Difference between revisions of "Government of the Kingdom of Italy"

Revision as of 21:09, 23 December 2014

The Government of the Italian Social Republic is the national government of Italy, the Italian Empire and its dependencies.
The Government is led by the Duce of the Republic, who appoint a Chief of Government. The Chief of Government and the Ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, known as the Council of Ministers.
Executive authority lies with the Duce and partially with the Chief of Government and the Council of Ministers. The Ministers advise the Duce and exercise power directly as leaders of the Ministries, but the Duce is not bound to follow advices. The Government is dependent on Parliament to make a part of the primary legislation.
The Duce of the Republic is the Head of State and takes a direct part in government. Some decisions to exercise sovereign powers are delegated from the Duce to Ministers or other public bodies, although the Duce retains all power to withdraw the delegation. The Government has the Duce as both chief executive and chief legislator.
Thus the major part of executive power is exercised by the Government. The Government has the operational direction of the Italian Armed Forces, the Public Administration and other officials, although the Duce's rule is direct and effective.
Judicial power is vested in the Judiciary, who by constitutions and statutes have judicial autonomy from the Government.

Collective leadership

Collective leadership is the actual of governance in the Italian Social Republic. Its main task is to distribute powers and functions among the Duce, Politcal Directory, the Grand Council of Fascism and the Council of Ministers to allow government in absence of an individual capable to create and command a one-man dominance over the Nation. The heart of the collective leadership is the Political Directory. Collective leadership is characterised by limiting the powers of the Duce and the Chief of Government as related to other offices by enhancing the powers of collective bodies. The collective leadership is officially disdained by Fascist ideology, but even Italo Debalti, the most powerful chief of state after Mussolini, has to accept some power sharing compromises. However, the collective leadership is a de facto necessity, and is definitively not accepted as a fundamental part of the Fascist State: therefore, the concept may be applied flexibly to a variety of situations and the Duce is clearly higher than both Political Directory and Council of Minister: he acts as the leading broker in Political Directory sessions and is, however considered, the Party leader.

Chief of Government

The Chief of Government is one of the Italian political leaders and the Head of Government. The Chief of Government, Ministers and Council of Ministers are both individually and collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Duce. Due to the central role of the Duce, the activities of the executive branch are significantly influenced by him: it is the Duce who appoints and dismisses the Chief of Government and other members of the government; the Duce may chair the meetings of the cabinet and give obligatory orders to the Chief of Government and other members of the government and the Chief of Government may also revoke any act of the government.
As the Head of Government, the Chief of Government is among the highest political authorities in Italy: he usually leads a major faction, generally commands a majority (or at least a plurality) in the Grand Council of Fascism and is the leader of the Council of Ministers.

Powers and constraints

When commissioned by the Duce, a potential Chief of Government's first requisite is to "form a Government". The Chief of Government then formally salutes the Duce. The Chief of Government will propose all other ministers, without any formal parliamentary control or process over these powers. At any time, he may propose to the Duce the appointment, dismissal or nominal resignation of any other minister; he may resign, either purely personally or with his whole government. The Chief of Government directs the policies and activities of the Government departments, acting as the main public "face" of Government.
The Chief of Government does not have command authority over the Italian Armed Forces, but he is the Head of the National Defense Mobilization Committee which is a department of the armed forces: the Chief of Government is responsible for the technical details of implementing government policy while the Duce gathers the political support necessary for government policy.
Although the Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Armed Forces is the Duce, under daily and ordinary routine the Chief of Government, with the Minister of Defence, holds power over the deployment and disposition of Italian forces: nonetheless, the Chief of General Staff is largely autonomous and responsible directly to the Duce.
The Chief of Government proposes the major part of the most senior appointments, and many others are made by Ministers. Ambassadors, senior civil servants, senior military officers, members of important committees and commissions, and other officials are selected, and in most cases may be removed, by the Chief of Government.

Crisis management

The natural operator of the crisis is the government. The emergence of a crisis situation determines the initiative and alerting the individual departments, responsible for protecting the interests threatened or endangered.
The organization of technical and operational support of the political leadership is composed of three major functional centers with specific expertise strictly delimited. The institutional actors defining the defence strategy are diverse, from general political figures down to those with more concrete and technical functions, along the whole political-military hierarchy. The most general guidelines are given by the Duce who is the only one to have a general view of the activities of the various ministries and is the only one who can guarantee their coherence and coordination.

