Prime Minister of the Istalian Republic

The President of the Council of Ministers of the Istalian Republic (Istalian: Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri della Repubblica Istaliana), commonly referred to in Istalia as President of the Council (Presidente del Consiglio), is the title typically reserved for the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of Istalia.

Nomination
The President of the Council is appointed by the President of the Republic. The President can choose whomever they want. While Presidents of the Council are usually chosen from amongst the ranks of the Chamber of Deputies, on rare occasions the President has selected a non-officeholder because of their experience in bureaucracy or foreign service, or their success in business management.

The President appoints a new President of the Council after each general election and because the Chamber of Deputies does have the power to force the resignation of the government, the choice of President of the Council must reflect the will of the majority in the Chamber and so the appointed head of the government, together with its cabinet team, shall have the confidence of the Parliament of Istalia to be confirmed and to stay in office.

Role
According to the Constitution the President of the Council shall direct the actions of the Government and shall determine and conduct the policy of the Nation. The other members of Government are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the President of the Council. In practice, however, the President of the Council acts on the impulse of the President to whom he is a subordinate, except when there is a cohabitation in which case his responsibilities are akin to those of a classic prime minister in a parliamentary system.

Before he is allowed to dissolve the Parliament, the President of the Republic has to consult the President of the Council and the Presidents of both Houses of Parliament.

Cohabitation
Given the semi-presidential form of the current Istalian Republic, the cohabitation is the situation when the President is forced to work with a President of the Council who is expression of a party or coalition opponent or however not expression of the same party or coalition to which belong the President of the Republic.

In fact, if the party or the coalition which support the President of the Republic has gained the majority into the Chamber of Deputies after the elections, the President of the Republic can present a Government expression of his own party or coalition and in this case he will lead the Government acting as Head of the State but sharing with the President of the Council the executive power, with the President of the Council which will act more as a coordinator of the Ministers and of the work of the Council.

But in case the majority party or coalition in the Chamber of Deputies is not the same which supported the elected President, the President of the Republic shall present a cabinet expression of this majority and he will act more as a cerimonial Head of the State while the executive power will owned almost exclusively by the President of the Council.

However, given the power recognized to the President of the Republic by the Constituion, he maintains the role of Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and continues to influence and determine the foreign policy of the Nation.

History
Despite the current position of the President of the Council, during most part of its history the Istalian Republic has been a parliamentary system and so the head of Government was the highest political institutional position and the effective holder of executive power while the President of Republic acted as ceremonial head of the State.

During the Istalian history, however, the form of government of the nation changed several times and experimented also periods under presidential systems under which the position of prime minister was abolished.

Seat
The official residence and office of the President of the Council is Antinori Palace (istalian: Palazzo Antinori), located in the historic center of Romula not far from Quattroregni Palace, the seat of the Presidency.