Editing History of Italy (section)

===Second Republic (1992–present)===
Italy faced several terror attacks between 1992 and 1993, perpetrated by the [[Sicilian Mafia]] as a consequence of several life sentences pronounced during the "[[Maxi Trial]]", and of the new anti-mafia measures launched by the government. In 1992, two major dynamite attacks killed two judges,<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 March 2012 |title=New Arrests for Via D'Amelio Bomb Attack |url=https://www.corriere.it/International/english/articoli/2012/03/08/borsellino.shtml |publisher=corriere.it}}</ref> and a year later tourist spots, leaving 10 dead and 93 injured and causing severe damage to cultural heritage such as the [[Uffizi Gallery]]. The Catholic Church openly condemned the Mafia, and two churches were bombed and an anti-Mafia priest shot dead in Rome.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sentenza del processo di 1º grado a Francesco Tagliavia per le stragi del 1993 |url=http://www.ipezzimancanti.it/download/Tagliavia%20sentenza.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Audizione del procuratore Sergio Lari dinanzi alla Commissione Parlamentare Antimafia – XVI LEGISLATURA (PDF). |url=http://www.parlamento.it/application/xmanager/projects/parlamento/Reso.steno.26.3.2012Int..pdf}}</ref>
[[File:Echadas_de_Monedas.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bettino Craxi]], viewed by many as the symbol of [[Tangentopoli]], Leader of the [[Italian Socialist Party|Socialist Party]] and Prime Minister from 1983 to 1987, is greeted by a salvo of coins as a sign of loathing by protesters.]]

From 1992 to 1997, Italy faced significant challenges as voters disenchanted with political paralysis, massive government debt, extensive corruption, and organised crime's considerable influence collectively called the political system [[Tangentopoli]]. As Tangentopoli was under a set of judicial investigations by the name of [[Mani pulite]] (Italian for "clean hands"), voters demanded political, economic, and ethical reforms. Between 1992 and 1994 the [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|DC]] underwent a severe crisis and was dissolved, splitting up into several pieces. The [[Italian Socialist Party|PSI]] (along with other minor governing parties) completely dissolved.<ref>Sarah Waters, "'Tangentopoli' and the emergence of a new political order in Italy." ''West European Politics'' (1994): 17#1 pp:169–182.</ref><ref>Donald Sassoon, "Tangentopoli or the democratization of corruption: Considerations on the end of Italy's first republic." ''Journal of Modern Italian Studies'' (1995) 1#1 pp: 124–143.</ref>

The [[Italian general election, 1994|1994 general election]] also swept media magnate [[Silvio Berlusconi]] (Leader of "[[Pole of Freedoms]]" coalition) into office as prime minister. Berlusconi was forced to step down in December 1994 when his [[Lega Nord]] partners withdrew support. The Berlusconi government was succeeded by a [[technical government]] headed by [[Lamberto Dini]]. At the [[Italian general election, 1996|1996 general election]], [[Romano Prodi]] led a centre-left coalition to victory. He narrowly lost a vote of confidence in October 1998. A new government was formed by [[Democrats of the Left]] leader [[Massimo D'Alema]], but in April 2000, following poor performance by his coalition in regional elections, he resigned.

The succeeding centre-left government was headed by [[Giuliano Amato]] (social-democratic), who previously served as prime minister from 1992 to 1993 and again from April 2000 until June 2001. That same year, a centre-right coalition [[Italian general election, 2001|formed the government]] and [[Silvio Berlusconi]] was able to regain power and keep it for a complete five-year mandate, becoming the longest-serving government in post-war Italy. Berlusconi participated in the US-led [[multinational coalition in Iraq]].

