Abstract
In 1994, the Christian Democratic Party of Italy (DC) was tossed out of power after almost five decades, crashing to just 46 seats from 207 in the lower house. It had been the senior member of 51 coalition governments even though it only had an absolute parliamentary majority once. Mired in corruption and disoriented by the break-up of the Communist Party, the Christian Democrats had been losing support for many years.
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Notes
The distribution of factional strength on the NC is based on data from J.P. Chasseriaud (1965), Le Parti Démocratique Chrétien en Italie (Cahiers de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques — Partis et Elections), p. 335. These scores are estimates as faction membership was very fluid and unofficial before the party officially adopted a proportional system of representation in 1964.
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© 2012 Françoise Boucek
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Boucek, F. (2012). Case 3 — Italy’s Christian Democrats: How Factional Capture Bred Self-Destruction. In: Factional Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137283924_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137283924_8
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-28594-5
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