1.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
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Politics of Italy
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Politics of Italy is conducted through a constitutional republic with a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised collectively by the Council of Ministers, legislative power is vested in the two houses of parliament primarily, and secondarily on the Council of Ministers, which can introduce bills and holds the majority in the parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches and it is headed by the High Council of the Judiciary. The president is the head of state, though his position is separate from all branches, the current President is Sergio Mattarella and the current Prime Minister of Italy is Paolo Gentiloni. Article 1 of the Italian Constitution states Italy is a democratic Republic founded on labour, sovereignty belongs to the people and is exercised by the people in the forms and within the limits of the Constitution. By stating that Italy is a republic, the article solemnly declares the results of the constitutional referendum which took place on 2 June 1946. The State is not a property of the ruling monarch. The people who are called to administer the republic are not owners, but servants, and the governed are not subjects. And the sovereignty, that is the power to make choices that involve the community, belongs to the people, in accordance with the concept of a democracy, from the Greek demos. This power, however, is not to be exercised arbitrarily, as the head of state, the President of the Republic represents the unity of the nation and has many of the duties previously given to the king of Italy. The President serves as a point of connection between the three branches, he is elected by the lawmakers, he appoints the executive, and is the president of the judiciary, the president is also commander-in-chief in the time of war. These delegates are elected by their respective Regional Councils so as to guarantee representation to minorities, the election needs a wide majority that is progressively reduced from two-thirds to one-half plus one of the votes after the third ballot. The only Presidents ever to be elected on the first ballot are Francesco Cossiga, mr. Ciampi was replaced by Giorgio Napolitano, who was elected on 10 May 2006. While it is not forbidden by law, no president had ever served two terms, until 20 April 2013, when president Giorgio Napolitano was re-elected. According to the Constitution, any citizen that is fifty on the day of the election, the President cannot hold office in any other branch of power, and the offices salary and privileges are established by law. The President also presides over the High Council of the Judiciary, usually, the President tries to stay out of the political debate, and to be an institutional guarantee for all those involved in the political process. The president can also reject openly anti-constitutional acts as the guardian of the Constitution of Italy, with article 48 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to vote, the people exercise their power through their elected representatives in the Parliament. The Italian legislative branch has rights to declare war with a majority vote, the Parliament has a bicameral system, and consists of the Chamber of deputies and the Senate, elected every five years
3.
Constitution of Italy
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The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended 15 times, was promulgated in the edition of Gazzetta Ufficiale No.298 on 27 December 1947. The Constituent Assembly was elected by universal suffrage on 2 June 1946, the Constitution came into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the Statuto Albertino had been enacted. Although the latter remained in force after Benito Mussolinis March on Rome in 1922, wherever an Italian died to redeem freedom and dignity, go there young people and ponder, because that was where our Constitution was born. All the different political and social views of the Assembly contributed in shaping and influencing the final text of the Constitution and this has been repeatedly described as the constitutional compromise, and all the parties that shaped the Constitution were referred to as the arco costituzionale. These members came from all walks of life, including politicians, philosophers and partisans and it is important to note that the Constitution primarily contains general principles, it is not possible to apply them directly. As with many written constitutions, only few articles are considered to be self-executing, the majority require enabling legislation, referred to as accomplishment of constitution. This process has taken decades and some contend that, due to political considerations. While the Principles recognise a central government and the integrity of the State, they also recognise and promote local autonomies. They also promote scientific, technical and cultural development, and safeguard the environmental, historical, the State and the Church are recognised as independent and sovereign, each within its own sphere. In fact, the treaty was modified by a new agreement between church and state in 1984. The last of the Principles establishes the Italian tricolour as the Flag of Italy, green, white and red, articles 13–28 are the Italian equivalent of a bill of rights in common law jurisdictions. Every citizen is free to travel, both outside and inside the territory of the Republic, with restrictions granted only for eventual health, security, citizens have the right to freely assemble, both in private and public places, peacefully and unarmed. Notifications to the authorities is required only for meetings on public lands. The Constitution recognises the freedom of association, within the limits of criminal law, secret associations and organisations having military character are forbidden. Freedom of expression, press and religion are guaranteed in public places, for example, hate speech, calumny and obscenity in the public sphere are considered criminal offences by the Italian Criminal Code. Every citizen is protected from persecution and cannot be subjected to personal or financial burden outside of the law. The right to a trial is guaranteed, with everyone having the right to protect their rights regardless of their economic status
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President of Italy
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The President of the Italian Republic is the head of state of Italy and, in that role, represents national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The presidents term of office lasts for seven years, the 11th President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, was elected on 10 May 2006, and elected to a second term for the first time in Italian Republic history, on 20 April 2013. On 31 January 2015, the incumbent President, former Constitutional judge Sergio Mattarella, was elected at the ballot with 665 votes out of 1,009. The framers of the Constitution of Italy intended for the President to be a statesman of some stature. Article 84 states that any citizen who is fifty or older on election day and enjoys civil and those citizens who already hold any other office are prohibited from becoming President unless they resign their previous office once they are elected. The 1948 Italian Constitution does not have term limits although until 2013 no Italian President of the Republic had run for a term of office. He made it clear, however, that he would not serve his full term, three representatives come from each region, save for the Aosta Valley, which appoints one, so as to guarantee representation for all localities and minorities. According to the Constitution, the election must be held by a ballot, with the 315 Senators, the 630 Deputies. A two-thirds vote is required to elect on any of the first three rounds of balloting, after that, a majority suffices. The election is presided over by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the vote is held in the Palazzo Montecitorio, home of the Chamber of Deputies, which is expanded and re-configured for the event. The President assumes office after having taken an oath before Parliament, the Presidents term may end by, voluntary resignation, death, permanent disability, due to serious illness, dismissal, as for crimes of high treason or an attack on the Constitution. Former Presidents of the Republic are called Presidents Emeritus of the Republic and are appointed Senator for life, in the absence of the President of the Republic, including travel abroad, presidential functions are performed by the President of the Senate. In judicial matters, Presiding over the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura, Naming one-third of the Constitutional Court, in practice, the Presidents office is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial. Many of the others are duties that he is required to perform, however, pardons and commutations have been recognized as autonomous powers of the President. The President resides in Rome at the Quirinal Palace, and also has at his disposal the presidential holdings of Castelporziano, near Rome, and Villa Rosebery, in Naples. There is one living former Italian President, Italian presidential election,2015 List of Presidents of Italy Wife of the President of the Italian Republic Official site
5.
Sergio Mattarella
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Sergio Mattarella, OMRI, OMCA is an Italian politician, lawyer and judge who is the 12th and current President of Italy since 2015. He was a member of Parliament from 1983 to 2008, serving as Minister of Education from 1989 to 1990, in 2011, he became an elected judge on the Constitutional Court. On 31 January 2015, he was elected by parliament to be the 12th President of the Italian Republic and he is the first Sicilian to have held the post. Sergio Mattarella was born in Palermo of a prominent Sicilian family, Sergio Mattarellas brother, Piersanti Mattarella, was also a Christian Democratic politician and President of Sicily from 1978 until his death in 1980, when he was killed by the Sicilian Mafia. During his youth, Sergio Mattarella was a member of Azione Cattolica, in 1964, he graduated in law at the Sapienza University of Rome, after a few years he started teaching Parliamentary procedure at the University of Palermo. Mattarella entered politics after the assassination of his brother Piersanti by the Mafia, in 1985 Mattarella helped the young lawyer Leoluca Orlando, who had worked alongside his brother Piersanti during his governorship of Sicily, to become the new Mayor of Palermo. In 1990 Mattarella was appointed Vice-Secretary of Christian Democracy and he left the post two years later to become director of Il Popolo, the official newspaper of the party. Following the Italian referendum of 1993 he drafted the new electoral law nicknamed Mattarellum, in the ensuing 1994 general election Martinazzoli was again elected to the Chamber of Deputies. Following Buttigliones appointment, Mattarella resigned as director of Il Popolo in opposition to this policy, Mattarella was one of the first supporters of the economist Romano Prodi at the head of the centre-left coalition known as The Olive Tree in the 1996 general election. After the electoral victory of the centre-left, Mattarella served as President of the PPIs parliamentary group, after the resignation of DAlema in 2000, Mattarella kept his position as Minister of Defence in the government of Giuliano Amato. In October 2000 the PPI joined with other centrist parties to form an alliance called The Daisy, on 5 October 2011 he was elected by the Italian Parliament with 572 votes to be a judge of the Constitutional Court. He was sworn in on 11 October 2011 and he served until he was sworn in as president of the Republic of Italy. Mattarella was officially endorsed by the Democratic Party, after his name was put forward by the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Mattarella replaced Giorgio Napolitano, who had served for nine years, the longest presidency in the history of the Italian Republic. His first statement as new President was, My thoughts go first, Mattarella stated that Europe and the world must be united to defeat whoever wants to drag us into a new age of terror. Candidates run for election in 100 multi-member constituencies with open lists, on 7 December 2016, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation, following the rejection of his proposals in the 2016 Italian constitutional referendum. On 11 December Mattarella appointed the incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni as new head of the government and he was married to Marisa Chiazzese, daughter of Lauro Chiazzese, a professor of Roman law and rector of the University of Palermo. Parliamentary profile of Sergio Mattarella in the 15th term of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
6.
Council of Ministers (Italy)
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The Council of Ministers is the principal executive organ of the Government of Italy. It comprises the President of the Council, all the ministers, junior ministers are part of the government, but are not members of the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers origins date to the production of the Albertine Statute by the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1848, currently the Council of Ministers is governed by the Constitution and Law no.400 of 23 August 1988. All powers of the Council of Ministers rest in the hands of the President of Italy until the ministers assume their offices, the Presidents of the Regions with Special Statute have the right to participate in sessions of the Council of Ministers in matters relevant to them are discussed. Before assuming power, the Prime Minister and the Ministers must take an oath of office according to the laid out in Article 1.3 of Law no. The oath expresses the necessity of trust which is incumbent on all citizens, the Council of Ministers is the principal holder of executive power in the Italian system - that is, the power to put a decision of the Italian political process into effect. In relation to the Parliament, the relationship of trust is crucial, for the Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister to continue in office, they must retain the political support of both chambers of Parliament. The relationship of trust is the core of the Italian parliamentary system, the President of the Republic has the power to appoint the Prime Minister and the ministers. The regular judiciary is organised from a point of view by the Minister of Justice. As the main organ of the power, the Council of Ministers primary role is the actualisation of national political decisions. The Constitution provides it with the means of doing this, Legislative initiative. Frequent use of the power has seen substantial legislative power shift from Parliament to the Council. Regulatory power, The ministers have two distinct but co-existing roles, as administrators, the Council and the individual ministers can produce regulations, which are legal implements subordinate to legislation. Thus, regulations which contradict legislation are illegitimate and can be set aside by ordinary judges, the current Italian government is led by Paolo Gentiloni. As of December 2016, the government has 16 Ministers, of three are without portfolio
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Prime Minister of Italy
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The office of Prime Minister is established by Articles 92 through to 96 of the Constitution of Italy. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic after each general election, prior to the establishment of the Italian Republic, the position was called President of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Italy. King Victor Emmanuel III removed Mussolini from office in 1943 and the position was restored with Marshal Pietro Badoglio becoming Prime Minister in 1943, Alcide De Gasperi became the first Prime Minister of the Italian Republic in 1946. The Prime Minister is the President of the Council of Ministers—which holds executive power, the position is similar to those in most other parliamentary systems. The formal Italian order of precedence lists the office as being ceremonially the fourth most important Italian state office, as the President of the Council of Ministers the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet. In addition the Prime Minister leads a political party and generally commands the majority in the Parliament. Article 95 of the Italian constitution provides that the Prime Minister directs, the Prime Ministers activity has often consisted of mediating between the various parties in the majority coalition, rather than directing the activity of the Council of Ministers. The office was first established in 1848 in Italys predecessor state, the Kingdom of Sardinia—although it was not mentioned in its constitution, from 1848 to 1861 ten Prime Ministers governed the Kingdom, most of them being right-wing politicians. After the Unification of Italy and the establishment of the kingdom, in fact the candidate for office was appointed by the king, and presided over a very unstable political system. The first Prime Minister was Camillo Benso di Cavour, who was appointed on 23 March 1861, from 1861 to 1911 Historical Right and Left Prime Ministers alternatively governed the country. One of the most famous and influential Prime Ministers of this period was Francesco Crispi, a patriot and statesman. He led the country for six years, from 1887 until 1891, Crispi was internationally famous and often mentioned along with world statesmen such as Bismarck, Gladstone and Salisbury. Originally an enlightened Italian patriot and democrat liberal, he went on to become a bellicose authoritarian prime minister, ally, and admirer of Bismarck. His career ended amid controversy and failure due to becoming involved in a banking scandal. He is often seen as a precursor of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, in 1892 Giovanni Giolitti, a young leftist politician, was elected Prime Minister by king Umberto I, but after less than a year he was forced to resign and Crispi returned to power. In 1903 after a period of instability he was appointed head of the government. Giolitti was the Prime Minister five times between 1892 and 1921 and the second-longest serving Prime Minister in Italian history, after Mussolini, under his influence, the Italian Liberals did not develop as a structured party. They were instead a series of informal personal groupings with no links to political constituencies
8.
Italian Parliament
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The Italian Parliament is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. The Parliament is the body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia. It is a legislature with 950 elected members and a small number of unelected members. The two houses are independent from one another and never meet jointly except under circumstances specified by the Constitution, on the other hand, no distinction is made between deputies and senators. The Chamber of Deputies has 630 elected members, while the Senate has 315 elected members, the Senate of the Republic also includes a small number of unelected members. There are two categories of senators for life, former Presidents of the Republic are senators for life by law, unless they renounce this privilege. Furthermore, Presidents of the Republic can appoint up to five Italian citizens as senators for life for outstanding merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field. Similarly, the two houses have a different age of candidacy, deputies are required to be 25 or older, no explicit age limit is required to be appointed senator for life. The main prerogative of the Parliament is the exercise of legislative power, for a bill to become law, it must receive the support of both houses independently in the same text. A bill is first introduced in one of the houses, amended, and then approved or rejected, if approved, it is passed to the other house, if approved without amendments, the bill is then promulgated by the President of the Republic and becomes law. If approved with amendments, it is back to the other house. The process continues until the bill is approved in the text by both houses or is rejected by one house. The Council of Ministers, which is led by the Prime Minister and is the executive of Italy. If the President of the Republic is unable to find a new Prime Minister able to receive the support of both houses, he or she can dissolve one or both houses and new elections are held. The process by which the Italian Parliament makes law, the iter legis, is as follows, proposals can be made by the Government, individual Members of Parliament, private citizens, individual Regional Councils, and the National Council for Economics and Labour. Once a proposal is introduced in one of the two Chambers, it is assigned to a committee to carry out preliminary inspection of the proposal. At this point, two different procedures can be taken and this must be completed in no more than four months for the Chamber of Deputies and two months for the Senate. Once the bill has come before one of the chambers, a discussion takes place, followed by the review article by article, and finally a vote on the whole bill
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Senate of the Republic (Italy)
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The Senate of the Republic is a house of the bicameral Italian Parliament. The two houses form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical functions, but do so separately. Members of the Senate are styled Senator or The Honourable Senator and they meet at Palazzo Madama, the Senate consists of 315 elected members, and as of 2016 five senators for life. The elected senators must be over 40 years of age and are elected by Italian citizens aged 25 or older, the Senate is elected on a regional basis. The 309 senators are assigned to each region according to their population. However, Article 57 of the Constitution provides that no region can have fewer than seven senators representing it, except for the Aosta Valley and Molise. The five current life senators are, The current term of the Senate is five years, until a Constitutional change on February 9,1963, the Senate was elected for six-year terms. The Senate may be dissolved before the expiration of its normal term by the President of the Republic, in 2016, Italian Parliament passed a constitutional law that effectively abolishes the Senate as an elected chamber and sharply restricts its ability to veto legislation. The law was rejected on December 4,2016 by a referendum, the election of the Senate is still regulated by Law no. 270, December 21,2005, which however was judged to be partly unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in December 2013, in each Region, except for three, at least 55% of the seats are assigned to the coalition or list which received the most votes. The Aosta Valley elects one senator, so it uses a first past the post system, Molise elects two senators with a proportional system. Trentino-South Tyrol uses a mixed member system, it elects 6 senators in first past the post constituencies. That session, presided by the oldest senator, proceeds to elect the President of the Senate for the parliamentary period. On the first two attempts at voting, a majority of all senators is needed, if a third round is needed. If this third round fails to produce a winner, a ballot is held between the two senators with the highest votes in the previous ballot. In the case of a tie, the senator is deemed the winner. The current President of the Senate is Pietro Grasso, recent Presidents of the Italian Senate, Since 1871, the Senate has met in Palazzo Madama in Rome, an old patrician palace completed in 1505 for the Medici family. The palace takes its name from Madama Margherita of Austria, daughter of Charles V, after the extinction of the Medici, the palace was handed over to the House of Lorraine
10.
