Still an Outlier?

Personalization of leadership and presidentialization of politics seem to be the two most significant trends affecting the majority of democratic regimes. This paper intends to explore whether they also apply to Southern European political systems and how much. More specifically, the paper offers an in-depth analysis of the Italian case focusing on a comparison between the leaders of the centre-right and those of centre-left. Since 1994, that represents watershed in Italian politics, the former have been characterized by great stability in their party offices, while the latter have been subject to a frequent turnover, though not to an altogether disappearance from politics. The paper will provide a thorough description and a sober evaluation of the different ways the various political leaders are connected with the dynamics of their individual parties and the party system as well as with alternation and governmental turnover. A second type of comparison will be sketched between Italian leaders and the political leaders of Greece, Portugal, and Spain (and, to a lesser extent, France). The conclusion will attempt to provide a satisfactory explanation also making reference to the nature of the governmental institutions and to the still on-going Italian institutional transition, that is, the incessant debate over the rules of the game and the alleged need for a new Constitution.