Strategic Political Committee

The Strategic Political Committee performs the tasks of coordination and decision-making lines of action. It is made by the Duce, the Chief of Government, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Interior. Participation in the meetings is provided in an advisory capacity only to the Chief of the General Staff and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Committee meets only during a state of crisis, replacing the Council of Ministers and acquiring the results of the pre-decision made ​​by the technical staff.

National Decision Making Centre

The National Decision Making Centre, is the seat of the support to Strategic Political Committee, in which concrete measures are substantiated in the choices made. The Decision Making Room, the Control Room and the Situation Room are modular elements of the Centre, in close liaison with their counterparts in the individual ministries and the O.V.R.A.
The concerted action radiates from the National Decision Making Centre in respect of the various areas of relevance.

Political Military Section

The Political Military Section is formed by the Undersecretary of the Chief of Government (directly subordinate to the Chief of Government), representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, of Interior, of O.V.R.A., of the General Staff and the Military Intelligence Service as an element apart. The Political Military Section is a permanent body, also active in normal conditions, in order to prevent sudden escalations in a timely manner.
During a crisis it assists the Strategic Political Committee, in its capacity as auxiliary and advisory service.

Council of Ministers

A Minister is the person who seats in the Council of Ministers and in charge of a Government Ministry, usually with long tenures in office. The Minister is a member of the Council of Ministers, and acts as an advisory against the Chief of Government and the Duce and, on the other hand, is an organ placed in charge of a Ministry. In this role the Minister ensures the transmission of political address in the administrative policies. The fascist ministers have no real autonomy, nor can they express as such a dialectic in the formation of the address of the government, as their function is derived solely from the will of the Duce. Ministers last only on condition of interpreting, or at least not contradicting the Duce's will.
Current ministerial posts are:

• Chief of Government
• Political Secretary of the National Fascist Party
• Ministry of National Defence: in charge of the Italian Armed Forces
• Ministry of Interior;
• Ministry of Economic Activities
• Ministry of Environment;
• Ministry of National Economy;
• Ministry of Finance;
• Ministry of Budget;
• Ministry of Treasury;
• Ministry of Economic Plan;
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italians abroad, Commerce and Industry;
• Ministry of Grace and Justice;
• Ministry of Energy;
• Ministry of National Culture, Tourism and Sport;
• Ministry of National Education and Science;
• Ministry of Fascist Corporations and Labour;
• Ministry of Social Assistance;
• Ministry of Posts, Transportations and Communications;
• Ministry of Popular Culture;
• Ministry of Public Administration;
• Ministry of Public Facilities and Works;
• Ministry of Health;
• Ministry of State Participations;

Inter-ministerial Committee

The Inter-ministerial Committees are collegial bodies of the Government of accessories made of more Ministers, which arose to address the needs of particular sectors of public administration involving the skills and assets of more Ministers and, therefore, require the coordination of the activity. There are two types of Inter-ministerial committees:

• Inter-ministerial Advisory Committees: they provide external relief and opinions mandatory but non-binding, they do not have power to adopt acts with external effect;
• Inter-ministerial Regulatory Committees, who have specific skills of active administration, including the issuance of administrative acts, permits, approvals and regulations.

Intelligence and security agencies

The Italian intelligence and security agencies are the complex of Government agencies and bodies responsible for Italian security and intelligence activities. While consisting of two major bodies, Italian intelligence operates as a coordinated complex under the Governmental direction. The major departments are: the Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism (the PNF agency), the political intelligence branch of the Public Security and the Military Intelligence Service.
Party security organizations (including some OVRA departments, GNR, some PNF departments, Militia and some Public Security departments) are kept distinct, although not always separated, from state and public security organizations and agencies. This separation between Party and State intelligence agencies, and within Party agencies and within State agencies, although nor full nor antagonistic, has been adopted and deepened during late 1990s and early 2000s in order to provide a complex "watchers-of-the-watchers" web; this policy has been adopted to prevent or even avoid that some external power (namely the U.K. and the U.S.A.) might overturn against Italo Debalti's rule and government the whole security apparatus. Therefore, there are intelligence, police and military organizations both for the State and for the Party; the whole security network is controlled and managed by the collective leadership and, ultimately, by Duce Italo Debalti.

