ABSTRACT
For more than forty years, republican Italy was constantly cited as a singular case of parliamentary democracy, where the patent instability and weakness of a headless collegial cabinet is balanced by a remarkable continuity in the electoral behaviour and stable political elite. Then in 1992 came a sudden, profound crisis causing a revolution at the core of the political system. The explosion of the previous party system and the almost complete disappearance of the ruling class came together with demands for a more accountable and effective system of government. Among other things, the claims concerned a new constitutional setting; more transparent criteria for ministerial recruitment; more talented and skilled people to form the ruling class; and, above all, greater power in the hands of the chief executive in order to provide a constant evaluation of ministerial behaviours and performance.
