LEO VALIANI

La Costituzione repubblicana 40 anni dopo

N. 147

Summary — The Republican Constitution has well performed throughout the last forty years its role of democratic guarantee: guarantee of rights and of duties in the same time. Yet, it faces today the incredible social, economic, cultural and above all technological changes of the last decades, thus revealing two unsolved questions: the strengthening of Government and the speeding up of parliamentary works. As to the former question, the power of political parties seems to be the main obstacle; as to the latter, some fundamental points must be revised, such as the voting procedure, the dialogue with the local administrations, and the electoral system itself. The basic problem lies in the inadequacy of means vis à vis the vaste range of competences: this is true, for instance, for the sector of Justice.

In short, to make the Constitution work, its practical instruments must work: Government, Parliament, Public Administration, each one acting solely according to the State's interest. Moreover, after 1992, the efficiency of our Constitution will be tested not only on the domestic plan, but also on a European size.