Other national security organizations

Beyond security and intelligence agencies, such as ImpSec and MoPIL, there are also some organizations which are necessary in order to carry out security services in a polity where the rule of law is required. However, the rule of law is enforced only if the security of the Empire would not be affected. These organizations are:

• Intelligence units and organizations within the Ministry of the Interior;
• Central Security Office, within the M.V.S.N.;
• Special Court for State Security;
• National Republican Guard (military police duties)

Emergency security framework

The security framework is mainly designed to react to the internal rebellion. The entire national territory is divided into a series of large wards, each of which comprises several Provinces; in each ward, a general manager is designated secretly, for a possible time of emergency. These structures entry into force automatically, when communications with Rome are interrupted: at that time the general managers entry into action taking on the whole State powers the knowing exactly, according to a prearranged plan, what to do. In case of emergency moments of an alternative system of satellite and orbital communications is active, being secured by a number of military ships.
Not always the general manager is the most senior Prefect or the Prefect of the most important city: in some cases, he can be the Quaestor, the local Military Commander, a Party's Federal Secretary or another man of strong energy and absolutely trustworthy.

Mass Organizations

Italy maintains some mass organizations, whose membership is strongly encouraged, although not strictly mandatory. These organizations are instrumental to militarise the Italian society, as well as those of Autonomous Republics, although to a lesser degree. Officially recognized and State-sponsored Imperial Mass Organizations are:

• Italian Lictor Youth (Gioventù Italiana del Littorio)
• National Afterwork Agency (Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro)

The mass organizations are an integral part of society. They serve to integrate the individual into the social life of the Nation and are designed to support the unity of interests and deeds. The mass organizations are very much the stepchildren of the Fascist ideology.

Hierarchy

The administrative hierarchy is the legal relationship between a higher-level body and a subordinate body.
Among the relationships between a plurality of bodies, the hierarchy has the highest degree of intensity: the body in position of supremacy is recognized a number of specific powers, such as the power to give orders and be subject to the control of the subordinate body, to revoke the inappropriate acts may be adopted by this, to delegate the exercise of functions, withdraw powers.
The hierarchy is expressed also in the ability to exercise real powers of substitution in the case of inertia organ subordinate. The administrative hierarchy acts, moreover, as principle of distribution of powers within the administrative organization. It is a typical feature of the ministerial bureaucracy.
The hierarchy also finds application in the system of administrative protection: there is, in fact, the possibility of appeal to a higher authority hierarchical body that has adopted an administrative act. That action, possible precisely because of the position of supremacy, it is recognized to the recipient of the administrative act that is considered spoiled, which can request its annulment, both for reasons of legitimacy and merit.

Organization of public services

The careers of civil servants in state administrations are divided into four groups:

• Group A: directive careers (officials);
• Group B: concept careers;
• Group C: executive careers;
• Group D: auxiliary personnel careers

The State civilian careers are reserved for certain categories of people possessing some minimum requirements: Italian citizenship or nationality or Colonial Citizenship (for some administrations), age not less than 18 years and not more than 32 (unless exempted), good conduct, political reliability and physical fitness for employment.
Those who have been expelled from the National Fascist Party and those who have been dismissed or laid off from Public Administration do not have access to employment. The recruitment to employment is carried out by public competitive examination for entry grades. The competition is organized by the Minister to be published in the Official Gazette.

Officials career

The officials career (A Group) is the top echelon of the Public Administration, and as a whole they retain a managerial responsibility. As a rule, the higher the rank, the wider the autonomy; however, specific tasks can vary according the specific rank and assignment.
The Directors-General perform the functions that are directly attributed to them by laws and regulations and act in matters delegated to them by the Minister. They assist the Minister in the performance of administrative and propose to the Minister the general measures in the areas of competence. The Directors General, finally, the head office activities, ensuring its consistency with the public interest and the best possible operation. In their capacity as heads of their administrative branches, they enact directly the mandatory acts and provide the penultimate end to hierarchical recourse.
Inspectors General, in accordance with the directives of the Minister and the competent Director General, oversee the bodies and offices of their Directorate General through inspections and other means permitted by law. After completing the required inspections, they report the results of inspections or investigations entrusted to them, pointing out all the deficiencies noted and formulating proposals on the measures to be taken. In urgent cases they may take some administrative measures, and may receive special assignments or positions of substitution. Finally, the inspectors general may be responsible for particularly important individual offices of the central and peripheral Public Administration.
Personnel in the ranks of Sectional Director and Divisional Director carries out legislation, coordination, propulsion and control activities. They take care of the technical-scientific organization of the work of offices and services. They look forward to the tasks of study and research, and participate in collegial bodies, commissions or committees operating within the Sdministration. They are generally responsible for the management of the various branches of the central and peripheral organs.
Councillors collaborate with superiors within the services which they are assigned to. They prepare bureaucratic practices assigned to them and report about them to their supervisors; finally, they notify those concerned of the action taken by the Administration and issue certifications. During the period of overall stay on ranks of Councillor, the personnel must be assigned at least to three different areas of activity. This requirement is necessary for the purpose of promotion to Sectional Director.
The Officials careers of State Administration include the following ranks:

