In the house, the president judges the admissibility of evidence, maintains order and directs the discussion.

These posts are appointed by the Presidents of the two houses of Parliament because the way that they are elected tends to ensure that they are impartial consensus figures chosen by both the government and at least part of the opposition.

[2] From 1976 until 1994, it became conventional for a leader of the largest opposition party to be appointed President of the Chamber of Deputies.

[3][4] This encouraged a new model of the presidency with a strong legitimate role and wide institutional recognition, which provided the theoretical justification for Ingrao's election.

However, this model was never institutionalised and declined with the creation of the majoritarian electoral law, which clashed with consociationalism.

A change is indicated by the career of Gianfranco Fini, who was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies in 2008 as part of the PdL-Lega Nord coalition, then passed into opposition after the establishment of the Future and Freedom government, and then supported the subsequent Monti Cabinet.