I mutamenti costituzionali

di Ugo De Siervo

The great value of constitutional rigidity is manifested in the maintenance over time of the principles and values on the basis of which the mediations between the various constituent political forces took place. In the recent history of Italian institutions, the 1948 Constitution has ensured the realisation of a good democratic system, but some prolonged delays in the realisation of the promised innovations have partly weakened its functioning. At the same time, widespread social and cultural changes have greatly reduced the ability of political forces to maintain a good level of development and have opened the door to multiple and confused attempts to solve problems through constitutional reforms, which have, however, proved inadequate. The current dangerous crisis of many values and principles that were the basis of democratic constitutionalism in the 20th century demands an urgent realisation of the need to face new serious cultural confrontations on the functionality of contemporary democracies.