• Rank IV: Director General (Direttore Generale) or equivalent;
• Rank V: Inspector General (Ispettore Generale) or equivalent;
• Rank VI: Divisional Director (Direttore di Divisione) or equivalent;
• Rank VII: Sectional Director (Direttore di Sezione) or equivalent;
• Rank VIII: Councillor 1st Class (Consigliere di Prima Classe) or equivalent;
• Rank IX: Councillor 2nd Class (Consigliere di Seconda Classe) or equivalent;
• Rank X: Councillor 3rd Class (Consigliere di Terza Classe) or equivalent;
• Rank XI: Councillor 4th Class (Consigliere di Quarta Classe) or equivalent.

Ranks above the Director General enjoy of their own regulations.
All Officials Careers have as a minimum requirement the four-year degree. Careers of directive personnel for access to which is required to hold at least five-year graduation or other degree followed by university specialization courses, begin from the rank of Councilor of 2nd class or equivalent; careers which require an university-level education, begin from the rank of Councillor 4th Class or equivalent while on training.

Concept careers

The concept careers personnel (B Group) performs tasks of administrative, accounting and technical support as senior clerks. In carrying out their duties, they are responsible for the proper implementation of laws and regulations. The concept careers include the following ranks:

• Rank VI: Chief Secretary (Segretario Capo) or equivalent;
• Rank VII: Principal Secretary (Segretario Principale) or equivalent;
• Rank VIII: First Secretary (Primo Segretario) or equivalent;
• Rank IX: Secretary (Segretario) or equivalent;
• Rank X: Additional Secretary (Segretario Aggiunto) or equivalent;
• Rank XI: Deputy Secretary (Vicesegretario) or equivalent.

The appointment as Deputy Secretary is achieved through public competitive examination for which they are eligible to participate in the Italian citizens bearing high school diploma. It is to note that Rank VI (B Group) is subordinate to all A-Group Ranks but the A-Group Rank XI (Councillor 4th Class or equivalent).

Executive careers

The executive careers personnel (C Group) is in charge of keeping records, headings and the protocol, in order to ensure preservation of the section records, performs tasks of accounting and statistics. Lastly, the contacts with the public and can be used for other tasks, if service requirements dictate it. The executive careers include the following ranks:

• Rank VIII: Higher Archivist (Archivista Superiore) or equivalent;
• Rank IX: Chief Archivist (Archivista Capo) or equivalent;
• Rank X: First Archivist (Primo Archivista) or equivalent;
• Rank XI: Archivist (Archivista) or equivalent;
• Rank XII Applied (Applicato) or equivalent;
• Rank XIII: Additional Applied (Applicato Aggiunto) or equivalent.

It is to note that Rank VIII (C Group) is subordinate to all A-Group and B-Group Ranks but the A-Group Rank XI (Councillor 4th Class or equivalent). The Public Security Administration, alongside with Republican Police Corps troops, employs some C-group personnel, in order to keep archives, databases and records, as well as deal with the administrative and routine clerk work which does not involve public security-related decision-making.

Auxiliary careers

The auxiliary personnel careers (D-Group) are those careers which are tasked with general or technical support to the administrative action of the Public Administration which employs them. The general support includes rooms general cleaning and low-profile maintenance, as well as non-specialistic technical maintenance, file and material transport, access surveillance and antechamber service; on the other hand, the technical support includes specialistic technical maintenance (usually for vehicles and other high-value instruments). The fatigue work are performed by the two lowest ranks. The auxiliary personnel careers include the following ranks:

• Rank X: First Clerk (Primo Commesso) or Chief Technical Agent (Agente Tecnico Capo);
• Rank XI: Chief Clerk (Commesso Capo) or Technical Agent (Agente Tecnico);
• Rank XII: Clerk (Commesso);
• Rank XIII: Chief Usher (Usciere Capo);
• Rank XIV: Usher (Usciere);
• Rank XV: Janitor (Inserviente).

It is to note that Rank X (D Group) is subordinate to all A-Group, B-Group and C-Group Ranks but the A-Group Rank XI (Councillor 4th Class or equivalent).

Related voices

• Ministry of Interior of the Italian Social Republic
• Law Enforcement of the Italian Social Republic