Abstract

A distinctive approach to the Italian form of government after 1948 coincides with the relationships between the neutral institutions (ie the President of the Republic and the Constitutional court) and the governing organs like Parliament and Government. Given the premises of the process of constitution-making, these relationships have been marked by a growing interconnection, rather than by a dynamic of opposition and conflict. The changing role of political parties and the fading of social and political pluralism in the last decades have given to the neutral institutions a major role in enhancing and promoting constitutional values. The accomplishment of such a project is realized outside of the characters of a "balanced constitution" and sets the premises for the impoverishment of constitutional democracy.