Chamber of Deputies (Italy)
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The Chamber of Deputies is a house of the bicameral Parliament of Italy. The two houses form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical functions, but do so separately. Pursuant to article 56 of the Italian Constitution, the Chamber of Deputies has 630 seats, of which 618 are elected from Italian constituencies, Deputies are styled The Honourable and meet at Palazzo Montecitorio. Previously, the seat of the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy had been briefly at the Palazzo Carignano in Turin and the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Under the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, from 1939 to 1943, the Chamber is composed of all members meeting in session at the Montecitorio. The assembly also has the right to meetings of the Government. If required, the Government is obligated to attend the session, conversely, the Government has the right to be heard every time it requires. The term of office of the House is five years,61.2 of the Constitution, states that representatives whose term has expired shall continue to exercise their functions until the first meeting of the new Chamber. An extension of the term, provided for by art,60.2, can be enacted only in case of war. Election of members to the Chamber of Deputies is by voluntary, universal, terms last for a total of five years, unless an early dissolution of the Chamber is called by the President of the Republic, at which point a snap election is held. Unlike the Senate, which members to be 40 years of age. The current system for elections to the Chamber of Deputies has been in operation since 2015, the territory of Italy is divided into 100 constituencies electing between 3 and 9 deputies depending on their size. For each constituency, the parties designate a list of candidates, head of list candidates can run in up to 10 constituencies, if two preference votes are expressed, they must be of a different sex, otherwise, the second preference is discarded. Only parties passing a 3% minimum threshold in the first round are assigned seats, if the party receiving the plurality of the votes passes a 40% threshold, it is attributed a minimum of 340 seats. The remaining 277 seats are allocated to the other parties using the largest remainder method. This provision was however rendered null and void by a Constitutional Courts judgment in January 2017, the President of the Chamber of Deputies performs the role of speaker of the house and is elected during the first session after the election. During this time the prerogatives of speaker are assumed by the vicepresident of Chamber of Deputies of the legislature who was elected first. If two were elected simultaneously, the oldest deputy serves as president of Chamber of Deputies, the President of Chamber of Deputies has also the role of President during the Parliament joint sessions, when the upper and lower houses have to vote together
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Judiciary of Italy
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In Italy, judges are public officials and, since they exercise one of the sovereign powers of the State, only Italian citizens are eligible for judgeship. In order to become a judge, applicants must obtain a degree of education as well as pass written. However, most training and experience is gained through the judicial organization, the potential candidates then work they way up from the bottom through promotions. Italys independent judiciary enjoys special protection from the executive branch. Once appointed, judges serve for life and cannot be removed without specific disciplinary proceedings conducted in due process before the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura, the Ministry of Justice handles the administration of courts and judiciary, including paying salaries or constructing new courthouses. The Ministry of Justice and that of the Infrastructures fund and the Ministry of Justice, lastly, the Ministry of Justice receives and processes applications for presidential pardons and proposes legislation dealing with matters of civil or criminal justice. Note, There exist significant problems with applying non-Italian terminology and concepts related to law, for that reason, some of the words used in the rest of the article shall be defined. Appello, for almost all courts in Italy, it is possible to appeal the ruling, avvocatura dello Stato, the public organ, composed of lawyers, which represents the State, whenever it is plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit. Cassazione, the Court of Cassazione acts as cassation jurisdictions, which means that it has jurisdiction on quashing the judgments of inferior courts if those courts misapplied law. Generally, cassation is based not on outright violations of law, cassation is not based on the facts of the case. Cassation is always open as a final recourse, codice, collection of enacted statutory law or regulations relating to a single topic. Modern Italian law codes date back to the 19th century, though all codes have since been abolished and substituted, contraddittorio Contravvenzione, lowest kind of crimes punishable by fines or at most short jail sentences. Delitto, more severe crimes, punishable by fines, prison sentences or life imprisonment, Giudice collegiale, it is important to note that, in this case, Giudice refers both to every single person composing the panel and to the panel itself. Inamovibilità, Judges cannot be removed from office, except through specific disciplinary proceedings and they may be moved or promoted only with their own will. These protections are meant to ensure that they are independent from the executive power, magistrato, general term encompassing Judges and prosecutors, the Magistratura, or judiciary, is a collective term for all judicial officers. Magistrati are government employees, but statutorily kept separate and independent from the branches of government. g. Refrain from making political statements. Magistratura amministrativa, courts of this order judge most cases against the government, Magistratura ordinaria, courts of this order judge civil and criminal cases
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Constitutional Court of Italy
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The Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic is the highest court of Italy in matters of constitutional law. Sometimes, the name Consulta is used as a metonym for it, because its sessions are held in Palazzo della Consulta in Rome. The Court was established by the republican Constitution of Italy in 1948, but it became operative only in 1955 after the enactment of the Constitutional Law n.1 of 1953 and it held its first hearing in 1956. Candidates need to be either lawyers with twenty years or more experience, full professors of law, or judges of the Supreme Administrative, Civil, the members then elect the President of the Court, since 12 November 2014 this has been Alessandro Criscuolo. The President is elected from among its members in a secret ballot, if no person gets that many votes, a runoff election between the two judges with the most votes occurs. One or two vice-presidents, appointed by the President of the Court, stand in for the president in the event of his absence for any reason, the constitutional court passes on the constitutionality of laws with no right of appeal. The court is a post-World War II innovation, since 12 October 2007, when reform of the Italian intelligence agencies approved in August 2007 came into force, the pretext of state secret cannot be used to deny access to documents by the Court. Appointed by President of Italy Courts of Italy Parliament of Italy List of Presidents of the Constitutional Court of Italy Official website
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Supreme Court of Cassation (Italy)
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The Supreme Court of Cassation is the highest court of appeal or court of last resort in Italy. It has its seat in the Palace of Justice, Rome, the Court of Cassation also ensures the correct application of law in the inferior and appeal courts and resolves disputes as to which lower court has jurisdiction to hear a given case. The Italian Supreme Court of Cassation is the highest court of Italy, appeals to the Court of Cassation generally come from the Appellate Court, the second instance courts, but defendants or prosecutors may also appeal directly from trial courts, first instance courts. The Supreme Court can reject, or confirm, a sentence from a lower court, if it rejects the sentence, it can order the lower court to amend the trial and sentencing, or it can annul the previous sentence altogether. A sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation is final and definitive, the Italian judicial system is based on Civil law within the framework of late Roman law, and not based on Common Law. The two essential aims of the Supreme Court of Cassation are to ensure that lower courts correctly follow legal procedure, the Supreme Court of Cassation is organized into two divisions, a criminal section and a civil section. The court has a president, The First President of the Court of Cassation, a deputy. Cases brought to the court are normally heard by a panel of five judges. In more complex cases, especially those concerning compounded matters of statutory interpretation an extended panel of nine judges hear the case and this kind of court first appeared during the French Revolution. The original French courts were much more like a legislative body than a judicial one. During his conquests, Napoleon greatly influenced Italian legal theory, the Court of Cassation was provided by the former Italian Civil Code in 1865 and then it was reorganized by royal decree 12 on 30 January 1941, supplanting the previous court. Court of cassation Corte di Cassazione Unofficial search engine of new cases from Corte di Cassazione
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Corte d'Assise