{{Multiple image
| align             = right
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| image1            = Romano Prodi 1999 (cropped).jpg
| width1            = 122
| image2            = Silvio Berlusconi 1996.jpg
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| caption1          = [[Romano Prodi]], Prime Minister from 1996 to 1998 and from 2006 to 2008, and long-time leader of the [[Centre-left coalition (Italy)|centre-left coalition]]
| caption2          = [[Silvio Berlusconi]], Prime Minister from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006 and from 2008 to 2011, and long-time leader of the [[Centre-right coalition (Italy)|centre-right coalition]]
}}

The [[Italian general election, 2006|2006 general election]] returned Prodi to government, leading a coalition of 11 parties ([[The Union (political coalition)|The Union]]). Prodi followed a cautious policy of economic liberalisation and reduction of public debt. Berlusconi won the [[Italian general election, 2008|2008 general election]]. Italy was among the countries hit hardest by the [[Great Recession]] of 2008–09 and the subsequent [[European debt crisis]]. The national economy shrunk by 6.76% over seven quarters of recession.<ref name="OECD">{{Cite web |title=Quarterly Growth Rates of real GDP, change over previous quarter |url=http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=350 |access-date=8 February 2015 |publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]]}}</ref> In November 2011, the Italian bond yield was 6.74 per cent for 10-year bonds, nearing a 7% level where Italy is thought to lose access to financial markets.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Moody |first1=Barry |last2=Mackenzie |first2=James |date=8 November 2011 |title=Berlusconi to resign after parliamentary setback |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-idUSTRE7A72NG20111108 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918220156/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/08/us-italy-idUSTRE7A72NG20111108 |archive-date=18 September 2012 |access-date=8 February 2015 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> On 12 November 2011, Berlusconi resigned, and the economist [[Mario Monti]] was sworn in as prime minister at the head of a [[technocracy|technocratic]] government. To avoid the debt crisis and kick-start economic growth, Monti's [[national unity government]] launched a massive programme of [[austerity measures]]; that reduced the deficit but precipitated a [[double-dip recession]] in 2012 and 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Krugman |first=Paul |date=24 February 2013 |title=Austerity, Italian-Style |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/opinion/krugman-austerity-italian-style.html |access-date=26 November 2017 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Orsi |first=Roberto |date=8 October 2013 |title=The Demise of Italy and the Rise of Chaos |url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/eurocrisispress/2013/10/08/the-demise-of-italy-and-the-rise-of-chaos |access-date=26 November 2017 |publisher=[[London School of Economics]]}}</ref>

On 24 and 25 February 2013, a [[Italian general election, 2013|general election]] was held; a centre-left coalition led [[Pier Luigi Bersani]], Leader of the [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]], won a slight majority in the Chamber of Deputies but did not control the Senate. On 24 April, President Napolitano gave to the Vice-Secretary of the Democratic Party, [[Enrico Letta]], the task of forming a government. Letta formed a short-lived [[Grand coalition (Italy)|grand coalition]] government which lasted until 22 February 2014. [[Matteo Renzi]] formed a new [[Renzi Cabinet|government]] with the support of some centrist parties. The government implemented numerous reforms, including changes to the [[Italian electoral law|electoral system]], a relaxation of labour and employment laws with the intention of boosting economic growth, a thorough reformation of the [[public administration]] and the introduction of [[Civil union|same-sex civil union]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 September 2015 |title=Italy Prime Minister Mattro Renzi on Senate Reform |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-09-29/italy-prime-minister-matteo-renzi-on-senate-reform |access-date=29 September 2015 |publisher=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref> However, Renzi resigned after losing a [[Italian constitutional referendum, 2016|constitutional referendum]] in December 2016, and was succeeded by [[Paolo Gentiloni]]. The centre-left Cabinets were plagued by the aftermath of the [[European debt crisis]] and the [[European migrant crisis]], which fuelled support for populist and right-wing parties.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 February 2018 |title=Fear of migrants feeds growth of Italy's far-right |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/fear-of-migrants-feeds-growth-of-italy-s-far-right-1.3393398 |access-date=10 June 2021 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]}}</ref>
[[File:Covid-19 San Salvatore 09.jpg|thumb|Exhausted nurse takes a break in an Italian hospital during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Italy|COVID-19 emergency]].]]

