ABSTRACT
In Italy, where governments have averaged less than a year in office since World War II, the formation of a new cabinet is not always a newsworthy event. At first glance, this would seem to be the case of the government created in the summer of 1992 and headed by Giuliano Amato of the Socialist Party (PSI). The same four-party coalition that was in power before the elections was reconstituted, albeit with a different prime minister and a somewhat different cast of characters occupying the principal cabinet posts. Christian Democracy (DC) continues to be the largest member of the coalition, as has been the case in every government since the war. In short, the kind of striking developments that would get observers' attention, particularly after the dramatic results of the general elections in April, simply did not materialize. "Politics as usual" appeared, once more, to be the order of the day.
