.

Legislation may originate in either house and must be passed in identical form by a majority in each. Legislation (or " Statutory law " is law which has been promulgated (or " Enacted quot by a Legislature or other Governing

Judicial branch

The Italian judicial system is based on Roman law modified by the Napoleonic code and later statutes. Roman law is the legal system of Ancient Rome. As used in the West the term commonly refers to legal developments prior to the Roman/Byzantine state's adopting The Napoleonic Code, or Code Napoléon (originally called the Code civil des Français) is the French Civil code, established under A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. It is based on an inquisitorial civil law system. This article is about the inquisitorial system for organizing court proceedings Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. Appeals are treated almost as new trials, and three degrees of trial are present.

There is only partial judicial review of legislation in the American sense. Judicial review is the power of the courts to annul the acts of the executive and/or the legislative power where it finds them incompatible with a higher norm Judicial review exists under certain conditions in the Constitutional Court, or Corte Costituzionale, which can reject anti-constitutional laws after scrutiny. The Constitutional Court of Italy (Corte costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana is a Supreme court of Italy, the other being the Court of Cassation

The Constitutional Court is composed of 15 judges one of which is the President of the Italian Constitutional Court elected from the court itself. One third of the judges are appointed by the President of the Italian Republic, one-third are elected by Parliament and one-third are elected by the ordinary and administrative supreme courts. The President of the Italian Republic (Presidente della Repubblica Italiana is the Head of State of Italy, and as such is intended to represent national unity The Constitutional Court passes on the constitutionality of laws, and is a post-World War II innovation. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Its powers, case load, and frequency of decisions are not as extensive as those of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary.

Italy has not accepted compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. See also International Commission of Jurists The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; Cour

Political parties and elections

All Italian citizens older than 18 can vote. However, to vote for the senate, the voter must be at least 25 or older.

Chamber of Deputies

Composition of the elected Chamber of Deputies. The Berlusconi-led coalition won the nationwide majority bonus with a 9 point lead over the nearest coalition. Majority bonus is a feature in an electoral system which gives the party with the most votes extra seats or representation in an elected body

Senate of the Republic

Composition of the elected Senate.

Political parties

a poster for the European Parliament election 2004 in Italy, showing party lists

Italy's dramatic self-renewal transformed the political landscape between 1992 and 1997. Scandal investigations touched thousands of politicians, administrators, and businessmen; the shift from a proportional to an Additional Member System (with the requirement to obtain a minimum of 4% of the national vote to obtain representation) also altered the political landscape. The Additional Member System (AMS is a branch of Voting systems in which some representatives are elected from geographic constituencies and others are elected under

Party changes were sweeping. The Christian Democratic party dissolved; the Italian People's Party and the Christian Democratic Center emerged. Other major parties, such as the Socialists, saw support plummet. A new liberal movement, Forza Italia, gained wide support among moderate voters. Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal Forza Italia (Forward Italy FI is a Christian-democratic, liberal and liberal-conservative Italian political party led by Silvio The Alleanza Nazionale (National Alliance) broke from the (alleged neo-fascist) Italian Social Movement (MSI). National Alliance ( Alleanza Nazionale, AN is a conservative Italian political party. The Italian Social Movement, later Italian Social Movement–National Right ( Movimento Sociale Italiano–Destra Nazionale, MSI-DN was a neo-fascist A trend toward two large coalitions (one on the center-left and the other on the center-right) emerged from the April 1995 regional elections. For the 1996 national elections, the center-left parties created the Olive Tree coalition while the center-right united again under the House of Freedoms. Casa delle Libertà ( CDL; Italian for House of Freedoms) was a major Italian Center-right Political alliance led by These coalitions continued into the 2001 and 2006 national elections.

