Italy

Abstract

A revolution truly occurred in the party system in Italy: in the early 1990s, bodies that had dominated political life since World War II and were regarded as rock-solid either simply collapsed to be replaced by new ones or had hastily to protect themselves by changing name and ideology. The old Italian parties had large numbers of members; their supporters had remained faithful to them, a link that was due in part to the division that prevailed in political contests and pitted Right against Left or probusiness against prolabor. These characteristics were markedly eroded by the end of the twentieth century. “Volatility” increased as many electors switched their allegiance; membership declined, and, as a result, party finance became a major problem, the main remedy proposed being for the state to provide large amounts of funds, both at election times and on a yearly basis. The strength of new parties was more often boosted by highly personalized links between leaders and their supporters than by the more traditional bonds provided by class or other social cleavages. The Italian case is extreme in this respect as it is the only Western European country in which the old parties were wholly eradicated.