The [[Italian general election, 2018|2018 general election]] resulted in a [[hung parliament]] once again, which led to an unlikely [[Conte I Cabinet|populist government]] led by [[Giuseppe Conte]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 May 2018 |title=Opinion – The Populists Take Rome |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/opinion/populists-rome-five-star-movement.html |access-date=2 June 2018 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> However, after only fourteen months, the League withdrew its support and Conte allied with the Democratic Party and other smaller left-wing parties to form a new Cabinet.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 September 2019 |title=Italy's Conte forms coalition of bitter rivals, booting far-right from power |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20190905-italy-coalition-conte-five-star-populists-democrats |access-date=9 September 2019 |work=France 24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=4 September 2019 |title=New Italian government formed, allying M5S and the centre-left {{!}} DW {{!}} 4 September 2019 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/new-italian-government-formed-allying-m5s-and-the-center-left/a-50287864 |access-date=9 September 2019 |work=Deutsche Welle}}</ref> In 2020, Italy was severely hit by the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Italy|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>[http://www.salute.gov.it/nuovocoronavirus Nuovo coronavirus], ''Minsitero della Salute''</ref> From March to May 2020, Conte's government imposed a [[2020 Italy coronavirus lockdown|national lockdown]] to limit the spread.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 March 2020 |title=Italy extends emergency measures nationwide |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51810673 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Beaumont |first1=Peter |last2=Sample |first2=Ian |date=10 March 2020 |title=From confidence to quarantine: how coronavirus swept Italy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/10/from-confidence-to-quarantine-how-coronavirus-swept-italy |access-date=12 March 2020 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The measures, despite being widely approved by public opinion,<ref>{{Cite web |last=De Feo |first=Gianluca |date=20 March 2020 |title=Sondaggio Demos: gradimento per Conte alle stelle |url=https://www.youtrend.it/2020/03/20/sondaggio-demos-gradimento-per-conte-alle-stelle |access-date=22 March 2020 |website=YouTrend |language=it-IT}}</ref> were also described as the largest suppression of [[constitutional right]]s in the history of the republic.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 March 2020 |title=Blog {{!}} Coronavirus, la sospensione delle libertà costituzionali è realtà. Ma per me ce la stiamo cavando bene |url=https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2020/03/18/coronavirus-la-sospensione-delle-liberta-costituzionali-e-realta-ma-per-me-ce-la-stiamo-cavando-bene/5739296 |access-date=22 March 2020 |work=Il Fatto Quotidiano |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 March 2020 |title=Un uomo solo è al comando dell'Italia, e nessuno ha niente da ridire |url=https://www.linkiesta.it/2020/03/italia-coronavirus-conte-uomo-solo-al-comando |access-date=4 March 2020 |work=Linkiesta |language=it-IT}}</ref> With more than 100,000 confirmed fatalities, Italy had one of the highest total number of deaths in the [[COVID-19 pandemic|coronavirus pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 March 2021 |title=Italy mourns its 100,000 dead as third wave builds |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2021/0318/1204668-corovirus-global |access-date=10 June 2021 |agency=[[Raidió Teilifís Éireann]]}}</ref> The pandemic caused also a [[Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic|severe economic disruption]].<ref>[https://www.agi.it/economia/news/2020-04-14/coronavirus-fmi-crisi-economica-8331041/ L'Italia pagherà il conto più salato della crisi post-epidemia], AGI</ref> In February 2021, these extraordinary circumstances resulted in the formation of a [[Draghi Cabinet|national coalition government]] led by former president of the European Central Bank [[Mario Draghi]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 February 2021 |title=Mario Draghi sworn in as Italy's new prime minister |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56049115 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> In January 2022, President [[Sergio Mattarella]] was re-elected.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 January 2022 |title=Sergio Mattarella: At 80, Italy president re-elected on amid successor row |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60183929 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

On 21 July 2022, following a [[2022 Italian government crisis|government crisis]], Draghi resigned.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 July 2022 |title=Italy heads to early election after Draghi's coalition fails |url=https://apnews.com/article/elections-legislature-italy-802d6ab0965feebf4e3f7bda1659df42 |work=[[Associated Press News]]}}</ref> A [[2022 Italian general election|snap election]] resulted in the [[Centre-right coalition (Italy)|centre-right coalition]] gaining an absolute majority.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 September 2022 |title=Italy's far-right Meloni begins tricky government talks |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220927-italy-s-far-right-meloni-begins-tricky-government-talks |access-date=2 October 2022 |work=France 24 |publisher=Agence France-Press}}</ref> On 22 October 2022, [[Giorgia Meloni]] was sworn in as Italy's first female prime minister.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 October 2022 |title=Who is Giorgia Meloni? The rise to power of Italy's new far-right PM |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63351655 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref>