Leading Governments and Unwilling Legislators: The European Union and the Italian Law Making (1987–2006)

Enrico Borghetto (), Marco Giuliani () and Francesco Zucchini ()
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Enrico Borghetto: Universitá degli Studi di Milano
Marco Giuliani: Universitá degli Studi di Milano
Francesco Zucchini: Universitá degli Studi di Milano

Chapter Chapter 7 in The Europeanization of Domestic Legislatures, 2012, pp 109-130 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract If there is some truth in the old saying that “you don’t marry someone you can live with but rather the one that you cannot live without,” one should not be too surprised by the firm resolve of the Italians (both at the elite and mass levels) to tie their country’s destiny to a strong and stable European Union. For most of its early Republican history, Italy’s governing coalitions considered European membership a sort of “insurance against the threat of democratic breakdown” (Cotta 1992, p.210) posed by extremist parties. Italy’s participation in the European community as one of the founding members and the rising interdependence linking the major capitals in Western Europe represented a political buttress upon which the major pro-European political forces (Christian Democratic, Socialist and Liberal) consolidated their electoral support. The symbolic force of Europe did not lose its raison d’être even after the “normalization” of the Communist party and its gradual acceptance of the principles underpinning European integration.

Keywords: Policy Area; Legislative Process; Italian Constitution; Legislative Decree; Extremist Party (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:stpchp:978-1-4614-1502-2_7

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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-1502-2_7

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