Main article: Italian general election, 2006

This emerging bipolarity represents a major break from the fragmented, multi-party political landscape of the postwar era, although it appears to have reached a plateau, since efforts via referendums to further curtail the influence of small parties were defeated in 1999 and 2000. In the Italian general election 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006

History of the post-war political landscape

campaigners working on posters in Milan, Italy, 2004

Main article: History of Italy as a Republic

First Republic

There have been frequent government turnovers since 1945, indeed there have been 61 governments in this time. After World War II and the overthrow of Mussolini's fascist regime, Italy's history was dominated by the Democrazia Cristiana (DC - Christian-Democrats ^[5] The dominance of the Christian Democratic party during much of the postwar period lent continuity and comparative stability to Italy's political situation, mainly dominated by the attempt of keeping the Italian Communist Party (PCI) out of power, to maintain Cold War equilibrium in the region. The Italian Communist Party (Italian Partito Comunista Italiano, or PCI emerged as the Communist Party of Italy ( Partito Comunista d'Italia) Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the

The communists were in the government only in the national unity governments before 1948, in which their party's secretary Palmiro Togliatti was minister of Justice. Palmiro Togliatti ( March 26 1893 - August 21 1964) was an Italian politician the leader of the Italian Communist Party After the first democratic elections with universal suffrage in 1948, in which the Christian Democracy and their allies won against the Popular front of the Italian Communist and Socialists parties, the communist party never returned in the government. The Italian elections of 1948 were the second democratic elections with Universal suffrage ever held in Italy after the 1946 elections to the "Assemblea Universal suffrage (also universal adult suffrage, general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of the right to vote to The Italian Socialist Party ( Partito Socialista Italiano, PSI was a democratic socialist / social democratic political party founded in Genoa

Even though many repeat the cliché that Italy had over fifty governments in its first fifty years of democracy to stigmatise its alleged political instability, Italy's main political problem was actually the opposite: in all the course of the so-called First Republic, the government was in the hands of the Christian Democrats and their allies, since it was unacceptable for a communist party to rule a western country during the Cold war. A cliché (from French, klɪ'ʃe or cliche is a phrase expression or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The system had been nicknamed the imperfect bipolarism, referring to more proper bipolarism in other western countries (the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France etc. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. ) where right-wing and left-wing parties alternated in government.

The Socialists enter the Government

The main event in the First Republic in the sixties was the inclusion of the Socialist party in the government, after the reducing edge of the Christian Democracy (DC) had forced them to accept this alliance; attempts to incorporate the fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI) in the Tambroni government led to riots, and were short-lived. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology The Italian Social Movement, later Italian Social Movement–National Right ( Movimento Sociale Italiano–Destra Nazionale, MSI-DN was a neo-fascist Fernando Tambroni Armaroli ( November 25, 1901 &ndash Rome February 18, 1963) was an Italian politician of the Riots are a form of Civil disorders characterized by disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of Violence, Vandalism or other

Aldo Moro, a relatively left-leaning Christian democrat, inspired this alliance. Aldo Moro ( September 23, 1916 &ndash May 9, 1978) was an Italian Politician and two-time Prime Minister of Italy He would later try to include the Communist Party as well, with a deal called the historical compromise. The term Historic Compromise ( Italian: "compromesso storico") most commonly refers to the accommodation between the Italian Christian Democrats This attempt at compromise was, however, stopped by the kidnapping and murder of Moro in 1978 by the Red Brigades, an extremist left-wing terrorist organisation. In Criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or Asportation of a person against the person's will usually to hold the person in False imprisonment Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries This article is about the Italian group "Red Brigade" may also refer to the Japanese Red Army/Anti-Imperialist International Brigade. Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion Extreme-left apologists have created elaborate conspiracy theories in order to suggest that the actual organizers of the kidnapping were members of the Christian Democrats and the mafia, but no evidence exists to support these theories.

The Communist party was at this point the largest communist party in western Europe, and remained such for the rest of its existence. Their ability to attract members was largely due to their pragmatic stance, especially their rejection of extremism, and to their growing independence from Moscow (see Eurocommunism). Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Eurocommunism was a new trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that The Italian communist party was especially strong in areas like Emilia Romagna, where communists had been elected to stable government positions. Emilia-Romagna is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. The capital is Bologna. This practical political experience may have contributed to their taking a more pragmatic approach to politics.

