Abstract

The article reviews the role and the functions of the President of the Chamber of Deputies in the majoritarian Italian parliamentary system i.e. from 1994 to the present day. Before dealing with that period, however, the first part of the article describes the history of the relationship between the President and the Government majority after unification (1861). The author then goes on to point out the particular role of the Italian President of the Chamber of Deputies between 1976 and 1994 when the Presidency was assigned to a representative of the opposition Communist Party: a unique situation in the Western European context. On the contrary, since 1994 the Presidents of both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate were chosen by the majority and have been put under strong political influence. According to the author, the current dispute between the President of the Chamber of Deputies (Fini) and the Government majority represents the starting point for rebuilding the role of the President as a guardian of Parliament, verifying his lack of political accountability and demonstrating that a motion of no confidence would not force the President to resign.