Government accountability and voting choice in Italy, 1990–2008

Between 1996 and 2008 Italy has experienced four government alternations in as many consecutive elections. It could be argued that after the dramatic party change that occurred in the early 90s the Italian system is in a state of constant flux and voters appear rather bewildered. This paper presents an opposite argument, showing that voters' choice reflects the greater importance of valence politics – performance, the economy – acting as a cue to voting behaviour, interacting with a long-term political predisposition. In turn, this promotes parties' responsiveness and accountability since the overall performance of a government – even of a coalition government – appears as a goal to be shared by all partners, under the threat of defeat for all. The analysis is carried out employing the Italian National Elections Studies series.

► Democratic accountability has increased over the last decade in Italy. Citizens attribute responsibility for the ruling of the country and vote consequentially.
► Italian political behaviour has shown a relevant shift from society to politics. Partisanship is no longer a function of social structure, and political predispositions find now in parties and politics their sources.
► Voting choice results then from the updating of political predisposition with valence politics cues.
► Economic voting shows increasing importance among Italian voters.