From program to government contract

Abstract

The experience of the government contract in the version created at the beginning of the current legislature presents lights and shadows. However, the stipulation of negotiating clauses should be considered positive insofar as it has allowed the contracting political forces to overcome mutual mistrust and to be able to form a government majority despite the clear programmatic differences. The negative aspects, as we have attempted to underline, lie in the inconsistency and incompleteness of the contents, as well as in the rigidity of the agreed solutions, which are not always reasonable and feasible. The comparison, from this point of view, could perhaps offer useful elements for reflection for a critical evaluation of our experience and for the identification of corrective profits in the future. In Germany, for example, Christian Democrats and Social Democrats, thanks to the stipulation of a government contract, managed to form a large coalition capable of supporting a stable and efficient federal executive, despite the fact that both parties had ruled out this eventuality during the election campaign.