Two steps forward and one step back: the majority principle in the {Italian} {Parliament} since 1994

Since the early 1990s, political actors, journalists and scholars have been monitoring the evolution of the parliamentary arena in order to spot any signs of adaptation to the majoritarian logic characterising the electoral arena. However, this process has been slow and discontinuous as a result of the extreme resilience of certain consensual practices that have continued to prevail within the parliamentary arena. The hung parliament resulting from the 2013 general election, with the emergence of the Five Star Movement as a significant third electoral force, has questioned the very applicability of the transitional framework and terminology. This article analyses the evolution of the main aspects of parliamentary politics over the last two decades, placing particular emphasis on the initial months in the life of the XVII legislature. The fragmentation of the parliamentary arena and the nature of the process leading to the formation of governments are both analysed in detail. Finally, the article provides an assessment of the majoritarian and consensual features of Italy’s Parliament, two decades after the collapse of the post-war party system. © The Founding Editors, Contemporary Italian Politics.