Tangentopoli (sometimes translated into English as bribesville) is a term which was coined to describe pervasive corruption in the Italian political system exposed in the 1992-6 Mani Pulite investigations, as well as the resulting scandal, which led to the collapse of the hitherto dominant Christian Democracy party and its allies.

Italians have often been sceptical of their own politicians.^{[citation needed]} It is a common attitude throughout the country to consider the state inefficient, corruption widespread and success based on personal acquaintances rather than merit.^{[citation needed]} While these claims are somewhat simplistic generalizations, they were not a bad approximation of the real picture.

It was often observed that, while political parties (especially government members) were in a perennial state of need of money to organize their activities, many politicians were leading lifestyles beyond their means.^[who?] The powerful secretary of the Italian Socialist Party, Bettino Craxi, is often taken as a typical example, since he had a permanent residence in an expensive hotel in Rome's centre and also owned a villa in Hammamet, Tunisia.^{[citation needed]} Descriptions of the villa range from a castle with an 18-hole golf course to a relatively modest seaside villas.^{[citation needed]} Whatever the case, Craxi was, in keeping with the general image of Italian politics, living well beyond his means.^{[citation needed]}