On the relationship between party and government

The relationship between party and government is often taken for granted, But a more close analysis reveals that it is more complex than expected. In order to understand this relationship and its dynamics the Author suggests that the two terms of the relationship-party and government-must be first scrutinized more in detail. The first part of the article analyzes the different components of a party (party in parliament, membership party, party in the government, etc.), their specific problems and their reciprocal interactions, The second part of the article looks more closely into the government clarifying what are the main elements that compose it. This article suggests also that in order to understand correctly how th a government works attention should be paid to the two different "games" into which the government is involved. the representative game on one side, the administrative one on the other side. In the final part the author discusses how recent transformations of parties and of government responsibilities have changed the party government relationship.