1963 Italian general election

Last updated
1963 Italian general election
Flag of Italy.svg
  1958 28 April 1963 1968  
Chamber of Deputies

All 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
316 seats needed for a majority
Turnout92.89% (Decrease2.svg 0.94pp)
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
DC Aldo Moro 38.28260−13
PCI Palmiro Togliatti 25.26166+16
PSI Pietro Nenni 13.8487+3
PLI Giovanni Malagodi 6.9739+22
PSDI Giuseppe Saragat 4.4523New
MSI Arturo Michelini 5.1127+3
PDIUM Alfredo Covelli 1.758−17
PRI Oronzo Reale 1.3760
SVP Silvius Magnago 0.4430
UV Severino Caveri 0.1010
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Senate of the Republic

All 315 seats in the Senate of the Republic
161 [lower-alpha 1] seats needed for a majority
Turnout95.88% (Increase2.svg 0.90pp)
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
DC Aldo Moro 36.47132+9
PCI Palmiro Togliatti 25.2484+25
PSI Pietro Nenni 14.0144+9
PLI Giovanni Malagodi 7.4418+14
PSDI Giuseppe Saragat 6.3514+9
MSI Arturo Michelini 5.3115+7
PDIUM Alfredo Covelli 1.562−5
PRI Oronzo Reale 0.811+1
SVP Silvius Magnago 0.4120
PACS 0.161New
UV Severino Caveri 0.111+1
Independents 0.081New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
1963 Italian general election - Results.svg
1963 Italian general election - Seat Distribution.svg
Prime Minister before Prime Minister after the election
Amintore Fanfani
DC
Giovanni Leone
DC

The 1963 Italian general election was held on Sunday April 28. [1] It was the first election with a fixed number of MPs to be elected, as decided by the second Constitutional Reform in February 1963. [2] It was also the first election which saw the Secretary of Christian Democracy to refuse the office of Prime Minister after the vote, at least for six months, preferring to provisionally maintain his more influent post at the head of the party: this fact confirmed the transformation of Italian political system into a particracy, the secretaries of the parties having become more powerful than the Parliament and the Government. [3]

Contents

Electoral system

The pure party-list proportional representation 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 lists using the largest remainder method with Imperiali quota. Remaining votes and seats were transferred at a national level, where they were 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.

Historical background

The DC's leader Aldo Moro with the PSI's one Pietro Nenni. Aldo Moro and Pietro Nenni.JPG
The DC's leader Aldo Moro with the PSI's one Pietro Nenni.

During the First Republic, the Christian Democracy slowly but steadily lost support, as society modernised and the traditional values at its ideological core became less appealing to the population. Various options of extending the parliamentary majority were considered, mainly an opening to the left (apertura a sinistra), i.e. to the Socialist party (PSI), which after the 1956 events in Hungary had moved from a position of total subordination to the Communists, to an independent position. Proponents of such a coalition proposed a series much-needed "structural reforms" that would modernize the country and create a modern social-democracy. In 1960, an attempt by the right wing of the Christian Democrats to incorporate the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI) in the Tambroni government led to violent and bloody riots (Genoa, Reggio Emilia), and was defeated.

Up until the Nineties, two types of governmental coalitions characterised the politics of post-war Italy. The first were “centrist” coalitions led by the Christian Democracy party together with smaller parties: the Social Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and the Liberal Party. The first democratic government (1947) excluded both communists and the socialists, which brought about the political period known as “centrist government,” which ruled over Italian politics from 1948 to 1963. The centre-left coalition (DC-PRI-PSDI-PSI) was the second type of coalition that characterised Italian politics, coming about in 1963 when the PSI (formerly the opposition party) went into government with the DC. This coalition lasted in parliament first for 12 years (from 1964 to 1976) and then with a revival in the Eighties that lasted until the start of the Nineties. [4]

The Socialist Party entered government in 1963. During the first year of the new centre-left government, a wide range of measures were carried out which went some way towards the Socialist Party's requirements for governing in coalition with the Christian Democrats. These included taxation of real estate profits and of share dividends (designed to curb speculation), increases in pensions for various categories of workers, a law on school organisation (to provide for a unified secondary school with compulsory attendance up to the age of 14), the nationalisation of the electric-power industry, and significant wage rises for workers (including those in the newly nationalised electric-power industry), which led to a rise in consumer demand. Urged on by the PSI, the government also made brave attempts to tackle issues relating to welfare services, hospitals, the agrarian structure, urban development, education, and overall planning. [5] For instance, during the Centre-Left Government's time in office, social security was extended to previously uncovered categories of the population. [6] In addition, entrance to university by examination was abolished in 1965. Despite these important reforms, however, the reformist drive was soon lost, and the most important problems (including the mafia, social inequalities, inefficient state/social services, North/South imbalance) remained largely untackled.

