This article adopts an inductive approach to the study of party positions
in the Italian Parliament during the centre-left governments of
Enrico Letta (2013–2014) and Matteo Renzi (2014–2016), as they
emerge from the investiture vote. This is a unique moment in the
relationship between Parliament and Government because the parliamentary
groups debate the Government’s programme before delivering
their first confidence vote. The research aim is to assess the
alignment of the Italian parties in Parliament following the decline of
the traditional left-right cleavage and the rise of populism. A content
analysis of the texts of the speeches delivered during the parliamentary
debate before the confidence votes confirming the investiture of
the Letta and Renzi governments provides a survey of the political
themes addressed by the latter and by the main Italian parliamentary
groups. The findings highlight the multidimensional character of the
competition space and show how party alignment is affected by the
interplay between the supranational dimension (European integration)
and the state’s capacity to provide services and guarantee citizens’
rights. It is argued that the emergence of new parties has favoured the
re-establishment of a multi-polar pattern of competition, but without
clear ideological connotations, in contrast with the situation of the
earlier post-war period.
