ABSTRACT
Most modern discussions of the Italian parties begin by acknowledging the influence of Giovanni Sartori, whose description of the party system as ‘polarised pluralism’ was first published in 1966 (see Table 6.1 for a summary of general election results).1 Though voting patterns have altered considerably since then, his description is often used as a starting point for discussion of the way Italian parties interact. The basic features of this model are straightforward: a polarised pluralist system such as Italy has a plurality of parties represented in Parliament (at least five), anti-system extremist parties (‘poles’) at both ends of the political spectrum, intense disagreement between the remaining parties, and no party able to win an overall majority.
