ABSTRACT
This article is based on two distinct pieces of research. The first is a long-term study that this author has undertaken since 1986 on the functioning of the permanent committees in the Italian Chamber of Deputies (CD). This comprises among other material a database of all the voting in the permanent committees acting in sede legislativa between 1972 and 1992. Some conclusions based on this have already been published. 1 The second project is a more recent and more limited pilot study of ministerial accountability using official CD publications. 2 This material is used here to provide raw data on the detailed activities of selected ministers, including the prime minister, in the Chamber of Deputies during the period 1976 to 1983 (Legislatures 7 and 8). It is presented in Tables 1 to 7. Some preliminary remarks on this data are necessary.
