Coalition Agreements in the Italian Political and Institutional System

Extract

1. In recent years, negotiations between parliamentary factions in Italy have had an increasing impact on the process of government formation. The frequency of such negotiations and resulting coalition agreements necessitates a more thorough examination of this phenomenon in order to understand the interaction between coalition agreements and government policy.

The phenomenon of coalition governments is not a new one. A number of European states have witnessed their emergence since the late 19th century. It is, however, in regimes of extreme multi-party politics — as the Italian system must be considered — that this form of government has found full enforcement.