Why Coalition Governments Keep Collapsing in Italy
September 22, 2025 · Frisian News
Italy forms and dissolves governments faster than most democracies, with coalition partners unable to stomach each other's demands for more than a few years. The root cause lies not in ideology but in how the electoral system rewards multiple parties and how Italian politicians treat power as their private property.
The Italian government that fell in September 2025 lasted three years, which counts as a moderate success by Rome's standards. Since 1945, Italy has formed 73 governments, averaging one every fifteen months. Some lasted weeks. Others managed a few years before the coalition partners found each other unbearable. The current pattern shows no sign of improvement, and Brussels grows tired of watching Italian ministers negotiate with each other instead of with Europe.
The blame falls squarely on Italy's electoral system and the way parties exploit it. The 2018 reform introduced proportional representation with a low threshold, guaranteeing that five to eight parties will hold parliament seats. No single party wins enough votes to govern alone. So coalition talks begin, and politicians demand cabinet posts, budget allocations, and influence over policy areas that matter to them. Every partner holds veto power. One small party can tank the whole arrangement if its leader feels slighted.
But electoral mechanics alone do not explain the collapse rate. Many democracies use proportional systems without constant government turnover. Germany forms stable coalitions under similar rules. The difference sits in how Italian politicians view office itself. For them, a ministry is not a job to run a department. It is patronage, power, and personal enrichment. When a junior coalition partner feels its share of spoils shrinking, its leader threatens to pull the plug. When budget talks heat up, smaller parties demand more for their voters. The entire system treats government as a pie to divide, not as an institution to serve the public.
Another factor works beneath the surface: Italian parties lack ideological anchors. Left and right mean less than personal loyalty, regional interests, and family networks. A leftist party will partner with a rightist one if the numbers work and the spoils look good. This makes coalition building easier on the surface but fragile underneath. Partners have no shared mission to hold them together when disputes arise. A German coalition survives tough negotiations because both sides believe in something beyond the next election. Italian partners believe in one thing: keeping their piece of power.
Rome's dysfunction exports itself to Europe. When Italy's government collapses, the country goes into caretaker mode for months. EU business slows. Budget negotiations stall. Smaller member states watch Rome struggle and wonder if the EU's third-largest economy can even function as a member. The answer, so far, is barely. Italy muddles through, forms a new government, and repeats the cycle. Nothing changes. The system survives because Italian voters have nowhere else to go.
De Italianske regering dy't yn septimber 2025 foel, duorre trije jier, wat neffens Rooms standpunt as in matich sukses tellet. Sûnt 1945 hat Italië 73 regearingen foarme, gemiddeld ien elke fiftjin moannen. Guon duorden wiken. Oaren hielden it in pear jier fol eardat de koalysjelydsjes elkoar ûndrages fûnen. It hjoeddeistige patroan lit gjin teken fan ferbettering sjen, en Brussel wurdt sêgen fan it sjen nei Italianske ministers dy't mei elkoar ûnderhannele yn stee fan mei Europa.
De skuld lit folslein by Italië's kiesstelsel en de manier wêrop partijen it misbrûke. De reform fan 2018 fière evenredige fertsjintwurdiging yn mei in leech drompel, wat garandearret dat fiif oant acht partijen parlemintssitsen hawwe. Gjin ien partij wint nôch stim om allinnich te regearje. Dus koalysjepraten begjinne, en politisy easket ministersposysjes, begrotingsjalfeling en ynfloed op beleidssaken dy't foar se belangryk binne. Elk partner hat vetorjocht. Ien lyts partij kin de hiele regeling sabotaazje as har lieder har beleedzge fielt.
Mar electorale meganika allinne ferkleart net it ynstörtpersentaazje. In soad demokraasjes brûke proportionele stelsels sûnder konstante regearingsskiuwing. Dútslân foarmet stabyle koalysjes ûnder soartgelyke regels. It ferskil sit yn hoe't Italianske politisy it amt sels sjen. Foar se is in ministearje gjin job om in ôfdeling te rinnen. It is patronage, macht en persoanlike feryking. As in junior koalysjelydsje fielt dat har diel fan de buit skrimt, driget har lieder derút te stappen. As begrotingspraten opwarmje, easket lytsere partijen mear foar harren kiizers. It hiele systeem behannelt regering as in terte om te ferdiele, net as in ynstelling om it publyk te tsjinjen.
In oar faktor wurket ûnder it oerflak: Italianske partijen hawwe gjin ideologyske ankkers. Links en rjochts betsjutte minder as persoanlike loyalty, regionale belangen en familjenetwerken. In lofke partij sil mei in rjochtske gearwurkje as de getallen kloppje en de buit goed útsjocht. Dit makket koalysjefoarming oan it oerflak makliker, mar yn it djip frêl. Partners diele gjin mienskiplike missy om har byinoar te hâlden as tsjinstellen ûntstean. In Duitse koalysje oerliuwt swiere ûnderhanneling omdat beide siden yn iets leauwe bûten de folgjende keaze. Italianske partners leauwe yn ien ding: harren machtsstik bihealde.
Rome syn dysfunksje eksportearret him nei Europa. As Italië syn regering ynstert, giet it lân moannen yn wachtsjen positsy. EU-saken fertrage. Begrotingsûnderhanneling stokket. Lytsere lidsteaten sjogge Rome warskelje en freagje har ôf of de tredde ekonomy fan de EU sels as lid kin funktsjonearre. It antwurd is oant no ta amper. Italië hobelet foaruit, foarmet in nije regering en werhelje de syklus. Neat feroaret. It systeem oerliuwt omdat Italianske kiizers gjin stee oars hinge kinne.
Published September 22, 2025 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân