Is There a Populist Turn in the Italian Parliament? Continuity and Discontinuity in the Non-legislative Procedures

Abstract

This chapter provides a critical analysis of whether and how the populist turn of Italian politics has affected the performance of the non-legislative functions of the Parliament. In particular, after a brief review of how populist forces can influence the status of members of Parliament, the chapter deals with the expressive-informing functions of the Parliament, linked to the transparency and publicity of its activity and to the ability to act as a representative institution. It then explores the impact of populist forces on the parliamentary function of scrutiny and oversight, in particular on whether this has been exercised in continuity with the past, of a Parliament not very keen to fully exploit its tools and of governments inclined to escape parliamentary control.