Italy: Lofty Ambitions and Unintended Consequences

The system of proportional representation by which all Italian governments have been elected since the ratification of the present constitution dates from 1946. It predated the constitution itself and was never included in that document, so the reform of the electoral system requires no constitutional amendment. There were some minor alterations in 1948, and a short-lived attempt at imposing a high majority premium in 1953 (the so-called ‘tricky law’ or legge truffa). This led to a bitter parliamentary fight between the Christian-democrats (DC) and the communist party (PCI), which eventually resulted in the full reinstatement of the proportional system in 1956.