La inestabilidad del sistema electoral y el fracaso de la «democrazia gobernante» en Italia (2008-2018)

Abstract

This article deals with the evolution of the electoral system of the Italian Second Republic during the period from 2008 to 2018. It starts with the reform carried out in 2005 by the center-right coalition and concludes with the legislative modification agreed before the general elections of March 2018. On a first level, the contexts and causes that have contributed to the high variability in electoral systems are described and studied; the interpartisan level is included but also an exogenous factor such as judicial interference. On a second level, the lines and directions of the complex relationship between the electoral system, the party system and the parliamentary regime are discussed, based on a reflection on the theoretical contributions in that field. It concludes by analyzing, within that second level, the special meaning of the 2015 reform, as well as its failure in terms of blocking the «democrazia gobernante».