The Years of Lead

See also: Strategy of tension

On December 12, 1969, a roughly decade-long period of extremist left- and right-wing political terrorism, known as the years of lead (as in the metal of bullets, Italian: anni di piombo), began with the Piazza Fontana bombing in the center of Milan. A strategy of tension (strategia della tensione is an alleged way used by world powers to divide manipulate and control Public opinion using Fear, Propaganda Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A decade is a period of 10 Years (since 1594 a factor of 10 difference between two numbers, or sometimes a set or a group of ten (since 1451 Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Piazza Fontana bombing (strage di Piazza Fontana identifies the massacre that was a result of a serious terrorist attack occurred on December 12 1969 when Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Neofascist Vincenzo Vinciguerra later declared the bombing be an attempt to push the Italian state to declare a state of emergency, in order to lead to a more authoritative state. Vincenzo Vinciguerra is a former member of the neo-fascist ''Avanguardia Nazionale'' ("National Vanguard" and Ordine Nuovo ("New A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors or order government agencies A bomb left in a bank killed about twenty, and was initially blamed on anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli. Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Giuseppe "Pino" Pinelli (1928-1969 was an Italian Railway worker and Anarchist activist who died in the custody of Italian police in 1969 after This accusation was hotly contested by left-wing circles, especially the Maoist Student Movement, which had support in those years from some students of Milan's universities, and who considered the bombing to have all the marks of a fascist operation. Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought ( is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader A university is an institution of Higher education and Research, which grants Academic degrees in a variety of subjects Their guess proved correct, but only after many years of difficult investigations.

The strategy of tension attempted to blame the left for bombings carried out by right-wing terrorists. A strategy of tension (strategia della tensione is an alleged way used by world powers to divide manipulate and control Public opinion using Fear, Propaganda Fascist "black terrorists," such as Ordine Nuovo and the Avanguardia Nazionale, were, in the 1980s-90s, found to be responsible for several terrorist attacks. Ordine Nuovo ( Italian for "New Order" complete name Centro Studi Ordine Nuovo, "New Order Scholarship Center" was an Italian The National Vanguard (Avanguardia Nazionale is a name that has been used for at least two neo-fascist groups in Italy. On the other extreme of the political spectrum, the leftist Red Brigades carried out assassinations against specific persons, but weren't responsible for any blind bombings. The Red Brigades killed socialist journalist Walter Tobagi, and, in their most famous operation, kidnapped and assassinated Aldo Moro, president of the Christian Democracy, who was trying to involve the Communist Party in the government through the compromesso storico ("historic compromise"), to which the radical left, as well as Washington, were opposed. Aldo Moro ( September 23, 1916 &ndash May 9, 1978) was an Italian Politician and two-time Prime Minister of Italy The Italian Communist Party (Italian Partito Comunista Italiano, or PCI emerged as the Communist Party of Italy ( Partito Comunista d'Italia) The term Historic Compromise ( Italian: "compromesso storico") most commonly refers to the accommodation between the Italian Christian Democrats It is worth noting that the Red Brigades met fierce resistance from the Communist Party and the trade unions; some left-wing politicians, however, used the sympathetic expression "comrades who are mistaken" (Italian: Compagni che sbagliano) to refer to the Red Brigades. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming Some radical left apologists have alleged that the Red Brigades (or at least the 2nd Red Brigades, led by Mario Moretti) were exploited by right-wing or possibly foreign forces to destabilize Italy, discredit the Communist Party and impede the historic compromise. Mario Moretti (born January 16 1946 in Porto San Giorgio) is an Italian former terrorist This is a hotly contested claim which many consider to have the hallmarks of a blame-the-victim conspiracy theory, that the evidence does not support. Victim blaming is holding the victims of a Crime, an Accident, or any type of Abusive maltreatment to be entirely or partially responsible for

The last and largest of the bombings, known as the Bologna massacre, destroyed the city's railway station in 1980. The Bologna massacre (Strage di Bologna was a terrorist bombing at the Central Station of Bologna, Italy on the morning of August This was found to be a neofascist bombing, in which Propaganda Due was involved. Propaganda Due or P2 was a Masonic lodge operating under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of Italy from 1877 to 1976 (when its charter was withdrawn

On October 24, 1990, Prime minister Giulio Andreotti (DC) revealed to the Parliament the existence of Gladio, NATO's secret "stay-behind" networks which stocked weapons in order to facilitate an armed resistance in case of a communist coup. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Giulio Andreotti (born 14 January 1919 in Rome) is an Italian Politician of the centrist Christian Democratic party Gladio ( Italian, from Latin Gladius, meaning Sword) is a code name denoting the clandestine NATO " Stay-behind The North Atlantic Treaty In 2000, a Parliament Commission report from the Olive Tree (centre-left) coalition concluded that the strategy of tension followed by Gladio had been supported by the United States to "stop the PCI and, to a certain degree, the PSI [Italian Socialist Party] from reaching executive power in the country. "

