Governmental Leadership without a Political Party

Abstract

This article focuses on the theme of strengthening government leadership within contemporary democracy schemes, irrespective of their forms of Go vernment-parliamentary or presidential. They are, in most cases, leaders-without-party in the sense that, though (formally) sponsored by a political party, they manage to impose and legitimiz e themselves by virtue of their personalities along with a team of loyal followers, doing without their own party and often opposing to it. This phenomenon of “ leadership concentration” of the head of Government is evident even in parliamentary systems where — according with the Germany ’ s historical prototype — is defined as a “chancellor democracy”. We can get many examples of this tendency around the world in the latest ten years. The Italian political experience of the last thirty years is assumed as an interesting case study, demonstrating the vitality and at same time the hidden risks of that process which enhances the personalistic model of “leader-without-party”. All within the framework of a weak and partial democracy that is defined in various ways : hybrid, dissociative, personalized-prodromal signs of a possible step back towards a “populistic style”.