This paper considers the changed role of the Italian Presidency and the impact of Silvio Berlusconi and the Eurozone crisis on this. Since 1992, in response to wider socio-political change, successive Presidents have used their formal and informal powers to maintain the status of the office and to promote political goals. The Eurozone crisis, and the roles of Berlusconi and Napolitano, therefore constitute an important acceleration of long-term changes in the configuration of Italian constitutional roles. The domestic impact of the crisis and of the politics of austerity associated with it should not be underestimated; that the crisis has had fundamental effects on the internal politics of southern European states can hardly be doubted, but it is important to see these in the context of long-term changes in politics and society.