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The Corte dAssise is an Italian court composed of two professional, stipendiary judges and six lay judges, who are selected from the people. The Corte dAssise has jurisdiction to try all crimes carrying a penalty of 24 years in prison or more. These are the most serious crimes, such as terrorism and murder, also enslavement, killing a consenting human being, and helping a person to commit suicide are serious crimes that are tried by this court. Penalties imposed by the court can include life sentences, the Corte dAssise does not preside over cases involving attempted murder. The prosecution is conducted by the Public Prosecutor at the Courts of Assizes, the Corte dAssise is composed of two judges and six lay citizens. The presiding judge must be a member of a Court of Appeals, the other judge is known as judge a latere. In the Corte dAssise dAppello, the judge must be a member of the Supreme Court of Cassation. Lay judges for both the Corte dAssise and the Corte dAssise dAppello have to be older than thirty and younger than sixty-five, lay judges for the Corte dAssise must have completed their education to the level of junior high school. The lay judges for the Corte dAssise dAppello must hold a diploma from a high school. The following people cannot be appointed to the office of lay judge, judges or other members of the system, members of the armed forces or police, ministers of any religion. In every municipality, a composed by the Mayor and two members of the Municipal Council form two registers containing all the citizens meeting the aforementioned criteria. If they do not see to that, the President of the local Courthouse acts in their stead, the registers are then transmitted to the President of the Courthouse. A board is then convened, formed by the President and all the mayors of the municipalities of the district, the register is then published and all citizen may raise objections within 15 days from publication. The registers are revised every two years, when a crime needs to be tried, the President of the Courthouse draws the names of the lay judges and of their substitutes in a public audience. The lay judges are paid for every day of exercise of their duty. In these instances, they are considered public officials and they continue in office for three months, or until the trial in which they are serving ends. Lay judges wear a sash in the colours and are not technically jurors. The Italian word Giudice refers both to the eight together as a body and to each of them considered separately as a member of that body
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Italian Council of State
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The Consiglio di Stato is a legal-administrative consultative body that ensures the legality of public administration in Italy. The council has jurisdiction on acts of all authorities, except when these authorities lack discretionary power. The council derives its authority and powers from several articles in the Constitution of Italy, article 100, The Council of State is a legal-administrative consultative body and ensures the legality of public administration. Article 111, Appeals to Cassation against decisions of the Council of State, the council has consultation authority in several different cases defined by statute. Official site International Association of Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions webpage
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Italian Code of Criminal Procedure
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The Italian Code of Criminal Procedure contains the rules governing criminal procedure in every court in Italy. The first and initial code in the Italian Republic was established by the Fascist Government in 1930, in 1988, a new code resulted in a system that could be considered to be somewhere in between the inquisitorial system and the adversarial system. The main parties to a trial are the judge, the defendant. There are other parties that are optional, and they are, the Polizia Giudiziaria, the parte lesa, the responsabile civile, the Pubblico Ministero is the one who, during the preliminary investigations, must look for evidence. Since he is a member of the Judiciary, he must try to out the truth, thats why he must not only look for evidence that can lead to a conviction. The indagato can charge a lawyer to investigate on that persons behalf, in the case of interrogations, of searches and of seizures, the indagato can ask that his lawyer be present. During the preliminary investigations, a Judge only seldom intervenes, the Giudice per le Indagini Preliminari controls the actions of the Pubblico Ministero, when the personal rights of the indagato are at stake. No indagato can be wiretapped, unless the Judge for the Preliminary Investigations has authorised it, all measures must be adopted by the Judge with an order, and he must also publish written explanations of his decisions. They cannot be adopted unless there is proof that the defendant has committed a crime, there are many kinds of precautionary measures, The defendant or the prosecutor can appeal against the order of the Judge before the Tribunale della Libertà. This court can uphold, modify or quash the Judges order and its decision can be appealed before the Corte di Cassazione. The CL actually reviews all the evidence and must render its decision within ten days of the appeal, the Corte di Cassazione, on the contrary, cannot rule on merits, but only on correct procedure and correct interpretation of the law. These self-incriminating statements are inadmissible in court, the indagato, when interrogated, must be free of all undue influence, both psychological and physical. He must be willing to provide information, the police or the prosecutor cannot use on the indagato any methods or techniques that may influence his right to self-determination or alter his memory or his capability to evaluate facts. This prohibition applies even if it was the indagato who asked that these methods or techniques be used, if evidence should be gathered in violation of these principles, it would be inadmissible in court. The Prosecutor may comply within thirty days, he must, however, question the suspect, if the Prosecutor does not serve this notice, the decreto di rinvio al giudizio is null and void. When the preliminary investigations are over, if the Pubblico Ministero thinks that the evidence he gathered could not justify a conviction, he must archiviare the notitia criminis. Before the JPH, the Pubblico Ministero presents all the evidence he has gathered so far, the JPH, if convinced of the defendants innocence or that the evidence gathered would not be enough to justify a guilty verdict, passes a sentence of non luogo a procedere. Should new evidence be found, the Prosecutor may ask the Judge for the Preliminary Investigations that this judgement be revoked, during the hearing, before the JPI, the defendant can be assisted by his lawyer
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Administrative divisions of Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
18.
Regions of Italy
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The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of Italy, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are 20 regions, of five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes. Each region, except for the Aosta Valley, is divided into provinces, regions are autonomous entities with powers defined in the Constitution. As the administrative districts of the state during the Kingdom of Italy. The original draft list comprised the Salento region, friuli and Venezia Giulia were separate regions, and Basilicata was named Lucania. Abruzzo and Molise were identified as regions in the first draft. They were later merged into Abruzzo e Molise in the constitution of 1948. Implementation of regional autonomy was postponed until the first Regional Elections of 1970, the ruling Christian Democracy party did not want the opposition Italian Communist Party to gain power in the regions, where it was historically rooted. Regions acquired a significant level of autonomy following a reform in 2001. In June 2006 the proposals, which had been associated with Lega Nord. The results varied considerably among the regions, ranging from 55. 3% in favour in Veneto to 82% against in Calabria, number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1995, Macroregions are the first-level NUTS of the European Union. These regions, whose statutes are approved by their councils, were created in 1970. Since the constitutional reform of 2001 they have had residual legislative powers, the regions have exclusive legislative power with respect to any matters not expressly reserved to state law. Yet their financial autonomy is quite modest, they just keep 20% of all levied taxes, Article 116 of the Italian Constitution grants to five regions home rule, acknowledging their powers in relation to legislation, administration and finance. These regions became autonomous in order to take into account cultural differences, moreover, the government wanted to prevent their secession from Italy after the Second World War. Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol constitutes a special case, the region is nearly powerless, and the powers granted by the regions statute are mostly exercised by the two autonomous provinces within the region, Trentino and South Tyrol. In this case, the regional institution plays a coordinating role, the latter is directly elected by the citizens of each region, with the exceptions of Aosta Valley and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, where he is chosen by the regional council. Under the 1995 electoral law, the winning coalition receives a majority of seats on the council
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Politics of Aosta Valley
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Executive power is exercised by the Regional Government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Council of the Valley, the Regional Government is presided by the President of the Region and is composed by the President and the Ministers, who are currently 7. Source, Regional Government of Aosta Valley – Governments since 1946 The Council of the Valley is composed of 35 members, the Council is elected for a five-year term
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Politics of Piedmont
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Executive power is exercised by the Regional Government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Regional Council, the Regional Council of Piedmont is composed of 60 members. One seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second, if the winning coalition receives less than 40% of votes, special seats are added to the Council to ensure a large majority for the Presidents coalition. The latest regional election took place on 25 May 2014, source, Ministry of the Interior Piedmont Region Regional Council of Piedmont Constitution of Piedmont
21.
