Se sia possibile un governo parlamentare senza partiti

Is Parliamentary Government Possible without Parties?

Abstract disponibile solo in lingua inglese

This article is a chapter from I partiti politici e la ingerenza loro nella giustizia e nell'amministrazione (Political Parties and their Interference in Justice and Administration), published in 1881 by Marco Minghetti, the Italian statesman and prime minister. The author poses the question of whether parliamentary government is feasible without parties. After reviewing the various political and government systems, Minghetti concludes that "as things stand, with this form of constitution and, even more so, of parliament, the existence (...) of parties is inevitable". For Minghetti political parties are not "a weakness and malaise of the modern state insofar as they are, contrariwise, proof of healthy and sound life". He does, however, stress that a "party, as the word itself suggests, is a fraction of a whole and hence cannot, without pride and usurpation, replace the state". The party must not therefore be confused with the faction. The latter is a degeneration of the former: it is as damaging to the state as the political party is useful and necessary.