The Italian parliamentary system is considered one of the most unstable in the world. Over the past 50 years parliamentary elections have taken place in Italy almost every other year. Why has Italy not dropped the parliamentary model? What is Italy’s vision of the prospects of Ukraine as a parliamentary-presidential republic? This is the subject of an interview with the Italian foreign affairs journalist Giovanni BENSI.
“The current election campaign amply illustrates the difficulties of the parliamentary model in Italy. The elections will be held there on April 9-10. The camps of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and opposition leader Romano Prodi are resorting to all kinds of tricks. A few months before the elections, the parliamentary majority, i.e., the parties supporting Berlusconi, decided that the first-past-the-post system was of no use to them. So they amended the election law in favor of the proportional representation system.
Under this law, the party that wins over 50 percent of the vote will receive a small bonus — a few more seats in parliament. This system is especially favorable for multiparty coalitions. Therefore, the majority and opposition camps are trying to attract as many small parties and groups as possible, and this is leading to the ‘extremization’ of the election race. Berlusconi’s center-right camp is inviting the far right, including the neo-Nazis, while the center-left opposition is mustering extreme leftists, such as anarchists and ‘Trotskyites.’ This is adversely affecting the development of Italian democracy.”
“Ukraine is only taking the first steps toward a parliamentary-presidential republic. To what extent do you think Ukrainian political parties are prepared for this? Will this reform be successful?”
“I think Ukraine can achieve success in this field. We saw that these elections, in contrast to the 2004 presidential election, took place without major rigging or manipulations. This is a good sign. What I would recommend to the countries of Eastern and Central Europe is that in a political struggle you should consider a rival as an adversary and never stoop to regarding him as an enemy. Otherwise, bitterness will reach the point that the dialectics of political struggle will be shattered.
“I think Ukraine is more or less aware of this. There was none of this kind of fierce confrontation in the last elections. One should always regard an adversary as one who has different ideas but is at the same level of democratic behavior. If this can be achieved, it will be a major step forward on the way to stable political conditions.”
“Negotiations are already underway to form a coalition. Do you think a so-called ‘grand coalition’ is possible in Ukraine?”
“It is possible in principle. But I don’t know if this is the best decision. What favors this decision is the fact that the Party of the Regions received the most votes and perhaps this should be taken into account. An ‘Orange-Blue’ coalition is quite possible. In my view, the situation in Ukraine does not preclude this, but everything depends on how politicians will assess the possibilities of effective cooperation. Ukraine’s political forces are now facing a choice of diverse possibilities.”
“Many people fear that the electorate will look on an ‘Orange-Blue’ coalition as treason of sorts.”
“This is the dialectics of political struggle, which depends on election results. Yushchenko in fact lost the elections. Our Ukraine came third. So a choice between different forms of a coalition is realistic. Everything depends on the way negotiations proceed.”
