What country has had the largest number of governments since World War II?

miffy42

Italy has had more than 50 governments since World War II, but the nation's well-established bureaucracy tends to hold the state together despite the political instability. http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-203106 Dec 10 06, 6:43 AM

queproblema

miffy, that's what your link says, all right, but I don't think that's the right answer. Italy has had the same constitution since 1948. We in the US are in our 43rd administration since 1789, but it's still the same government, no matter how much we might argue about original intent and the living Constitution. I would guess France is high on the list for actually changing governments, at least 5 times, but don't have time for further indagation at the moment. Here's a link on Italy. http://www.photius.com/wfb1999/italy/italy_government.html Dec 10 06, 12:06 PM

miffy42

The government changes when a different party comes into power. In Italy government is usually dependent on a coalition. And if this coalition fails for some reason (which it regularly does) there is an election when another coalition will be formed. Dec 10 06, 12:16 PM

miffy42

Your site says the prime minister is Massimo D'Alema, but there has been 3 more since then! Dec 10 06, 12:20 PM

queproblema

OK, here's a pretty authoritative and up-to-date site: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/it.html By your criterion, Great Britain has had six changes of government since WWII as it's flip-flopped back and forth from Conservative to Labour parties. Or do I misunderstand your point? I'd like to hear another perspective from someone on this. Anybody out there?? Dec 10 06, 5:46 PM

queproblema

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/it.html Dec 10 06, 5:50 PM

queproblema

I don't know why I can't get the link to work. Last try: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/it.html Dec 10 06, 5:51 PM

Andy_L_28

Have to agree with miffy here. I can confirm that in the UK a different party coming to power is indeed a change of government. Dec 10 06, 6:36 PM

lanfranco

I think the issue here is "What defines a government?" Surely it is not a complete alteration of Constitution and laws, but rather a change of the governing party and the personnel. I would have chosen Italy, hands down, as the answer to this question, but the technical reality is that the personnel there merely change roles, owing to the exigencies of a multi-party system. If you leave technicalities aside, however, then it's probably fair to say that Italy has had more "governments" since World War II than any other country. Dec 10 06, 6:56 PM

queproblema

Well, author, the definition of "government" in your question is up to you. What did you mean? Obviously I understood a new constitution or fiat, a new form, not just a change of party or personality. I don't feel like we've changed the government of the USA seven times since WWII. We have enjoyed a much stabler government than Italy, though, despite the occasional demonstration or riot and the continual anti-government rhetoric we take as evidence of democracy. Dec 10 06, 7:05 PM

McGruff

URLs that begin with https do not revert automatically to a link. Dec 10 06, 9:31 PM

queproblema

Thanks for enlightening me, McGruff. Dec 10 06, 10:37 PM

What-A-Mess

https= Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTPS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTPS It does not revert because the AFT site has not been programmed to recognize this text string as a link. It is easily fixed by the AFT administrator or web master. Dec 11 06, 2:34 AM