ABSTRACT
The requirement for an understanding of party-system change in Italy, and of its consequences, is an appreciation of the basic chronology that describes the movement from the old party system to the new. This chapter describes the basic contours of the blocked system and its dysfunctions, and then the electoral discontent to which such dysfunctions gave rise. It examines the evolution in the configuration of parties making up the party system as this took place through three phases, each bound by general elections: 1987–92; 1992–94; 1994 to 1996. The growth of political participation which arose from the Resistance turned the parties into mass-based organizations allowing them to penetrate down to the grassroots level throughout the country, and thus to exercise ‘a profound influence over the reconstruction of social organisations and interest groups. Voter dissatisfaction with the parties’ performances was now reflected in changed electoral behaviour which could be seen in terms of declining turnout, growing fragmentation and increasing aggregate volatility.