Politics of Lombardy
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Legislative power is vested in the Regional Council of Lombardy, while executive power is exercised by the Regional Government led by the President, who is directly elected by the people. The current Statute, which regulates the functioning of the institutions, has been in force since 2008. Prior to the rise of Fascism, most of the deputies elected in Lombardy were part of the liberal establishment, which governed Italy for decades. Lombardy was also the birthplace of the Italian Labour Party, forerunner of the Italian Socialist Party, after World War II Lombardy became a stronghold of the Christian Democracy, since the 1980s in association with the Italian Socialist Party, which was especially strong in Milan. Traditionally, Lombardy gives centrist results during elections, reflecting its strong middle class, the Communists and their successors never won in the region. In the 1980s Lombardy saw the organization of a new regionalist party, Lega Lombarda, Lombardy is now a stronghold of the centre-right coalition between Lega Nord and The People of Freedom, founded by Lombard entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi. The coalition, which was joined by Lega Nord in 2000, has governed the region since 1995, the Regional Council of Lombardy is composed of 80 members. One seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second, if the winning coalition receives less than 50% of votes, as happened during the 1995 election, special seats are added to the Council to ensure a large majority for the Presidents coalition. The current President of Lombardy is Roberto Maroni, who is serving for his first term after winning the 2013 regional election, Socialist and Christian-democratic ideas had an early diffusion in quite all the provinces around World War I. The city of Milan is one of major national strongholds of The People of Freedom, after the 2014 reform of local authorities the Province of Milan was replaced by the new Metropolitan City of Milan. Since 2014 the president of the province is no more elected directly by citizens, Lombardy is also divided in 1,546 comuni, which have even more history, having been established in the Middle Ages when they were the main places of government. 24 comuni have more than 40,000 inhabitants, most of which are ruled by the centre-left. In the latest regional election, which place on 24–25 February 2013. The election was the first snap election in Lombard political history, source, Region Lombardy Lombardy Region Regional Council of Lombardy Constitution of Lombardy
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Politics of Emilia-Romagna
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Executive power is exercised by the Regional Government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Assembly, the Legislative Assembly of Emilia-Romagna is composed of 50 members. One seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second, if the winning coalition receives less than 40% of votes special seats are added to the Council to ensure a large majority for the Presidents coalition. In the latest regional election, which place on 23 November 2014. The election marked the first time in which a President was elected with less than 50% of the vote, Emilia-Romagna Region Legislative Assembly of Emilia-Romagna Constitution of Emilia-Romagna
23.
Politics of Liguria
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Executive power is exercised by the Regional Government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Regional Council, the Regional Council of Liguria is composed of 40 members. One seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second, if the winning coalition receives less than 40% of votes special seats are added to the Council to ensure a large majority for the Presidents coalition. Source, Ministry of the Interior Liguria Region Constitution of Liguria
24.
Politics of Tuscany
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Legislative power is vested in the Regional Council of Tuscany, while executive power is exercised by the Regional Government led by the President, who is directly elected by the people. The current Statute, which regulates the functioning of the institutions, has been in force since 2005. Prior to the rise of Fascism, most of the deputies elected in Tuscany were part of the liberal establishment, Florence and the southern provinces of the region were anyway an early stronghold of the Italian Socialist Party. At the 1924 general election, which opened the way to the Fascist authoritarian rule, after World War II, Tuscany became a stronghold of the Italian Communist Party, which was especially strong in rural areas. The PCI and its successors have governed the region since 1970, the region is now a stronghold of the centre-left coalition led by the Democratic Party. The coalition has governed the region since 1995, under President Enrico Rossi since 2010, the Regional Council of Tuscany is composed of 41 members. Councillors are elected in provincial constituencies by proportional representation using the DHondt method, the Florence constituency is further divided into 4 sub-constituencies. Preferential voting is allowed, a maximum of two preferences can be expressed for candidates of the party list and provided the two chosen candidates are of different gender. In this system parties are grouped in alliances, supporting a candidate for the post of President of Tuscany, the candidate receiving at least 40% of the votes is elected to the post and his/her list is awarded a majority in the Regional Council. If no candidate more than 40% of the votes, a run-off is held fourteen days after. The winning candidate is assured a majority in the Regional Council, the current President of Tuscany is Enrico Rossi, who is serving his first term after winning the 2010 regional election. Tuscany is divided in ten provinces, which are a form of local administration in the region. Socialist and communist ideas had an early diffusion in all the provinces around World War I. The city of Florence is now one of major national strongholds of Democratic Party, the Province of Siena is also called the red province of Italy, because the Italian Communist Party has always governed it with the 60% of the votes since 1945 to its dissolution in 1991. Tuscany is also divided in 287 comuni, which have more history. 18 comuni have more than 45,000 inhabitants, a majority of which are ruled by the centre-left. In the latest regional election, which place on 31 May 2015. Claudio Borghi of Lega Nord came distant second, the Democrats were by far the largest party with 46. 3% of the vote
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Politics of Umbria
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Legislative power is vested in the Regional Assembly of Umbria, while executive power is exercised by the Regional Cabinet led by the President, who is directly elected by the people. The current Statute, which regulates the functioning of institutions, has been in force since 2005. After World War II Umbria became a stronghold of the Italian Communist Party, the Communists and their successors have governed the region since 1970. The Regional Assembly of Umbria is composed of 30 members, one seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second. If the winning coalition receives less than 40% of votes special seats are added to the Council to ensure a majority for the Presidents coalition. Umbria is divided in two provinces, which have been a heartland of the left, from the Italian Communist Party to the current Democratic Party. Umbria is also divided in 92 comuni, most of which were established in the Middle Ages, a large majority of them are controlled by the Democratic Party. In the latest regional election, which place on 31 May 2015, Catiuscia Marini of the Democratic Party was narrowly re-elected President over the joint-centre-right candidate. The PD was by far the largest party, while the Five Star Movement, source, Ministry of the Interior Umbria Region Regional Assembly of Umbria Statute of Umbria
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Politics of Marche
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Legislative power is vested in the Regional Council, while executive power is exercised by the Regional Government led by the President, who is directly elected by the people. The current Statute, which regulates the functioning of the institutions, has been in force since 2004. Prior to the rise of Fascism, most of the deputies elected in Marche were part of the liberal establishment, the region, especially its northern part, was also a stronghold of the Italian Republican Party. Marche was one of the regions in which the Italian Peoples Party did better in the 1919 general election, since 1995 the region has been a stronghold of the post-Communist parties, from the Democratic Party of the Left to the present-day Democratic Party. The Regional Council of Marche is composed of 40 members, one seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second. If the winning coalition receives less than 40% of votes special seats are added to the Council to ensure a majority for the Presidents coalition. Source, Marche Region Marche Region Regional Council of Marche Constitution of Marche
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Politics of Molise
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Executive power is exercised by the regional government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Regional Council, the regional government is presided by the president of the region, who is elected for a five-year term, and is composed by the president and the ministers, who are currently 8. The Regional Council of Molise is composed of 30 members, one seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second. If the winning coalition receives less than 40% of votes special seats are added to the council to ensure a majority for the Presidents coalition. Source, Ministry of the Interior Molise Region Constitution of Molise
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Politics of Abruzzo
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Executive power is exercised by the Regional Government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Regional Council, the Regional Council of Abruzzo is composed of 40 members. One seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second, if the winning coalition receives less than 40% of votes, special seats are added to the Council to ensure a large majority for the Presidents coalition. In the latest regional election, which place on 25 May 2014. Source, Ministry of the Interior Abruzzo Region Regional Council of Abruzzo Constitution of Abruzzo
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Politics of Campania
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Executive power is exercised by the Regional Government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Regional Council, the Regional Council of Campania is composed of 60 members. One seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second, if the winning coalition receives less than 40% of votes, special seats are added to the Council to ensure a large majority for the Presidents coalition. In the latest regional election, which place on 31 May 2015. The Democrats were narrowly the largest party with 19. 5% of the vote, source, Ministry of the Interior Campania Region Regional Council of Campania Constitution of Campania
30.
Politics of Calabria
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Executive power is exercised by the Regional Government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Regional Council, the Regional Council of Calabria is composed of 50 members. One seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second, if the winning coalition receives less than 40% of votes, special seats are added to the Council to ensure a large majority for the Presidents coalition. Parties obtaining less than 4% receive no seats, no matter if they are in coalition with larger parties or not, in the latest regional election, which took place on 23 November 2014, Mario Oliverio of the Democratic Party was elected President by a landslide. Sources, Ministry of the Interior Calabria Region Regional Council of Calabria Constitution of Calabria
31.
