From Berlusconi to Monti

Autorentext

Anna Bosco is at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Trieste

Duncan McDonnell is at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute in Florence.

Klappentext

In 2011, Silvio Berlusconi's government fell amid a severe financial crisis that called into question the sustainability of Italy's enormous public debt. But Italy's entire political class suffered a downgrade at the hands of Europe, the markets, national elites, and many Italian citizens. From the beginning of 2011, the parties appeared weak and lacking in any vision, capable only of reacting poorly to events and interpreting them within the tired pro-/anti-Berlusconi frame that had dominated politics for two decades. Throughout the year, those shaping the key events came from outside the main parties: the president of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano; the new president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi; the leader of Confindustria, Emma Marcegaglia; the new mayors of Milan and Naples; the promoters of the referendums in June; and, last but by no means least, the European Union, foreign leaders, and the markets. In November, the downgrade of Italy's parties was made official by the installation of a technocratic government, led by Mario Monti. By the year's end, it therefore seemed clear that while the Third Republic had not yet begun, the Second was breathing its last.

Inhalt

List of Abbreviations

Chronology of Italian Political Events, 2011
Compiled by Rinaldo Vignati ARTICLES Introduction: The Monti Government and the Downgrade of Italian Parties
Anna Bosco and Duncan McDonnell

End of an Era: The Disintegration of the Italian Party System
Luigi Ceccarini, Ilvo Diamanti and Marc Lazar

The Formation of the Monti Government and the Role of the President of the Republic
Carlo Fusaro

The Transformation of Party Leadership
Mauro Barisione

The 2011 local elections: Berlusconi lost. But who won?
Guido Legnante

Federal Reform: The End of the Beginning or the Beginning of the End?
Emanuele Massetti

The Italian Candidate: The Appointment of Mario Draghi to the Presidency of the European Central Bank
Kenneth Dyson and Lucia Quaglia

The Berlusconi Government and the Sovereign Debt Crisis
Erik Jones

Italy and the International Intervention In Libya
Osvaldo Croci and Marco Valigi

The Womens' Protest: A Success with Many Shadows
Chiara Saraceno

Confindustria in Opposition
Giuseppe Berta

The June Referendums. A Partial Victory
Chiara Carrozza

Italy's 150th Anniversary: Commemorating the Past in a Divided Country
John Foot and Samantha Owen

Documentary Appendix
Compiled by Valentina Sartori

About the Editors and Authors