Italy is left out of most contemporary comparative studies of political systems. This omission can be due neither to any intrinsic unimportance of Italy in Europe, nor to the absence of parallel similarities and differ­ ences - the prerequisites of comparative explanation - between the Italian and other Western political systems. It may be due to the paucity of case studies of Italian politics, upon which comparisons would have to be based. Professor Bucci's book will contribute toward overcoming this scarcity. Not only is Italy under-represented in comparative studies of post­ war European politics, but there is also a shortage of monographs dealing with particular aspects of Italian politics since the founding of the Republic, especially in English. I hope that Dr. Bucci's work, which is based exclusively upon original Italian sources, signals the beginning of exploration, more systematic than hitherto, of the goldmine for case studies which post-war Italian politics presents to political scientists.