Aldo Di Virgilio

The Birth of a Party: The Case of the Italian Partito Democratico1

This article discusses the birth of the Democratic Party in October 2007 through the merger of the Democrats of the Left and the Daisy. It examines the long history of the merger and the brief history of the constituent process, the new partys identity and organizational features, and the role it might assume in the party system. Our findings indicate: (a) that ethical and religious issues could hinder the building of a shared party identity and political culture; (b) that the party organization has to face the stratarchic imperative; and (c) that the electoral strategy, so important for the new partys birth, will also strictly condition its future, as indicated by its 2008 election performance.

Patterns of party switching in the Italian Chamber of Deputies 2008-2011

Party switching has been defined as an «umbrella label for any recorded change in party affiliation on the part of a politician holding [...] elective office» (Heller and Mershon 2009, 10). Although party switching is not a widespread phenomenon in legislatures, it has recently become the object of an expanding literature within political science. The literature has emphasized «normative, theoretical and substantial implications» of party switching (Heller and Mershon 2009, 4) insofar as party switching (a) deals with accountability, responsibility and representation, (b) provides new and powerful leverage on party discipline and on the dynamics of party systems, (c) matters because, at least potentially, it alters policy bargaining in the legislature and even government composition. Data show that in the last two decades party switching occurred both in new democracies or weakly institutionalized party systems such as Brazil, Russia, Poland and Ukraine and in established democracies facing institutional changes and electoral realignment such as Italy and Japan1.

The Italian Regional Elections of April 2005: Does the Triumph of the Union Signal the End of the Berlusconi Era?

This article examines the Italian regional elections of April 2005. After briefly sketching the shaping of regional government over the past ten years, the article examines the regional/national intersection, the regional electoral results and national political perspectives. The most important features of the electoral offer (the choice of candidates for regional president and the party composition of the coalitions) are examined, together with how and where the Unione Democratica triumphed over the Casa delle Libertà. The article concludes by asking whether or not the outcome of the regional elections suggests that all is cut and dried with regard to the prospects for the 2006 general elections.

This time it’s different? Effects of the Eurovision Debate on young citizens and its consequence for EU democracy – evidence from a quasi-experiment in 24 countries

ABSTRACT For the very first time in EU history, the 2014 EP elections provided citizens with the opportunity to influence the nomination of the Commission President by casting a vote for the main Europarties’ ‘lead candidates’. By subjecting the position of the Commission President to an open political contest, many experts have formulated the expectation that heightened political competition would strengthen the weak electoral connection between EU citizens and EU legislators, which some consider a root cause for the EU’s lack of public support. In particular, this contest was on display in the so-called ‘Eurovision Debate’, a televised debate between the main contenders for the Commission President broadcasted live across Europe. Drawing on a quasi-experimental study conducted in 24 EU countries, we find that debate exposure led to increased cognitive and political involvement and EU support among young citizens. Unfortunately, the debate has only reached a very small audience.

The Italian Regions at the polls 2005. When a political earthquake does not create a critical election

Abstract This article deals with the Italian Regional Elections of April 2005. After providing a brief sketch of the shaping of regional government during the past ten years, the article deals with three essential features. First: the character of the consultation. Once again, the national-political significance of regional elections has largely prevailed. Second: the relationship between turnout and party performance. The centre-right electorate abstention was at the origin of the electoral triumph of the Unione. Third: the most significant results of both majority and proportional sector contests. The result was cut and dried. The Unione gained 12 out of 14 regions where elections took place. Notwithstanding, this political earthquake did not create a critical election.Abstract This article deals with the Italian Regional Elections of April 2005. After providing a brief sketch of the shaping of regional government during the past ten years, the article deals with three essential features. First: the character of the consultation. Once again, the national-political significance of regional elections has largely prevailed. Second: the relationship between turnout and party performance. The centre-right electorate abstention was at the origin of the electoral triumph of the Unione. Third: the most significant results of both majority and proportional sector contests. The result was cut and dried. The Unione gained 12 out of 14 regions where elections took place. Notwithstanding, this political earthquake did not create a critical election.

From proportional representation to plurality and back: Post-Christian Democratic parties compared

This article analyses the competition strategies adopted by the Christian Democratic (DC) and post-Christian Democratic (post-DC) parties after the electoral reforms of 1993 and 2005. Four main aspects are considered: the significance of cultural (ideological and cognitive) factors in the DCs exit from the political stage; the need to adapt post-DC strategy to bipolarism and the nostalgia for an autonomous centre; the nature and geography of the post-DC vote; and the attitudes of the middle-level elites of the three principal post-DC parties (the DL, the UDEUR and the UDC) vis-a-vis the competitive and strategic decisions they had to make. The article reaches the following conclusions: the post-DC parties share the same cultural orientations and have similar politico-electoral characteristics (a confessional background, the relevance of patronage networks and personalistic vote mobilisation); all three parties adapted, in different ways and with different degrees of success, to the new structure of coali...