The legacy of the Acerbo law in the republican political debate on electoral reforms

Abstract

The essay examines the evolution of the electoral reform debate in the Italian Republic, highlighting the enduring influence of the memory of the 1923 Acerbo law. Through a diachronic analysis from the Forti Commission to the 2017 Rosatellum, the paper shows how electoral law has consistently been employed as a tool to address issues of governability, party legitimacy, and parliamentary effectiveness.