Italian general election, 1976
Encyclopedia
The Italian elections of 1976 were held on June 20. The seventh Parliament of republican Italy was selected. These were the first elections where 18-year-old boys and girls were allowed to vote.
If Christian Democracy remained stable with around 38% of votes, Enrico Berlinguer
's Italian Communist Party
made a great jump winning 7 points more than four years before: this result, which was quite homogeneous in the entire society because confirmed by the electors of the age-restricted Senate, began to show the possibility of a future change of the Italian government leadership. All minor parties lost a lot of votes to the DC in the attempt to fight the Communist progress: between them, historic Italian Liberal Party
was nearly annihilated. Two new leftist forces made their debut in this election: the ultra-liberal Radical Party, which had led a successful referendum on divorce, and the far-left marxist and maoist Proletarian Democracy
.
had traditionally become the electoral system for the Chamber of Deputies. Italian provinces were united in 32 constituencies, each electing a group of candidates. At constituency level, seats were divided between open list
s using the largest remainder method
with Imperiali quota
. Remaining votes and seats were transferred at national level, where they was divided using the Hare quota
, and automatically distributed to best losers into the local lists.
For the Senate, 237 single-seat constituencies were established, even if the assembly had risen to 315 members. The candidates needed a landslide victory of two thirds of votes to be elected, a goal which could be reached only by the German minorities in South Tirol. All remained votes and seats were grouped in party lists and regional constituencies, where a D'Hondt method
was used: inside the lists, candidates with the best percentages were elected.
politicians and businessmen began to think how to avoid the possibility of a future Communist victory which could turn Italy into a Soviet-aligned State. So the DC leadership thought to gradually involve the Communists into the governmental policies so to moderate their requests, as made with the Socialists. The man which was chosen for this attempt did not belong to the leftist wing of the DC, as happened with the PSI, but the moderate leader and former-PM Giulio Andreotti
, so to balance the situation and to calm the markets. Its first government ended in 1978, when the PCI decided to grant its external support. However this process, called National Solidarity, was dramatically stopped by the terroristic
attacks of the Red Brigades
, which kidnapped and killed former-PM Aldo Moro
. The country was heavily shocked by these killings, and the Communists returned to a full opposition. Andreotti's attempt then to form a classic centre-left government with the Socialists failed, an a new general election was called for 1979.
If Christian Democracy remained stable with around 38% of votes, Enrico Berlinguer
Enrico Berlinguer
Enrico Berlinguer was an Italian politician; he was national secretary of the Italian Communist Party from 1972 until his death.-Early career:...
's Italian Communist Party
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
made a great jump winning 7 points more than four years before: this result, which was quite homogeneous in the entire society because confirmed by the electors of the age-restricted Senate, began to show the possibility of a future change of the Italian government leadership. All minor parties lost a lot of votes to the DC in the attempt to fight the Communist progress: between them, historic Italian Liberal Party
Italian Liberal Party
The Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution...
was nearly annihilated. Two new leftist forces made their debut in this election: the ultra-liberal Radical Party, which had led a successful referendum on divorce, and the far-left marxist and maoist Proletarian Democracy
Proletarian Democracy
Proletarian Democracy was a political party in Italy.-1970s:DP was founded in 1975 as a joint electoral front of the Proletarian Unity Party , Workers Vanguard and the Workers Movement for Socialism...
.
Electoral system
The pure party-list proportional representationParty-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
had traditionally become the electoral system for the Chamber of Deputies. Italian provinces were united in 32 constituencies, each electing a group of candidates. At constituency level, seats were divided between open list
Open list
Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected...
s using the largest remainder method
Largest remainder method
The largest remainder method is one way of allocating seats proportionally for representative assemblies with party list voting systems...
with Imperiali quota
Imperiali quota
The Imperiali quota is a formula used to calculate the minimum number, or quota, of votes required to capture a seat in some forms of single transferable vote or largest remainder method party-list proportional representation voting systems....
. Remaining votes and seats were transferred at national level, where they was divided using the Hare quota
Hare quota
The Hare quota is a formula used under some forms of the Single Transferable Vote system and the largest remainder method of party-list proportional representation...
, and automatically distributed to best losers into the local lists.
For the Senate, 237 single-seat constituencies were established, even if the assembly had risen to 315 members. The candidates needed a landslide victory of two thirds of votes to be elected, a goal which could be reached only by the German minorities in South Tirol. All remained votes and seats were grouped in party lists and regional constituencies, where a D'Hondt method
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
was used: inside the lists, candidates with the best percentages were elected.
Results
Face to the great result of the PCI, many centristCentrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
politicians and businessmen began to think how to avoid the possibility of a future Communist victory which could turn Italy into a Soviet-aligned State. So the DC leadership thought to gradually involve the Communists into the governmental policies so to moderate their requests, as made with the Socialists. The man which was chosen for this attempt did not belong to the leftist wing of the DC, as happened with the PSI, but the moderate leader and former-PM Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti is an Italian politician of the now dissolved centrist Christian Democracy party. He served as the 42nd Prime Minister of Italy from 1972 to 1973, from 1976 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1992. He also served as Minister of the Interior , Defense Minister and Foreign Minister and he...
, so to balance the situation and to calm the markets. Its first government ended in 1978, when the PCI decided to grant its external support. However this process, called National Solidarity, was dramatically stopped by the terroristic
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
attacks of the Red Brigades
Red Brigades
The Red Brigades was a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organisation, based in Italy, which was responsible for numerous violent incidents, assassinations, and robberies during the so-called "Years of Lead"...
, which kidnapped and killed former-PM Aldo Moro
Aldo Moro
Aldo Moro was an Italian politician and the 39th Prime Minister of Italy, from 1963 to 1968, and then from 1974 to 1976. He was one of Italy's longest-serving post-war Prime Ministers, holding power for a combined total of more than six years....
. The country was heavily shocked by these killings, and the Communists returned to a full opposition. Andreotti's attempt then to form a classic centre-left government with the Socialists failed, an a new general election was called for 1979.
Chamber of Deputies
| Christian Democracy Christian Democracy (Italy) Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield .... |
38.7% | 262 |  4 |
|
| Italian Communist Party Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played... |
34.4% | 229 |  50 |
|
| Italian Socialist Party Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II... |
9.6% | 57 | 4 |
|
| Italian Social Movement Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s... |
6.1% | 35 | 21 |
|
| Italian Democratic Socialist Party | 3.4% | 15 | 14 |
|
| Italian Republican Party Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini... |
3.1% | 14 | 1 |
|
| Proletarian Democracy Proletarian Democracy Proletarian Democracy was a political party in Italy.-1970s:DP was founded in 1975 as a joint electoral front of the Proletarian Unity Party , Workers Vanguard and the Workers Movement for Socialism... |
1.5% | 6 | 6 |
|
| Italian Liberal Party Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution... |
1.3% | 5 | 15 |
|
| Radical Party | 1.1% | 4 | 4 |
|
| South Tyrolean People's Party South Tyrolean People's Party The South Tyrolean People's Party is a regionalist Christian democratic political party active in the Italian province of South Tyrol.Founded in 1945, the SVP represents the German-speaking population of the province, as well as Ladin speakers. Since the first election of the Provincial Council in... |
0.5% | 3 |  |
|
| Others | 0.1% | = | 1 |
Senate
| Christian Democracy Christian Democracy (Italy) Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield .... |
38.9% | 135 | |
|
| Italian Communist Party Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played... |
33.8% | 116 | 22 |
|
| Italian Socialist Party Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II... |
10.4% | 30 | 3 |
|
| Italian Social Movement Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s... |
6.6% | 15 | 11 |
|
| Italian Democratic Socialist Party | 3.6% | 7 | 4 |
|
| Italian Republican Party Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini... |
3.2% | 7 | 2 |
|
| Italian Liberal Party Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution... |
1.4% | 2 | 6 |
|
| South Tyrolean People's Party South Tyrolean People's Party The South Tyrolean People's Party is a regionalist Christian democratic political party active in the Italian province of South Tyrol.Founded in 1945, the SVP represents the German-speaking population of the province, as well as Ladin speakers. Since the first election of the Provincial Council in... |
0.5% | 2 | |
|
| Valdotanian Union Valdotanian Union The Valdotanian Union is a regionalist-centrist Italian political party active in Aosta Valley. Its leaders are Ego Perron, party president, and Augusto Rollandin, President of the Region.... |
0.1% | 1 | |
|
| Others | 1.5% | = | |