The Prime Minister, referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers, is also the head of government. Silvio Berlusconi, the current Prime Minister, is responsible for nominating the Council of Ministers, which is then approved by the president. The last presidential election was held on May 13, 1999 and the next is scheduled for May, 2006.
The Legislative Branch consists of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate consists of 315 seats which are elected by popular vote. Out of the 315 seats, there are 232 directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional representation. Members of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies serve five year terms with the exception of a few lifetime members. The Chamber of Deputies is made up of 630 seats; 475 are directly elected, 155 by regional proportional representation. .
The Judicial Branch, also known as the Constitutional Court, is comprised of 15 judges. One third of the court is appointed by the president, one-third is elected by Parliament, and the final one-third is elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme Courts. One of the major political parties in Italy is The Olive Tree Coalition. This coalition was an alliance between the Democratic Party and a number of smaller, bourgeois parties. Italian manufacturers and merchants associations, organized farm groups, and the Roman Catholic Church are the three major trade union confederations who are known to exert political pressures.
Economy.
Since the end of World War II, the Italian economy has changed dramatically. Originally, Italy was an agriculturally based economy but it developed into the world's fifth largest industrial economy. Italy has a diversified industry with roughly the same total per capita output as France and the UK (purchasing power parity of about $25,000).
Italy has few natural resources and it imports mostly raw materials and energy requirements.
