Ideological polarization, policy continuity: back to the majoritarian principle?

This introduction to the Italian Politics 2023 special issue gives an overview of the main events characterizing Italian politics during a year of large-scale policy reforms, presidential and parliamentary elections, and the unexpected Russian invasion of Ukraine. The authors pose three questions concerning Italian politics during the year gone by. First, from an institutional viewpoint, they ask whether the revival of majoritarianism as a principle of government formation represents the prelude to a return to enduring party-system bipolarity. Second, from an electoral and public policy perspective, they ask whether the formation of a government led by what many perceive as a radical right party betokens the start of a correspondingly radical shift in Italian public policy. Third, from an international relations perspective, they ask about the extent to which the Meloni government’s attitude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and more generally to Italy’s position on the world stage and in international affairs, is likely to differ from that adopted by Draghi. The chapter elaborates on the three questions by tracing how the events of 2022 generated much more continuity than expected.