ABSTRACT
In Italy, where governments have averaged less than a year in office since World War II, the formation of a new cabinet is not always a newsworthy event. At first glance, this would seem to be the case of the government created in the summer of 1992 and headed by Giuliano Amato of the Socialist Party. This chapter examines the formation of the Amato government and the broader context within which these events took place. It deals with the general problems that any aspiring Italian government has to face and then analyze the specific situation in Italy after the elections of 1992. The chapter explores the details of the formation of the government itself. While the four-party coalition in power before the 1992 elections retained a razor-thin majority, there was considerable disagreement over the advisability of attempting to resurrect the quadripartito.