Politics of Sicily
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Executive power is exercised by the Regional Government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Sicilian Regional Assembly, after Italian Fascism and the Allied invasion of Sicily during the World War II, Sicily increasingly became a stronghold of Christian Democracy, in opposition to the Italian Communist Party. Sicilians had also a penchant for conservative/nationalist politics, represented mainly by the Monarchist National Party, the Sicilian Regional Assembly is composed of 90 members. One seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second, the President of Sicily promulgates regional laws and regulations. He can receive special administrative functions by the national government, the President is one of the 90 members of the Regional Assembly and, in this capacity, he can propose new laws. He appoints and dismiss the Regional Cabinet, the Cabinet is composed by regional assessors who can be members of the Council at the same time. One assessor can be appointed Vice President, the President can also appoint four under-secretaries to help the President in his functions. The President and the Cabinet are two different authorities of the Region, in matters within its competence, the Cabinet has the power to vote to give its approval. The current President of Sicily is Rosario Crocetta, who is serving for his first term after winning the 2012 regional election, Sicily was divided in nine provinces, which were a traditional form of local administration in the region. Socialist and Christian-democratic ideas had an early diffusion in all the provinces around World War I. On 19 March 2013 the Sicilian Regional Assembly decided to turn them into Free Associations of Municipalities, the same law created the new Metropolitan Cities of Palermo, Messina and Catania. Sicily is also divided in 390 comuni, which have more history. 15 comuni have more than 50,000 inhabitants, the latest regional election, for the renewal of the Regional Assembly and the election of the President of Sicily, was held on 28 October 2012. Rosario Crocetta, who had the support of the Union of the Centre, won over Nello Musumeci, Crocetta won just 30. 5% of the vote in a highly fragmented political landscape and the centre-left coalition obtained 39 regional deputies,6 short of majority. Source, Sicilian Region Sicilian Region Sicilian Regional Assembly Constitution of Sicily
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Politics of Sardinia
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Executive power is exercised by the Regional Government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Regional Council of Sardinia, the Regional Government is presided by the President of the Region, who is elected for a five-year term, and is composed by the President and the Ministers, who are currently 12. The Regional Council of Sardinia is composed of 60 members, the latest regional election took place on 16 February 2014. Francesco Pigliaru of the Democratic Party defeated incumbent Ugo Cappellacci of Forza Italia, incomplete results – Source, La Repubblica Sardinia Region Regional Council of Sardinia Constitution of Sardinia
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Provinces of Italy
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In Italy, a province is an administrative division of intermediate level between a municipality and a region. There are currently 107 provinces in Italy, a further 4 such cities were added later. The reorganization of the Italian provinces became operative by January 2015, a province of the Italian Republic is composed of many municipalities. Usually several provinces together form a region, the region of Aosta Valley is the sole exception – it is not subdivided into provinces, the three main functions devolved to provinces are, local planning and zoning, provision of local police and fire services, transportation regulation. The number of provinces in Italy has been growing in recent years. Usually, the name is the same as that of its capital city. According to the 2014 reform, each province is headed by a President assisted by a body, the Provincial Council, and an executive body. President and members of Council are elected together by mayors and city councilors of each municipality of the province, the Executive is chaired by the President who appoint others members, called assessori. Since 2015 the President and others members of the Council will not receive a salary, in each province there is also a Prefect, a representative of the central government who heads an agency called prefettura-ufficio territoriale del governo. The Questor is the head of States Police in the province, there is also a provinces police force depending from local government, called provincial police. Sardinia - following the outcome of the referendums of 2012 it was decreed that such institutions should be reformed or abolished by March 2013. In January 2014 the Sardinian Regional Administrative Court declared unconstitutional the abolition of the Sardinian provinces, sicily - provinces were replaced by Free Communal Consortia in 2013. In 1861, at the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, however, at that time the national territory was smaller than the current one, regions of Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino Alto Adige and Lazio were not included in the kingdom. In 1866, following the Third Independence War, territories of Veneto, Friuli, there were therefore nine more provinces, Belluno, Mantua, Padua, Rovigo, Treviso, Venice, Verona, Vicenza and Udine, all previously part of the Austrian Empire. Eventually, in 1870, following the annexion of Rome and its province from the Papal States, after the First World War, new territories were annexed to Italy. The Province of Trento was created in 1920, Provinces of La Spezia, Trieste and Ionio in 1923. In 1924 the new provinces of Fiume, Pola, and Zara were created, in 1927, following a Royal charter, a general province rearrangement took place. 17 new provinces were created and the province of Caserta was suppressed, in the same year the institution of circondari, sub-provincial wards created before the unification, was abolished
34.
Elections in Italy
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The President of the Republic is elected for a seven-year term by the two houses of Parliament in joint session. Italy has historically had many parties, both national and regional, with different party systems. The most recent Italian general election was held on 24 and 25 February 2013, on 24 April 2013, Napolitano, gave the task to form a new government to the Deputy-Secretary of the Democratic Party, Enrico Letta. On 28 April he sworn in as Prime Minister, the voter turnout in 2013 explains how the people of Italy really feel about the instability of their government. This graph shows the results of elections held in Italy from 1946 to today, with the percentages of consensus gathered by the various parties, passing your mouse over the different colored sections will display the name of the grouping and the percentage in the corresponding election. Clicking on a region will direct you to the article on the party or election selected, the constitution of Italy provides for two kinds of binding referendums. A legislative referendum can be called in order to abrogate a law totally or partially and this kind of referendum is valid only if at least a majority of electors goes to the polling station. It is forbidden to call a referendum regarding financial laws or laws relating to pardons or the ratification of international treaties, a constitutional referendum is valid no matter how many electors go to the polling station. Any citizen entitled to vote in an election to the Chamber of Deputies may participate in a referendum
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Referendums in Italy
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A referendum, in the Italian legal system is a request directed to the whole electorate to express their view on a determined question. It is the instrument of direct democracy in Italy. A constitutional referendum, which can be requested in cases when a new constitutional law is approved by Parliament. Similarly, a referendum can be requested to confirm the adoption of the Statute of ordinary regions, an advisory referendum is required to approve the modification of regions, provinces, or municipalities. A popular referendum on regional laws and regulations may be regulated by regional statutes, as a consequence of this, Italys first popular referendum was not held until 1974,27 years after the constitution was first approved. A popular referendum can only be called only at the request of five Regional Councils or 500,000 Italian voters, a popular referendum can only be asked to abolish an existing law, a referendum to adopt new legislation is not provided for by the Constitution. Some matters are not subject to referendum, tax laws, budget laws, amnesties and pardons. While these are the limits expressly stated by the Constitution, the Constitutional Court has identified further limitations, the petition, which must include the question of the referendum, must be deposited at the Court of Cassation, which is called to examine the validity of the petition. The Constitutional Court of Italy verifies the regularity of signatures and of the question of the referendum, the court has the power to reject it outright. Many fully valid petitions with the necessary 500,000 signatures have never accepted as referendums precisely for this reason. If the Court of Cassation judges the petition to be valid, the question must then be evaluated by the Constitutional Court. Unlike the Court of Cassation, which considers the conformity of the petition to ordinary law, if the Constitutional Court deems the referendum admissible, the President of the Republic has to set a date for the vote between April 15 and June 15. The final hurdle is that the result of the referendum is only valid if at least a majority of all eligible voters go to the polling station. If this quorum is not met, the referendum is invalid, the political party in Italy that is most closely associated with, and has made most use of, referendums in the last 40 years is the Radical Party led by Marco Pannella. They hold the record for most referendums presented and they will often use unconventional methods such as prolonged hunger strikes and/or thirst strikes by their leaders to draw attention to their cause. Their largest political battles came in the 1970s and 80s when they campaigned for the right to divorce. Other groups have made use of referendums to raise the profile of their own small political parties or their leaders or to raise awareness of their respective political agendas. However, often political parties who are even in the coalition will have very diverse opinions with regard to referendums
36.
