Trasformismo
Trasformismo refers to the method of making a flexible centrist coalition of government which isolated the extremes of the left and the right in Italian politics after the unification and before the rise of Benito Mussolini and Fascism.

The policy was embraced by Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour and the Historical Right upon Italian unification and carried over into the post-Risorgimento liberal state. Agostino Depretis, the Prime Minister in 1883 who was a member of the Left continued the process. He moved to the right and reshuffled his government to include Marco Minghetti's Liberal-Conservatives. This was a move Depretis had been considering for a while. The aim was to ensure a stable government that would avoid weakening the institutions by extreme shifts to the left or right and ensuring calm in Italy.

At this time, middle class politicians were concerned more with making deals with one another rather than with political philosophies and principles. Large coalitions were formed with members being bribed to join them. The Liberals, the main political group, was tied together by informal gentleman's agreements, but these were always in matters of enriching themselves. Actual governing did not seem to be happening at all, but limited franchise led to politicians not having to concern themselves with the interests of their constituents.

One of the most successful politicians was Giovanni Giolitti, who succeeded in becoming Prime Minister on five occasions over twenty years. Under his influence the Liberals did not develop as a structured party, instead being a series of informal personal groupings with no formal links to political constituencies. However, "trasformismo" fed into the debates that the Italian parliamentary system was weak and actually failing and it ultimately became associated with corruption. It was perceived as a sacrifice of principles and policies for short term gain. The system of "trasformismo" was little loved and seemed to be creating a huge gap between politicians and their constituents. This system brought almost no advantages, as illiteracy remained the same in 1912 as before the unification era, and backward economic policies combined with poor sanitary conditions continued to prevent the country's rural areas from improving.
Q6587194
centrist
Concept
Q7188
government
Concept
Q164597
left
Concept
Q76074
right
Concept
Q51122
unification
Concept
Q23559
Benito Mussolini
PER
Q6223
Fascism
Concept
Q166092
Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour
PER
Q2949884
Historical Right
ORG
Q356711
Agostino Depretis
PER
Q14212
Prime Minister
Concept
Q2949890
Left
MEDIA
Q2254471
reshuffled his government
UNK
Q597155
Marco Minghetti
PER
Q2949884
Liberal-Conservatives
ORG
Q297190
Giovanni Giolitti
PER
Q10858400
corruption
Concept
Q738272
Trasformismo
UNK
1883-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1883
DATE
1912-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1912
DATE
opposite of
opposite of
movement
member of political party
chairperson
member of political party
member of political party