The President during the so-called Second Republic: from veto player to first in command?

Abstract

The role of the head of state in parliamentary democracies is not taken into consideration by Lijphart even though it can be decisive when representative institutions are unstable or unable to make decisions. In the Italian case in particular, the President can become both a powerful veto player for the government and a sort of deputy chairman. From Scalfaro to Napolitano, presidents have had a great impact on the political scene, especially when governments and parties have seemed weak. So far, scholars have debated the systemic features that have caused the expansion of presidential powers, but there have been few attempts to consider presidential involvement in the decision-making process as an aspect of the questionable change from one model of democracy to the other. This article explains why the presidency can be considered as an institution in tension between the consensual and the majoritarian poles.