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Uncovering corruption

During the 1990s, Italian politics was forced to undergo a period of total change, after the ‘Clean Hands’ operation – or ‘mani pulite’ – an investigation into high-level political corruptions, which overlooked no political party or individual. Over a third of parliamentarians were being investigated when the operation was at its height. This resulted in the downfall of the ‘First Republic’ and its main political parties, and the suicides of several associated individuals.

New start

The country underwent a dramatic turnaround in the years following the operation, from a change from a proportional to an additional member system in elections (it returned to proportional representation for the April 2006 election), to a change in the main political parties. Since 1995 the trend has been for two large coalitions to exist. From the national elections in 1996, the centre-left parties came together as the Olive Tree coalition, and the centre-right under the House of Freedoms. Both coalitions were in place during the 2001 and 2006 elections.

Romano Prodi

Between 1996 and 2001, Italy was under the control of a number of centre-left coalitions. Romano Prodi came to power in 1996, with the Olive Tree party, and the government stayed in power until 1998. Prodi was to return to power in 2006 with his l’Unione coalition, the successor of Silvio Berlusconi and his Casa della Libertà party. After losing a vote on foreign policy, Prodi resigned in February 2007. However, having since won votes of confidence in both houses of parliament, he continues to lead Italy with his nine-party coalition.

The government today

The controversial issues facing Prodi’s government include his wish to keep Italian troops in Afghanistan, pension reforms (Prodi wishes to replace the current generous system) and legal rights for gay and unmarried couples. In the broader picture, the prime minister intends to strengthen Italy’s economy, reduce bureaucracy, bring the budget deficit down and increase competition.

Political stability

Despite having these challenges ahead, Prodi’s government has been praised for being, in the words of The Economist earlier this year, ‘surprisingly stable’. This is said to be the result of a number of factors, including the benefits that an upswing experienced throughout Europe is having on the economy of Italy and the memory of Prodi’s ‘scandal-ridden’ years in office. Even if these factors cannot be attributed to Prodi himself, the people of Italy will be grateful for their increasingly stable political climate.

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