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 many governments. 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. Italy's electoral rules guarantee that multiple 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.
Published September 22, 2025 · Frisian News