ABSTRACT
Italy’s transition has been characterised by governments based on some or several non-political components. Ciampi’s and even more Dini’s government stressed their technical and non-parliamentary quality. Berlusconi’s short-lived governmental experience was deliberately intended to challenge not only the Italian ‘partitocrazia’, but also any version of party government. The Italian transition cannot reach a successful completion until and unless new forms of policy responsiveness and political accountability are created. The Olive Tree coalition’s electoral victory of April 1996 has produced the preconditions for a renewed party government. It remains to be seen whether Prime Minister Prodi will consider institutional and constitutional reforms a priority. Until new institutional structures are shaped and new constitutional rules are drafted, the Italian transition will continue.
