Super partes? Ideological leaning of heads of state and their distance from prime ministers

ABSTRACT Presidents in parliamentary democracies are commonly perceived as neutral actors, with limited influence on everyday politics. However, Italian heads of state have the widest set of powers among European parliamentary democracies. Recent episodes occurring during the presidential terms of Giorgio Napolitano and Sergio Mattarella suggest that heads of state can indeed play a political role, influencing cabinet formation and day-to-day political events and processes. This article examines whether Italian heads of state can be considered non-partisan political actors or whether, in contrast, their ideological leanings can be inferred from their public speeches and declarations. By compiling and analysing a new and original dataset based on content analysis of presidents’ investiture speeches and New Year’s Eve messages, we mapped the political positions of Italian heads of state over 76 years (1946–2022). As such, the article investigates the conditions under which the position of the President is closer to that of the Prime Minister on the ideological left-right scale and on foreign policy. The analysis reveals that the ideological distance between them is lower when both belong to the same ideological party family and when the Prime Minister has been appointed to form a president’s cabinet, closer to the preferences of the head of state.