The Department of Political Science Presents The Territory of Somewhat Requited Dreams: Creating an ethnically-sensitive state in Nunavut Dr. Annis May Timpson Director of Canadian Studies University of Edinburgh Science Building Lecture Theatre February 12, 7:30pm

Italy Toward a Second Republic?

Demise of the 1rst Republic Pentapartito and its problems: –Flashback to the 1970s: the coalition that wasn’t –DC’s soft hegemony: Alliance with an increasingly stronger PSI Broadening the coalition: PSDI, PRI, PLI Keeping the coalition together: –Lottazione, and clientelismo run rampant

Problems: Managing the economy: –Difficulties controlling costs in light of scala mobile, EU’s 1992 project, ‘needs’ of parties Decreasing trust & legitimacy in a country not long on either Growth of protest parties: –Bossi’s Lega Nord Changing political context: –End of Cold War > no reason to exclude Communists in convento ad excludem

Initiatives Activities of investigating magistrates: –Da Pietro (Milan): Tangentopoli Attempts to reform DC from within (Da Mita Growth of ‘party-lets’ proposing reform Increasingly active civil society –Referendum initiatives –1993 repeal of proportional component of the Senate’s electoral law force’s politicians’ hand

The new electoral law: Joint parl. committee struggles to reach agreement: Options: –binomale – or French system –MMP (German system) Solution: the worst of both worlds –¾ of Chamber of Deputies and Senate elected by SMP –¼ via proportional allocation Collapse of the previous party system –Members, activists, voters head for the exits Improbable result: –Fragmented bipolarity (clustered multipartyism) –a party system more fragmented than the one which it replaces

The new party system: Competition between two clusters: Polo (casa) di liberta –A new party, Forza Italia (FI) plus: –Lega Nord (Northern Leagues) –Alleanza Nazionale (AN) Formerly MSI (ex neo-fascists) –Rump of Christian Democrats Ulivo (Olive) –PDS (DS), Democratic Left – ex-PCI –Populare (ex DC) –7 other parties –Occasional support from RC- Refondazione Communista = left of PCI

Parties Forza Italia: –Founded by Silvio Berlusconi, media tycoon, owner of AC Milan football club –Built on the advertising arm of his media empire –A business-firm party Lega Nord: –Anti-immigrant, anti-EU –Demand an independent ‘Padania (North of Italy) AN – National Alliance = ex-fascists, cleaned up & no longer excluded

Ulive PDS (now DS) as its core: –Reform communists, pragmatists –But without the mass base of PCI – And without the Refounded Communists (RC) Disparate alliance: –Large numbers of party-lets makes it difficult to keep alliance together

Explaining the outcome: Why did electoral reform fail? Why is resuscitated PR (from 2005) not doing much better?

The new politics of government formation: End of partocracy & soft one party dominance Alternation of governments –Berlusconi & Liberta, –Ulive (Prodi D’Alema..) –Berlusconi, –Centre-left (Prodi) 2006-Jan –2008 & beyond?

Problems: The unreformed state Maintaining EU budget norms Increasingly shaky cabinets Reforming the electoral law – again Is there a second Republic?