The incumbent left-wing coalition was returned to power with an increased majority, now holding over 55% of the seats in both houses of the parliament. The D'Alema government thus continued without any change.
The following legislature saw little legislative activity, as Italians were largely satisfied with the nation's course. Economic growth slowed down a bit compared to the late 1990s boom, but remained above the European average. The working class' living standards was also improving, and unemployment was falling at a steady pace. Thanks to the healthy economy and to the measures taken against tax evasion, public debt was also declining at a rapid pace, falling below the 100% threshold in early 2002 and nearing 80% by the end of the legislature. The Sicilian and Neapolitan mafias had been seriously weakened, though the Calabrese one remained dangerously ingrained. On foreign policy, the government joined the international coalition to defeat the Taliban in 2001, but refused to join the alliance against Saddam Hussein's Iraq in 2003 (due to the events of the 1970s, this TL's Italy is much less pro-American than RL Italy).
Meanwhile, judges made a broad use of their new prosecution powers to crack down on corruption, with sometimes major consequences for the Italian political class. The major victim was Silvio Berlusconi, who not long ago was seen as the new face of the Italian right. Between 2002 and 2004, the entrepreneur-turned-politician was found guilty of accounting fraud, corruption and tax evasion in several cases, and sentenced to several years in prison. His Forza Italia outfit, already reduced to a rump following the 2000 elections, disbanded shortly after, with its members joining either AN or UDC. However, corruption charges did not hurt only the right, and several government ministers and party leaders from DS were forced to resign. Still, the government remained supportive (if somewhat begrudgingly) of anti-corruption efforts and no corruption scandal was strong enough to endanger its stability.
On the other hand, the government's stability was shaken by the increasingly conflicted relations between DS and PRC. The latter was starting to lose patience after none of its policy request was endorsed by the government. D'Alema, indeed, had no will to undertake any potentially controversial reform at a time where everything was seemingly going well. PRC and its leader, Fausto Bertinotti, became more vocal in their criticism throughout the year 2002, until, in February 2003, they officially broke with the government. However, due to the system of constructive defiance, PRC was unable to bring the government down. Shortly after, D'Alema opened talks with the PPI and a new agreement was formed, with Di Pietro and other PPIers entering in government. The PRC members who disapproved of Bertinotti's hard-line strategy also left and founded the PdCI, which maintained its support to the government, thus giving it a large majority.
The newly formed center-left coalition proved functional, with D'Alema and Di Pietro sharing most of their views in terms of policy (though Di Pietro was quite critical of DS' corruption issues). In May 2004, it had to face a new Presidential election, as Mario Segni's term came to an end. Once again reaching across the aisle, the government decided to get behind the candidacy of the Radical Emma Bonino, who polls showed was the Italians' favorite candidate. Though a few DS parliamentarians rebelled against the party's order, Bonino was nonetheless elected, becoming the second woman and the third Radical to occupy the office. This election also reinforced the limited collaboration of the government with the Radical MPs, which voted in favor of some of the government's law while still considering themselves in opposition.
Still, in the 2004 European Parliament elections, DS took a major hit, caused partly by the government crisis, by the disaffection of left-wing voters and more generally by voter fatigue after nearly 9 years of DS rule. Following this defeat, D'Alema announced his resignation from the government and party leadership. In the first open (though still heavily restricted) primary organized by the party, Walter Veltroni was elected as the new DS leader and subsequently took the lead of the government. As elections were approaching, Veltroni tried to recreate some dynamism in the government. In late 2004, the cap-and-trade system conceived in the previous legislature was fully implemented, and the 2005 budget law moved taxation in a more eco-friendly direction. Finally, civil unions open to both heterosexual and homosexual couples (the so-called PACS) were created.
The new elections are held in October 2005, once again at the natural term of the legislature - a historic record for political stability. The incumbent PdCI-PDS-FV-PPI coalition is running together again, while the two right-wing parties still alive also have allied. There is also, this time, only
one abrogative referendum.
List of parties:Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) Bertinotti's party has decided to break all ties with DS and is now running on its own, forcefully attacking the party's moderate turn and the lack of any serious project for social reform.
Party of Italian Communists (PdCI) Led by the historical communist leader Armando Cossutta, it is formed by members from PRC who refuse to completely break the alliance with DS. They claim that the only way the hard-left can influence policy is through collaboration with the other left-wing parties, and promise to increase pressure on the government to achieve that goal.
Democrats of the Left (DS) Veltroni is trying to rejuvenate the party's image, by opening new possible paths for progressive reform. While this agenda has not been fully defined yet, the main tenets of it revolve around societal reforms and strengthening of the Welfare State. Veltroni is running as the leader of the incumbent PdCI-DS-FV-PPI coalition.
Federation of the Greens (FV) Still a left-leaning ecologist party. Its participation in government has paid off and, in great part thanks to its lobbying, Italy is now one of the leading European nations in terms of environmental legislation. It is urging environmentalist voters to maintain their support so as to build on these achievements.
Italian People's Party (PPI) Now a part of the governing coalition, Di Pietro's party has had good relationship with its new allies (with the exception of the corruption scandals, which Di Pietro has strongly condemned). It seeks to play a moderating role in the coalition, making sure that the government remains fiscally responsible, and also be a watchdog against corruption.
Rose in the Fist (RnP) The new electoral list presented by the Radicals (in alliance with a minor Social-Democratic party). The party has welcomed the government's recent efforts to cater to them, culminating in the election of their leader Emma Bonino to the Presidency. Still, the Radicals plan to stay outside of any future government, and only vote for individual pieces of legislation which they support.
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC) The new party formed as a continuation of the Whiteflower to gather right-leaning Christian-Democrats. It is led by Pier Ferdinando Casini, who has established himself as the figurehead of that political movement. With Forza Italia's collapse, Casini is now seen as the Italian right's best hope at reconquering power.
National Alliance (AN) Despite stagnating poll numbers, Fini has held on with its strategy of "respectabilization" of the party. AN thus still presents itself as a nationalist and mainstream conservative party, and has allied with UDC for the upcoming elections.
Note: Due to my absence in the next few days, this poll will remain open for 8 days instead of 4. Since I won't be there to regularly bump it, this might definitely be necessary to get full turnout. I'll do my best to start the next election as soon as I can after I'm back, on August 22nd.