The Eighties

With the end of the lead years, the communist party gradually increased their votes under the leadership of Enrico Berlinguer. Enrico Berlinguer (berliŋˈgwɛr ( May 25, 1923 - June 11, 1984) was an Italian Politician; he was national secretary The Italian Socialist Party, led by Bettino Craxi, became more and more critical of the communists and of the Soviet Union; Craxi himself pushed in favor of Ronald Reagan's positioning of Pershing missiles in Italy, a move many communists strongly disapproved of. The Italian Socialist Party ( Partito Socialista Italiano, PSI was a democratic socialist / social democratic political party founded in Genoa Benedetto (Bettino Craxi ( February 24, 1934 – January 19, 2000) was an Italian politician head of the Italian Socialist Party The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Pershing was a family of solid-fueled two-stage Medium-range ballistic missiles designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the Redstone missile as

As the socialist party moved to more moderate positions, it attracted many reformists, some of whom were irritated by the failure of the communists to modernize. Increasingly, many on the left began to see the communists as old and out of fashion, while Craxi and the socialists seemed to represent a new liberal-socialism. The Communist party surpassed the Christian Democrats only in the European elections of 1984, held barely two days after Berlinguer's death, a passing that likely drew sympathy from many voters. The election of 1984, however, was to be the only time the Christian Democrats did not emerge as the largest party in a nation-wide election in which they participated.

In 1987, one year after the Chernobyl accident following a referendum in that year, a nuclear phase-out was commenced. The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear reactor accident in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union. Italy's four nuclear power plants were closed down, the last in 1990. List of nuclear reactors is a comprehensive annotated list of all the Nuclear reactors of the world sorted by country A moratorium on the construction of new plants, originally in effect from 1987 until 1993, has since been extended indefinitely. ^[1]

In these years, corruption began to be more extensive, a development that would be exposed in the early nineties and nicknamed Tangentopoli. Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain Tangentopoli ( Italian for bribesville) was the name used to indicate the corruption -based system in politics that had its heyday in Italy With the Mani Pulite investigation, starting just one year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the whole power structure faltered, and seemingly indestructible parties, such as the Christian Democrats and the Socialist party, disbanded; the communist party changed its name to the Democratic Party of the Left and took the role of the socialist party as the main social democratic party in Italy. Mani pulite ( Italian for clean hands) was a nationwide Italian judicial investigation into Political corruption held in the 1990s following The Democratic Party of the Left ( Partito Democratico della Sinistra, PDS was a post- communist democratic-socialist political party in Italy Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left What was to follow was then called the transition to the Second Republic.

Second Republic

Bettino Craxi contested by students. Benedetto (Bettino Craxi ( February 24, 1934 – January 19, 2000) was an Italian politician head of the Italian Socialist Party

From 1992 to 1997, Italy faced significant challenges, as voters, disenchanted with past political paralysis, massive government debt, extensive corruption, and organized crime's considerable influence--collectively called Tangentopoli after being uncovered by Mani pulite)--demanded political, economic, and ethical reforms. Tangentopoli ( Italian for bribesville) was the name used to indicate the corruption -based system in politics that had its heyday in Italy Mani pulite ( Italian for clean hands) was a nationwide Italian judicial investigation into Political corruption held in the 1990s following

In the Italian referendums of 1993, voters approved substantial changes, including moving from a proportional to an Additional Member System, which is largely dominated by a majoritarian electoral system and the abolition of some ministries, some of which, however, have been reintroduced with only partly modified names, such as the Ministry of Agriculture reincarnated as the Ministry of Agricultural Resources). The Constitution of Italy, provides for only two kinds of legally binding Referenda: a legislative referendum, which can only be called The Additional Member System (AMS is a branch of Voting systems in which some representatives are elected from geographic constituencies and others are elected under The plurality voting system is a Single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member

Major political parties, beset by scandal and loss of voter confidence, underwent far-reaching changes. New political forces and new alignments of power emerged in the March 1994 national elections. This election saw a major turnover in the new parliament, with 452 out of 630 deputies and 213 out of 315 senators elected for the first time.

