ABSTRACT
The head of state is a president, who is elected by an electoral college comprising both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives. The head of government is the prime minister, who is appointed by the president, as is the cabinet, but on the prime ministers recommendation. The legislature, the Parliament, is bicameral. The lower chamber, the Chamber of Deputies, has 630 members, directly elected for a five-year term. The upper chamber, the Senate of the Republic, comprises 315 senators directly elected for five years on a regional basis, and a variable number of life senators. Ciampi, the governor of the Bank of Italy and briefly prime minister thereafter, was elected as president as a consensus candidate and a symbol of Italy's much-hoped-for stability. Berlusconi first made his name as Italy's foremost media magnate, then built a political career on the back of his business success, and first became prime minister within months of forming his right-wing Forza Italia party.
