The staff saw its discipline transformed from a system of public employment to a regulatory law. The control regime changed with the attenuation of preventive controls on the actions of municipalities, regions and state, which multiplied the bonds of community and national administration.

In essence, during more than a century of unification the Italian administration has expanded and changed so it’s hard to recognize common traits. The ministries have grown, the administrative leadership is disconnected from the political leadership, public authorities have taken on a weight sufficient to obstruct the government, the European Union is not a superimposed, but closely integrated with the national one. The periphery has assumed a prominent role in the North through the vitality of local authorities while in the South its presence is felt only through the strong representation in the civil service and administrative heads.

If this is the state of things we might ask what is the concept that we have today of the government and if it corresponds to the traditional definitions that they give. The most common meanings of the administration are those who see it both as a “performer of the law” which is to “care about the concrete public interest. “Neither of these definitions is being positive, but it was certainly ideological concepts. The administration put into effect the law which refers to the traditional division of powers that Montesquieu, fearing abuse of public power, saw ordered in a system of mutual checks and guarantees. This division was also a fair distribution of power which has been interpreted differently according to historical periods and the legal systems (French Revolution, England), but we cannot say that you will find a real match in positive law.

Regulatory activity is carried out by the government (regulations, schedules, etc.), administrative functions are performed by the Parliament and the judges (Public Prosecutor). The second definition, that the administration is “concrete cure public interests” is derived strictly from the other in which there would be an abstract, put in place by the legislature. These definitions share a common trait to try to locate in the tasks of a function unit that can be summarized in a single concept. This is impossible because the administration is in participation and is collaborating with government (cabinet of ministers), control or discipline (Bank of Italy, Minister of Industry), provision of financial resources or services (National Health Service, INPS, school). Economists can now look for a unitary administration, glimpsed in the fact that it manages services without a price. Not even the subjective point of view can be said that today’s year government ruled by public entities. Government-owned businesses have private authorities, concessionaires of public services are for the most part. joint-stock company. 1 notaries, private entities carrying out public business certification. One of the current problems is to establish the boundaries of government so there are laws that identify and submit to common rules. Eg. the 1. August 5th, 1978 No468 with the provisions of “general accounting of the state budget matters,” art. 25, defines the public sector, as well as the State, autonomous agencies, provinces, municipalities and related companies, port authorities, the ENEL, non-economic public bodies, listed in the attached tables and amended several times by decree.

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  The elements of the Italian PA

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  The birth of the Italian PA

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  The essential functions of public authorities

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  The postal administration

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  The administrative organization and some principles