The 1994 elections also swept media magnate Silvio Berlusconi (leader of "House of Freedoms" coalition) into office as Prime Minister. (born 29 September 1936 is an Italian politician, Entrepreneur, Real estate and Insurance Tycoon, Bank and Media proprietor Casa delle Libertà ( CDL; Italian for House of Freedoms) was a major Italian Center-right Political alliance led by Berlusconi, however, was forced to step down in December 1994 when the Lega Nord withdrew support. Lega Nord (Northern League LN whose complete name is Lega Nord per l'Indipendenza della Padania (Northern League for Independence of Padania) is an Italian The Berlusconi government was succeeded by a technical government headed by Prime Minister Lamberto Dini, which left office in early 1996. Technocracy: A form of government in which scientists and technical experts are in control "technocracy is described as that society in which those who govern justify themselves (born March 1, 1931) is an Italian politician and economist former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

A series of center-left coalitions dominated Italy's political landscape between 1996 and 2001. In April 1996, national elections led to the victory of a center-left coalition, the Olive Tree, under the leadership of Romano Prodi. (born 9 August 1939 is an Italian politician and statesman He served as President of the Council of Ministers (prime minister of Italy twice from 17 May Prodi's government became the third-longest to stay in power before he narrowly lost a vote of confidence, by three votes, in October 1998.

In May 1999, the Parliament selected Carlo Azeglio Ciampi as the President of the Republic. (born 9 December 1920) is an Italian politician and banker He was Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was President from 1999 This is the list of Presidents of the Italian Republic with the title it '''''Presidente della Repubblica''''' since 1948 Ciampi, a former Prime Minister and Minister of the Treasury and, before entering the government, the governor of the Bank of Italy, was elected on the first ballot by a comfortable margin over the required two-thirds of the votes. Banca d'Italia is the Central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks.

A new government was formed by the Democrats of the Left leader and former communist Massimo D'Alema, but in April 2000, following poor performance by his coalition in regional elections, D'Alema resigned. The Democrats of the Left ( Democratici di Sinistra, DS was a left-wing Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition Massimo D'Alema (born April 20 1949) is an Italian politician

The succeeding center-left government, including most of the same parties, was headed by Giuliano Amato, a social-democrat, who had previously served as Prime Minister in 1992-93, and had at the time sworn never to return to active politics. Giuliano Amato (born May 13, 1938) is an Italian politician He was Prime Minister of Italy twice first from 1992 to 1993 and then

National elections held on May 13, 2001 returned Berlusconi to power at the head of the five-party center-right "Freedom House" coalition, comprising the prime minister's own party, Forza Italia, the National Alliance, the Northern League, the Christian Democratic Center, and the Democrats' Center Union. Events 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Forza Italia (Forward Italy FI is a Christian-democratic, liberal and liberal-conservative Italian political party led by Silvio National Alliance ( Alleanza Nazionale, AN is a conservative Italian political party. Lega Nord (Northern League LN whose complete name is Lega Nord per l'Indipendenza della Padania (Northern League for Independence of Padania) is an Italian The Christian Democratic Centre ( Centro Cristiano Democratico, CCD was a christian-democratic party in Italy.

Between May 17, 2006 and Feb 21 2007, Romano Prodi served as Prime Minister of Italy following the narrow victory of his l'Unione coalition over the Casa delle Libertà led by Silvio Berlusconi in the April 2006 Italian elections. Following a government crisis, Prodi submitted his resignation on February 21, 2007. Three days later he was asked by the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano to stay on as Prime Minister and he agreed to do so. Giorgio Napolitano (born June 29 1925) is an Italian Politician and former lifetime senator, the eleventh and current President of the Italian On 28 February 2007, Prodi narrowly survived a senate no confidence vote. A motion of no confidence (also vote of no confidence, censure motion, no-confidence motion, or confidence motion) is a Parliamentary motion ^[6]

Later, on 24 January 2008 the Prodi II Cabinet went through a new crisis, because the Minister of Justice, Clemente Mastella, retracted his support to the Cabinet. Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The Prodi II Cabinet was the Cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008. On 24 January 2008 Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi lost a vote of confidence in the Senate by a vote of 161 to 156 Mario Clemente Mastella (born 5 February 1947) is an Italian politician After the Prodi Cabinet lost the vote of confidence and the President Giorgio Napolitano called a new general election. A Motion of Confidence is a motion of support proposed by a government in a Parliament or other assembly of elected representatives to give members of parliament (or Giorgio Napolitano (born June 29 1925) is an Italian Politician and former lifetime senator, the eleventh and current President of the Italian A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008.

