Italy's Political System, 1911-18 Flashcards
What was the political system of Italy?
Constitutional monarchy, similar to the UK
What was the name of the Italian constitution and what was this based on?
Statuto, based on the former independent kingdom of Piedmont
What did the Statuto guarantee?
equality before the law, right to a free assembly and a free press
What could the monarch do?
appoint and dismiss ministers including the PM, control foreign policy and be the face of government in a crisis
What was the role of the prime minister?
Head of government, day to day running, needed support of parliament to propose and pass laws
How many chambers did parliament have and what were their names?
2, The Senate (upper house) and The Chamber of Deputies (lower house)
How were senators appointed?
Appointed by king for life
How were deputies appointed?
Elected every 5 years, more power and ministers were chosen from the lower house
What factors decided if someone had the right to vote?
Age, property ownership, educational qualifications
How many people could vote before 1912?
25% of adult men
True or false, political parties did not exist in liberal Italy but politicians were grouped together because they had coherent ideologies
False, parties did exist, but acted more as a label for people wanting to gain power, no coherent political ideology making them weak and unstable
What was the system of coalition building known as?
Trasformismo
How many different governments were there between 1911-18?
Nine governments
True or false, bribery by money or position was often used to get deputies to switch positions, leading to little sense of national politics or unity
True, politics seemed far removed from the lives of ordinary Italian people
