Why did Italy modify its electoral system to reduce the number of parties in the legislature?

In the 1990s, Italy moved to modify its electoral system away from pure proportional representation primarily to address the systemic corruption and instability associated with partitocrazia—a political culture characterized by patronage and the dominance of a fragmented party system.12

Following widespread bribery scandals uncovered during the "Operation Clean Hands" investigations, public trust in the existing political order collapsed. The traditional parties, which had long relied on proportional representation to maintain their influence, were seen as outdated and corrupt. By shifting to a system where three-fourths of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate were elected from single-member constituencies, reformers aimed to:23

• Increase Accountability: Moving away from party-list dominance toward individual candidates in districts was intended to make politicians more directly answerable to voters.12
• Foster Stability: The reforms sought to move the political spectrum away from extreme fragmentation toward a more polarized system of competing coalitions, thereby reducing the influence of small, often obstructive parties.23

These changes were part of a broader effort to revitalize Italy's political culture and move toward a "second republic" following the end of the Cold War.2