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Lobbying in Italy. A Changing Landscape for Changing Interest Groups

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Handbuch Lobbyismus

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Abstract

This contribution provides a comprehensive and systematic review of the main debates and empirical evidence of interest groups’ lobbying in Italy. The insufficient academic attention on interest groups in Italy mirrors the enduring lack of a public regulatory framework of lobbying. The main legislative projects and sparse policy outcomes are reviewed, suggesting some explanations for the absence of a national regulation and transparency register as of mid-2022. The dynamics of party-interest group relationships are then scrutinized from the period of the so-called ‘First Republic’ (1948–1994) up to the profound transformation in the Italian political system in the early 1990s and the contemporary scenario, characterized by the rise of bureaucracy as the new fundamental target for lobbying and influence. Based on the data of the Comparative Interest Group Survey, the contribution thus offers a reconstruction of the main patterns of interest groups’ institutional access to the governmental, parliamentary, and bureaucratic arenas in recent years. Lastly, the main empirical results from an in-depth analysis of lobbying influence in recent policy processes (2005–2017) are discussed. In conclusion, the possible and desirable directions of future research on lobbying in Italy are outlined.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This survey addresses the organisational characteristics, political activities and strategies of interest groups. At the moment, it has been set out and completed in Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Lithuania, Slovenia, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic and at the European Union (EU) level. In total, more than 15,000 organisations were invited to participate, and almost 5,000 completed the questionnaire with an average response rate of 36% (Beyers et al. 2020).

  2. 2.

    See, on this, ‘Progetto di legge sulle lobby, ecco le novità: dal registro dei rappresentanti all’agenda degli incontri’, il Sole 24 ore, 10th of January 2022: https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/lobby-novita-registro-rappresentanti-interessi-all-agenda-incontri-AEss976 (accessed on April 12, 2022).

  3. 3.

    As for the organisations, in this register we can find 92 firms and business groups, 69 public interest groups, 47 trade and labour unions, 27 public affairs companies, 13 professional associations, 5 NGOs, 1 consumer association and 17 other groups. Individuals registered are all professional lobbyists.

  4. 4.

    In his writings, Kirchheimer analysed the functional transformation of parties. In particular, he emphasised the increasing aloofness of parties with regard to civil society (and its organisations), as well as their declining level of civic embeddedness. Moreover, he analysed both the causes and consequences of weakening party-voter alignments, the alterations in the ideological orientation of political parties, and the restructuring of their electoral support, all of which was combining to create a radical transformation in the basic structures of mass politics in Western Europe (Krouwel 2011, p. 24). In a nutshell, ‘catch-all parties’ try to reach the consensus of ‘all’ citizens, instead of cultivating particular relationships with certain parts of the society, as the ‘mass parties’ did.

  5. 5.

    Following an analysis of how various models of party can be located in terms of the relationship between civil society and the State, Katz and Mair (1995) contended that a new model of party emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, the cartel party, in which colluding parties become agents of the State and employ its resources to ensure their own collective survival.

  6. 6.

    The invitation to participate in the survey was sent to 1,277 national interest groups and 352 of them returned the questionnaire either totally or partially filled out, for a response rate of 27.6%, which is quite satisfactory (Marchetti 2015).

  7. 7.

    The level of issues’ ‘political salience’ is measured on the basis of the number of newspaper articles dealing with that particular topic.

  8. 8.

    Both the reforms entailed a package of measure to liberalise different professional and economic sectors in Italy. As these initiatives impacted on a variety of corporate actors and consumers, leading to their diffuse mobilisation, they emerged as salient issues in the public debate.

  9. 9.

    Renzi’s Jobs Act led to an overhaul of the workers’ statute in Italy and the unemployment benefit system, representing a highly relevant issue for the Italian unions.

  10. 10.

    The ‘Buona Scuola’ (Good School) addressed the governance, management and recruitment system of the Italian secondary school, leading to a lively discussion between teachers, students and policymakers throughout the country.

  11. 11.

    The Madia Reform tackled the public employment, the streamlining of administrative procedures, the governance of public entities and State-controlled companies, thus affecting diverse and conflicting interests.

  12. 12.

    It is the periodical update of the Competition Law, aiming at removing the remaining barriers towards a functioning market competition.

  13. 13.

    The decree extended the range of mandatory vaccines in Italy, leading to a polarised debate about the legitimacy and scope of health policies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Luxembourg, Esch sur Alzette, Luxembourg

    Giuseppe Montalbano

  2. Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Andrea Pritoni

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  1. Giuseppe Montalbano
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  2. Andrea Pritoni
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Correspondence to Giuseppe Montalbano .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin, Berlin, Deutschland

    Andreas Polk

  2. Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Universität Münster, Münster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland

    Karsten Mause

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Montalbano, G., Pritoni, A. (2022). Lobbying in Italy. A Changing Landscape for Changing Interest Groups. In: Polk, A., Mause, K. (eds) Handbuch Lobbyismus. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-32324-0_49-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-32324-0_49-1

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