The study focuses on two questions. One is the degree of autonomy of local party leaders in Italy in selecting coalition partners in local executives. The second and related problem is to clarify the role of local politics and coalitions in the general strategy of Italian political parties. The study was conducted through the analysis of interparty negotiations both at the center and the periphery that followed the 1980 administrative elections. It shows that the politics of coalition formation at the local, especially regional, level is highly centralized, although the forms and degree of centralization vary from party to party and in the various phases of the negotiation process.
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References
1.
Farneti, P. (1983) "Il sistema dei partiti in Italia 1946-1979." Bologna: Il Mulino.
2.
La Spina, L. (1980) "No flessible alte giunte rosse di PRI e socialdemocratici ." Il Corriere della Sera, June 18.