Democratic Party (Italy)
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The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy. The partys acting leader is Matteo Orfini, who replaced Matteo Renzi after his resignation in February 2017, in April–May the party will hold a leadership election and Renzi is again running for secretary. The PD was founded on 14 October 2007 upon the merger of various centre-left parties which had part of The Olive Tree list. The PDs main ideological trends are thus social democracy and the Italian Christian leftist tradition, the party has been also influenced by social liberalism, which was already present in some of the founding components of the DS and DL, and more generally by a Third Way progressivism. Following the 2013 general election and the 2014 European Parliament election, the PD was the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the European Parliament. From 2013 the Italian government has been led by three successive Democratic Prime Ministers, Enrico Letta, Matteo Renzi, and Paolo Gentiloni. As of 2017, other than the government, Democrats head fourteen regional governments out of twenty and function as coalition partner in Tuscany. Former bigwigs include Giorgio Napolitano, Sergio Mattarella, Romano Prodi, Giuliano Amato, Massimo DAlema, Pier Luigi Bersani, Francesco Rutelli, the coalition, in alliance with the Communist Refoundation Party, won the 1996 general election and Prodi became Prime Minister. In February 1998 the PDS merged with minor parties to become the Democrats of the Left, while in March 2002 the PPI, RI. In the summer of 2003 Prodi suggested that the forces would participate in the 2004 European Parliament election with a common list. Whereas the Union of Democrats for Europe and the far-left parties refused, four parties accepted, the DS, DL, the Italian Democratic Socialists and the European Republicans Movement. They launched a joint list named United in the Olive Tree, the project was later abandoned in 2005 by the SDI. In the 2006 general election the list obtained 31. 3% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies, eight parties agreed to merge into the PD, Democrats of the Left Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. Southern Democratic Party, Sardinia Project, European Republicans Movement, Democratic Republicans, Middle Italy, while the DL agreed to the merger with virtually no resistance, the DS experienced a more heated final congress. On 19 April 2007 approximately 75% of party members voted in support of the merger of the DS into the PD, the left-wing opposition, led by Fabio Mussi, obtained just 15% of the support within the party. A third motion, presented by Gavino Angius and supportive of the PD only within the Party of European Socialists, during and following the congress, both Mussi and Angius announced their intention not to join the PD and founded a new party called Democratic Left. On 22 May 2007 the composition of the committee of the nascent party was announced. On 18 June the committee met to decide the rules for the election of the 2,400 members of the partys constituent assembly
37.
Five Star Movement
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The Five Star Movement is a political party in Italy. The M5S was started by Beppe Grillo, a comedian and blogger, and Gianroberto Casaleggio. Davide Casaleggio, Gianrobertos son, has an important role in the M5S. Formally speaking, Grillo is also president of the association named Five Star Movement, with his nephew Enrico Grillo vice president, the M5S is considered populist, anti-establishment, environmentalist, anti-globalist and Eurosceptic. Grillo himself provocatively once referred to it as populist and its members stress that the M5S is not a party but a movement and it may not be included in the traditional left-right paradigm. The five stars are a reference to five key issues for the party, public water, sustainable transport, sustainable development, right to Internet access, the party also advocates E-democracy, direct democracy, the principle of zero-cost politics, degrowth, and nonviolence. In foreign policy, the M5S have condemned military interventions of the West in the Greater Middle East as well as any notion of American intervention in Syria, two party members, Virginia Raggi and Chiara Appendino, were elected mayors of Rome and Turin, respectively, in 2016. On 16 July 2005 Beppe Grillo offered supporters of the proposals submitted to his blog to adopt social networks, such as Meetup, to communicate and coordinate local meetings. Coordination of activists through meetups had already adopted in 2003 by Howard Dean during the campaign for the primaries of the Democratic Party of the United States. And discuss and develop, if you believe, my posts, within the meetup one creates thematic working groups on topics including technology and innovation, press-communication, ethical consumerism, currency study, no incinerators. In these circumstances, proposals mostly regarding environmental issues were discussed, during the fourth national meeting held in Genoa on 3 February 2007, Beppe Grillo announced his desire to provide local Meetup activists an autonomous space within the shows of his tour. The meeting was held in Bologna, the fourth is a reference to the number five as a Roman numeral. On that day 336,000 signatures were collected, far exceeding the 50,000 required for the filing of a law of popular initiative, on 10 October 2007 Grillo gives guidance on how to create the civic lists. On 3 December 2008, Grillo presented the symbol of the Five Star Civic Lists for the elections of 2009. On 8 March 2009, the first national meeting of the Five Star Civic Lists was held in Florence. Here Beppe Grillo had the Charter of Florence, bone joint 12-point program of the local civic lists in the afternoon, about twenty local groups present their ideas. At the local elections on 15 and 16 May 2011, the Movement occurs in 75 of the 1,177 municipalities in the vote, in the small Venetian town of Sarego, the M5Ss candidate was elected mayor with 35. 2% of the vote. In the run-offs the party won the mayorships of Parma, Mira, after the election, the party consistently scored around 15-20% nationally in opinion polls, frequently ahead of The People of Freedom and second just to the Democratic Party
38.
Forza Italia
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Forza Italia was a centre-right political party in Italy with liberal-conservative, Christian-democratic, liberal and populist tendencies, as well as a significant social-democratic minority. Its leader was Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy, the party was founded in December 1993 and won its first general election soon afterwards in March 1994. The partys organisation and ideology depended heavily on its leader and its appeal to voters was based on Berlusconis personality more than on its ideology or programme. Italy was shaken by a series of corruption known as Tangentopoli. This led to the disappearance of the five parties which governed Italy from 1947, DC, PSI, PSDI, PLI and PRI, the new partys campaigning was strongly dependent on Fininvests TV stations and PR resources. This earned Forza Italia labels like virtual, plastic or business-firm party, in her 2001 study of the party, political scientist Emanuela Poli described Forza Italia as a mere diversification of Fininvest in the political market. The case of Forza Italia was unprecedented as never before had a political party been launched by a business corporation. Only slowly it transformed into a mass-membership organisation and it took four years until the first party congress was held. In the 1994 European Parliament election held in June, Forza Italia was placed first nationally, with 30. 6% of the vote, electing 27 MEPs. The party did not join a group in the European Parliament, instead forming the new group Forza Europa. Forza Italias leader was replaced as Prime Minister by Lamberto Dini, no members of Forza Italia joined the new government and the party leader was relegated to opposition. Between 1996 and 1998, the party started to strengthen its organisation under Claudio Scajola, in December 1999, Forza Italia gained full membership in the European Peoples Party, of which Antonio Tajani, the party leader of Forza Italia in the European Parliament, became a Vice President. In the same year, the party scored well in the European Parliament election of 1999, the party regained power in the general election of 2001, gaining 29. In June 2001, after the success in May elections, Sivio Berlusconi was returned head of the Italian government. Again all key ministerial posts were given to Forza Italia members, Interior, Defence, Dinance, Industry, in 2004 European elections, Forza Italia was second place nationally, receiving 20. 1% of the vote and returning 16 MEPs. In national office, the popularity kept declining steadily year after year. After this disappointing performance the cabinet was reshuffled, due to the insistence of the Union of Christian and Centre Democratss leaders. In the 2006 general election the party was present with a different logo
39.
