MAURIZIO COTTA - LUCA VERZICHELLI IL SISTEMA POLITICO ITALIANO CHAPTER 4 Elections, political cultures and electoral behavior

Topics of this chapter The changing “electoral regimes” The Italian voter The political sub-cultures

The PR during the First Republic Chamber of Deputies  PR with party list  32 large electoral districts  No formal threshold, and a very low real threshold  Allocation of the rests on a national basis  Multiple preferential voting Senate of the Republic  Uninominal colleges with a 65% threshold for direct election  Basically, PR corrected by the limited dimension of the Upper House and by the lack of a national second- tier allocation

First Republic, Chamber of Deputies, the electoral districts

Consequences brought about by the PR Multiparty system Fractionalized parliaments Coalition governments Intraparty competition and factionalism Centralized candidate selection

Second Republic, the 1993 electoral reform (Mattarellum, ) A related mixed-member system, with:  ¾ of the seats allocated by plurality  ¼ of the seats allocated by PR, with closed list and a 4% threshold  Double ballot for the Chamber, single ballot for the Senate

Consequences brought about by the Mattarellum Unrelenting multiparty system (Pre)electoral coalitions Bipolarism

Second Republic, Chamber of Deputies, electoral districts

Second Republic, the 2005 electoral reform (Porcellum, ) Mixed system characterized by:  PR with closed list  Electoral thresholds different for the two Houses, and changing for parties and coalitions  Majority reward for the winner  at national level for the Chamber of Deputies  at regional level for the Senate

Porcellum, : the ballot (2013)

Italicum, since July 2016

Voter-party relationships during the First Republic Three different kinds of electoral behavior  Belonging, identified voter  Opinion voter  Exchange voter Characteristics of the electoral arena  Stability  Consistent choices in all elections (included second- order)

Voters’ behavior during the Second Republic Growing individual mobility and systemic volatility Personal voting based on leaders’ evaluation Strategic and divided voting

Referenda in Italy,

Referendum turnout in Italy,

The First Republic A political map

The Second Republic A political map