Tangentopoli: The Rise Of The Roman Republic

For the first time in the 1980’s the Christian Democrat party began to lose power, as the Communists became less revolutionary, and the Socialist party led by Bettino Craxi came to power. Craxi was suspicious of the Communist party’s ties with Russia, and formed an alliance with the Christian Democrats and three smaller parties that stayed intact until 1992. As Craxi’s popularity with the public plummeted from 1992 to 1994 due to corruption, the country continued to face significant challenges with massive debt, widespread corruption, and the influence of organized crime. The political system was commonly referred to as Tangentopoli, or bribe city, and an extensive investigation began as voters increasingly demanded changes and reforms.

The Roman Republic, which began in 509 BCE, was the first established government lasting for approximately 500 years. It was followed by the establishment of the Roman Empire in 27 BCE which was ruled by a series of emperors until 476 CE. The city-state form of government then rose in Italy and lasted until the country was unified and Rome was made the capital of the kingdom of Italy in 1861 under a monarchy. The monarchy remained in power in name only as the dictatorship of Mussolini was instituted in the 1920’s. Following the deposing of Mussolini, the monarchy continued until 1946 when Italy adopted a parliamentary republic government

As the upper house, the decision was made for the Italian Senate to have 322 members with elections that would be conducted regionally in the twenty regions. Having been designated as the lower house, 630 seats were assigned to the Italian Chamber of Deputies. These seats were to be voted on by twenty-six constituencies representing the country, and members served five year terms for both chambers. Some members were directly elected while others were elected by regional proportional representation. All citizens were required to be 18 years of age to vote unless it was a senatorial election when voters had to be 25. Voting in Italy was organized by a “Party List” system where party candidates were ranked, and top candidates of the party which received the most votes were chosen to fill the