Italian general election, 2006
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The 2006 Italian general election for the two Chambers of the Italian Parliament was held on 9 and 10 April 2006. Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left coalition The Union, narrowly defeated the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, initial exit polls suggested a victory for Prodi, but the results narrowed as the count progressed. On 11 April 2006, Prodi declared victory, Berlusconi never conceded defeat explicitly, preliminary results showed The Union leading the House of Freedoms in the Chamber of Deputies, with 340 seats to 277, thanks to obtaining a majority bonus. One more seat is allied with The Union and 7 more seats in the foreign constituency. The House of Freedoms had secured a majority of Senate seats elected within Italy. Even so, Berlusconi refused to concede defeat, claiming unproven fraud, the House of Freedoms was the coalition supporting the incumbent government led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and mainly included the same parties as in the previous general election. The NPSI contested the election with a joint list with the Christian Democracy for the Autonomies, on 27 October 2005, Lorenzo Cesa was appointed as new UDC secretary, becoming the successor of Follini himself. The coalition announced a system, meaning that the Prime Ministerial candidate will be the political leader, among Casini, Fini and Berlusconi. Since Berlusconis party was known to be by far the largest one, prodis candidacy was confirmed by a national primary election, held on 16 October 2005. The former coalition was enlarged in order to cover the whole ensemble of Italian centre-left to left-wing factions, however, Bobo Craxi was able to enter in the Lower House, as he was one of the leading candidates for The Olive Tree in Lombardy. The Union is also supported by a number of parties and movements. For some time, Silvio Berlusconi had challenged Romano Prodi to a debate on national television, Prodi, however, said he would accept only if certain rules had been set. Possibly because he thought he was behind in the polls, Berlusconi saw the debate as a chance to turn the tables and it is notable that, in the 2001 elections, it was Berlusconi who refused to meet the centre-left candidate, Francesco Rutelli. Two televised debates were set by the Parliamentary Committee of Inspection on RAI, however, Prodi contested the deliberation of this Committee, which allowed Berlusconi to also hold a final televised speech after the debates as Prime Minister. Prodi refused to participate in any debate until this final speech had been cancelled, the issue was resolved on 3 March, when Berlusconi finally agreed to cancel the final speech. The debates lasted about 90 minutes each, did not include commercials, and had a time for each answer and each reply. The candidates were forbidden to bring any kind of notes with them, even though they could write some down during the debate. This set of rules was very unusual in Italian political talk shows, at the end of the debates, the candidates are allowed to make a final statement of 3 minutes
40.
Italian general election, 2008
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A snap general election was held in Italy on 13–14 April 2008. Under Italian law, elections must be held within 70 days of the dissolution, the voting determined the leader of Italys 62nd government since the end of World War II. The coalition led by ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from The People of Freedom party defeated that of former Mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni of the Democratic Party. On 24 January 2008 Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi lost a vote of confidence in the Senate by a vote of 161 to 156 votes, causing the downfall of his government. Prodis resignation led President Giorgio Napolitano to request the president of the Senate, Franco Marini, the other possibility would have been to call for early elections immediately. The decision of former Minister of Justice Mastella arrived a few days after the confirmation of the Constitutional Court which confirmed the referendum to modify the electoral system. As stated many times by Minister Mastella, if the referendum would have confirmed this would have led directly to the fall of the government. The fall of the government would disrupt a pending election-law referendum that if passed would make it harder for small parties like Mastellas to gain seats in parliament, uDEURs defection forced the question of whether Prodi still had the parliamentarian support to govern. Presenting a motion of confidence to parliament, he won easily in the lower house of the Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies. Yet a win in the upper house – or Senate – seemed unlikely, the vote, held between 3pm and 9pm, was heated and dramatic. During its course the UDEUR party Senator Stefano Cusumano decided to confirm the confidence and to support the prime minister, even against the orders of his partys leader. He was subsequently subjected to the abuse of his colleagues, being called a faggot, traitor. At this point Cusumano apparently fainted, and was carried out on a stretcher, cusumanos defection had no effect, however, Prodi lost the vote with 161 to 156 votes, and promptly handed in his resignation. On 30 January, Napolitano appointed Franco Marini to try to form a government with the goal of changing the current electoral system. President Napolitano summoned Bertinotti and Marini, the two speakers of the houses of the Italian parliament, acknowledging the end of the legislature and he dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008. Major competitors in the election were Silvio Berlusconi, as leader of the opposition coalition. Berlusconis right coalition was leading by a significant margin in opinion polls, veltronis campaign has been compared to Barack Obamas presidential run in the United States. The most apparent of the similarities is his slogan, Si può fare, the main four left-wing parties not part of the PD decided to contest the election together under the banner of The Left – The Rainbow
41.
Italian general election, 2013
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Close behind, the new anti-establishment Five Star Movement of comedian Beppe Grillo became the third force, clearly ahead of the centrist coalition of outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti. In the Senate, no group or party won an outright majority. Eventually a coalition between the centre-left, centre and centre-right was formed, following the European sovereign debt crisis, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned from his position in November 2011. He was replaced as Prime Minister by technocratic Senator for Life Mario Monti, in December 2012, Berlusconi announced his intention to run for Prime Minister for a sixth time. The Constitution of Italy then requires an election to be held within 70 days of the dissolution of parliament by President Giorgio Napolitano, during Montis tenure, Italy had faced tax increases and state spending cuts, as well as reforms intended to improve the competitiveness of the Italian economy. In the approximately one year since Monti took office, unemployment rose by almost two percent, previously Monti had controversially told the rising tide of youth unemployment to forget about a steady job for life, saying such is monotonous its nice to change and take on challenges. The same reforms and austerity-focused policies which upset many Italians are perceived to have improved international confidence in Italy, Monti was supported by other Eurozone leaders, such as Germanys Angela Merkel and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble added that he did not foresee any destabilisation in the eurozone expect Italy to keep going forward by respecting its European commitments. Montis statement that he would resign after the budget was passed, was suggested by Reuters to be indicative of him seeking to run for office. The two largest parties in parliament, the PdL and the Democratic Party said they would be willing to work together to expedite passage of the budget, Bersani had won the centre-left primary election shortly before the PdL withdrew from the government. Following a defeat in the primary, Mayor of Florence Matteo Renzi ruled out an approach, in writing, in the following weeks, both PD and Left Ecology Freedom announced their intention to hold primary elections for MP candidates on 29 and 30 December. A few days later, Monti published a political agenda for Italy, dubbed the Monti agenda, after the Third Pole promptly agreed to use it as their own platform for the upcoming elections, talks started regarding a direct involvement of Monti as premiership candidate. Berlusconi said the platform his party would run on includes opposition to Montis economic performance and he also told the media, on the sidelines of AC Milans practice session, I race to win. To win, everyone there had to be a tested leader. Its not that we did not look for one, but there isnt one. Im doing it out of a sense of responsibility. Berlusconi and Five Star Movement leader Beppe Grillo criticised the eurozone, Grillo wrote that the average Italian is literally terrified about the prospects of five more years of Monti-like rule. On 8 December 2012, a new party formed around a think tank named Fermare il Declino, on an initiative by the economic journalist Oscar Giannino. On 19 December 2012, the name FARE per Fermare il Declino was chosen, and it is led by celebrity magistrate Antonio Ingroia and Mayor of Naples Luigi de Magistris
42.
Italian general election, 2018
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Voters will elect the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate of the Republic for the 18th Parliament. Following the election of Matteo Renzi as the new PD secretary in December 2013, Renzi subsequently formed a cabinet composed of the same parties who had lately supported Letta, but in a new fashion. This reform was passed by the Chamber and the Senate, but required approval in a constitutional referendum, following this defeat, Renzi stepped down as Prime Minister, was replaced by Paolo Gentiloni and the Gentiloni Cabinet was formed. In February 2017 Renzi resigned also from PD secretary in order to run in the 2017 leadership election. The current electoral system for the Senate of the Republic, on the hand, is still regulated by Law n.270 of 21 December 2005. However, the law was judged to be partly unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in December 2013, for the election of the Chamber of Deputies, the current electoral system is based on partially-open list proportional representation with the possibility of a majority bonus. The national territory is divided into 20 electoral districts, which are divided into a total of 100 constituencies. Constituencies are single-member in the regions of Aosta Valley and Trentino-South Tyrol, only parties that reach the electoral threshold of 3% of national votes are entitled to take part in the allocation of seats. If a party receives, on its own, at least 40% of the national votes, the extra seats are awarded as a majority bonus. Voters can cast up to two votes for individual candidates of the list they are voting. If a voter cast two preferences, these must be for candidates of different genders, however, the first candidate in the party list of each constituency is always the first to be elected, irrespective of preference votes. Capolista are the only allowed to run in multiple constituencies. If they result elected in respect of more than one constituency, an amendment, known as the Erasmus amendment, made sure that Italian students studying abroad via the Erasmus Programme can vote. Twelve seats in the Chamber of Deputies are reserved to the representation of Italians living abroad and these are assigned proportionally based on the vote in the overseas constituencies of Italian Parliament. The Senate is elected on a basis, in accordance with the Constitution. The seats are assigned proportionally to each according to its population. The current electoral system for the Senate is based on open list proportional representation, unlike the system of the Chamber of Deputies, no majority bonus is assigned. Only parties that reach the threshold of 8% of the regional votes are entitled to take part in the allocation of the regional seats
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