La democrazia nei partiti de iure condito: il caso portoghese

The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, which entered into force in 1976, after the fall of an authoritarian regime of the Estado Novo regime, expressly introduced provisions relating on the intra-party democracy, to ensure political pluralism. For forty-five years, such provisions have proved to be effective in safeguarding democratic stability. Nevertheless, for the first time since the entry into force of Portuguese Constitution, moreover, the parliament is extremely fragmented, as it is composed of ten different parties. Therefore, the internal democracy of political parties is facing a new challenge, certainly the most difficult so far.