The election set against two new parties, the Democratic Party (founded in October 2007 by the union of the Democrats of the Left and Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy) led by Walter Veltroni, and The People of Freedom (federation of Forza Italia, National Alliance and other parties) led Silvio Berlusconi. The Democratic Party ( Partito Democratico, PD is a Centre-left political party in Italy. October events and holidays Children's Book Week ( England) - First Week of October National Day ( China People's Republic Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Democrats of the Left ( Democratici di Sinistra, DS was a left-wing Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition Democracy Is Freedom – The Daisy ( Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita, DL was a centrist Italian political party. Walter Veltroni (born July 3, 1955) is an Italian Writer, Journalist and Politician, leader of the Democratic The People of Freedom ( Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL is a liberal-conservative History Premises Following the run-up to the Forza Italia (Forward Italy FI is a Christian-democratic, liberal and liberal-conservative Italian political party led by Silvio National Alliance ( Alleanza Nazionale, AN is a conservative Italian political party. (born 29 September 1936 is an Italian politician, Entrepreneur, Real estate and Insurance Tycoon, Bank and Media proprietor The Democratic Party was in alliance with Italy of Values, while The People of Freedom forged an alliance with Lega Nord and the Movement for Autonomy. Italy of Values ( Italia dei Valori, IdV is a populist and anti- corruption Italian political party, headed by former Mani Pulite Lega Nord (Northern League LN whose complete name is Lega Nord per l'Indipendenza della Padania (Northern League for Independence of Padania) is an Italian The Movement for Autonomy ( Movimento per l'Autonomia, MpA is a minor Italian political party The coalition led by Berlusconi won the election and the leader of the centre-right created the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. The Berlusconi IV Cabinet has been the Cabinet of the government of Italy since 8 May 2008.

Administrative division

Main articles: Regions of Italy, Provinces of Italy, and Communes of Italy

The Italian State has twenty regions and about a hundred provinces. In Italy, a Province (in Italian provincia) is an administrative division of intermediate level between Municipality ( Comune In Italy, the comune, (plural comuni) is the basic Administrative division of both provinces and regions and may be properly approximated in The constitution of Italy provides for twenty regions with extended powers. The Constitution of the Italian Republic (Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947 with 453 votes in favour and 62 Regions are further divided in provinces. Provinces also have their own local elections. For each of the provinces, a prefect is appointed by and responds to the central government, which he locally represents. Prefect (from the Latin praefectus, perfect participle of praeficere: "make in front" i While the number of regions is somewhat stable (the only modification to the original set is the separation of Molise from Abruzzo), there has been a tendency in later years to create new provinces, such as Crotone, Verbania, Lodi, Biella, Lecco and others. Molise is a region of Southern Italy, the second smallest of the regions Croton may also refer to a plant genus See Croton (genus. Or to the NY village Croton-on-Hudson. Verbania is a city and Comune (commune on the shore of Lake Maggiore, Piedmont in northwest Italy. Lodi ( pronounced) is a town in Lombardy, Italy, on the right bank of the River Adda. Biella (Latin Bugella) is a town and Comune in the northern Italian region of Piemonte, the capital of the province of the same name Lecco is an Italian City of c 47000 inhabitants set in Lombardy, north of Milan, and is the capital of the Province of Lecco.

Five regions (Aosta Valley, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sardinia, Sicily, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol) have special charters granting them varying degrees of autonomy. Friuli-Venezia Giulia ( Friulian: Friûl-Vignesie Julie, Friaul-Julisch Venetien Furlanija - Julijska krajina Friul-Venezsia Jułia is one of the twenty Sardinia (sɑrˈdɪnɪə Sardegna Sardigna or Sardinnya is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily) Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol ( Italian: Trentino-Alto Adige; German: Trentino-Südtirol; Ladin: Trentin-Adesc Aut   The raisons d'être of these charters is in most cases the presence of significant linguistic and cultural minorities, but in the case of Sicily it was to calm down separatist movements. The other 15 regions were in practice established in 1970, even if their ideation had been a much earlier idea.

See also

• Foreign relations of Italy
• List of political parties in Italy
• History of Italy as a Republic
• Corruption Perceptions Index

References