Parties and leaders

PartyIdeologyLeader
Christian Democracy (DC) Christian democracy Aldo Moro
Italian Communist Party (PCI) Communism Palmiro Togliatti
Italian Socialist Party (PSI) Democratic socialism Pietro Nenni
Italian Liberal Party (PLI) Conservative liberalism Giovanni Malagodi
Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI) Social democracy Giuseppe Saragat
Italian Social Movement (MSI) Neo-fascism Arturo Michelini
Democratic Party of Monarchist Unity (PDIUM) Monarchism Alfredo Covelli
Italian Republican Party (PRI) Republicanism Oronzo Reale

Results

The election fell after the launch of the centre-left formula by the Christian Democracy, a coalition based upon the alliance with the Socialist Party which had left its alignment with the Soviet Union. Some rightist electors abandoned the DC for the Liberal Party, which was asking for a centre-right government and received votes also from the quarrelsome monarchist area. The majority party so decided to replace incumbent Premier Amintore Fanfani with a provisional administration led by impartial Speaker of the House, Giovanni Leone; however, when the congress of the PSI in autumn authorized a full engagement of the party into the government, Leone resigned and Aldo Moro, secretary of the DC and leader of the more leftist wing of the party, became the new Prime Minister and ruled Italy for more than four years, ever passing through two resolved political crisis caused even by the detachment of the left wing of the PSI, which created the PSIUP and returned to the alliance with the Communists, and by disagreements into the governmental coalition.

Chamber of Deputies

Italian Chamber of Deputies 1963.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian Democracy 11,773,18238.28260−13
Italian Communist Party 7,767,60125.26166+16
Italian Socialist Party 4,255,83613.8487+3
Italian Liberal Party 2,144,2706.9739+22
Italian Democratic Socialist Party 1,876,2716.1033+11
Italian Social Movement 1,570,2825.1127+3
Italian Democratic Party of Monarchist Unity 536,9481.758−17
Italian Republican Party 420,2131.3760
South Tyrolean People's Party 135,4570.4430
Concentration of Rural Unity92,2090.3000
Autonomous Party of Italy's Pensioners87,6550.290New
Valdostan Union 31,8440.1010
Italian Combatant Movement–National Rebirth Front19,9020.060New
Italian Catholic Political Movement7,2200.020New
Christian Social Party6,8730.020New
National Monarchist Party6,4720.020New
Slovene Unified List 5,6790.020New
Movement for the Independence of the Free Territory of Trieste4,2610.010New
National Union of Public Health2,9260.010New
Farmers and Employees Movement2,6850.010New
Social Renewal1,7500.010New
Italian Popular Movement1,6210.010New
National Vanguard9590.000New
Italian Labour Party7550.000New
Total30,752,871100.00630+34
Valid votes30,752,87196.81
Invalid/blank votes1,013,1383.19
Total votes31,766,009100.00
Registered voters/turnout34,199,18492.89
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Popular vote
DC
38.28%
PCI
25.26%
PSI
13.84%
PLI
6.97%
PSDI
6.10%
MSI
5.11%
PDIUM
1.75%
PRI
1.37%
Others
1.33%
Seats
DC
41.27%
PCI
26.35%
PSI
13.81%
PLI
6.19%
PSDI
5.24%
MSI
4.29%
PDIUM
1.27%
PRI
0.95%
Others
0.63%

Results by constituency

ConstituencyTotal
seats
Seats won
DC PCI PSI PLI PSDI MSI PDIUM PRI Others
Turin 331195431
Cuneo 1473211
Genoa 23873221
Milan 4515119532
Como 1792411
Brescia 19122311
Mantua 9432
Trentino 105113
Verona 291744211
Venice 1793311
Udine 1472212
Bologna 2761241211
Parma 1968311
Florence 1657211
Pisa 1555311
Siena 10352
Ancona 197621111
Perugia 124521
Rome 481612643511
L'Aquila 16742111
Campobasso 431
Naples 38151042223
Benevento 2110421211
Bari 231073111
Lecce 1894212
Potenza 8431
Catanzaro 261273112
Catania 2912733121
Palermo 29127321211
Cagliari 188421111
Aosta Valley 11
Trieste 321
Total63026016687393327864

Senate of the Republic

Italian Senate 1963.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian Democracy 10,017,97536.47129+6
Italian Communist Party 6,933,31025.2484+25
Italian Socialist Party 3,849,49514.0144+9
Italian Liberal Party 2,043,3237.4418+14
Italian Democratic Socialist Party 1,743,8706.3514+9
Italian Social Movement 1,458,9175.3114+6
Italian Democratic Party of Monarchist Unity 429,4121.562−5
Italian Republican Party 223,3500.8100
MSIPDIUM 212,3810.771+1
DCPRI 199,8050.7340
South Tyrolean People's Party 112,0230.4120
Concentration of Rural Unity58,0640.210New
Social Christian Autonomist Party43,3550.161New
Sardinian Action Party 34,9540.1300
Valdostan Union 29,5100.111+1
Right-wing independents24,7720.090New
Catholic independents22,5780.081+1
Left-wing independents15,2240.060–1
Social Christian Sicilian Union 13,1870.050New
Combatant Peasants3,7970.010New
Total27,469,302100.00315+69
Valid votes27,469,30292.36
Invalid/blank votes2,273,4067.64
Total votes29,742,708100.00
Registered voters/turnout31,019,23395.88
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Popular vote
DC
36.47%
PCI
25.24%
PSI
14.01%
PLI
7.44%
PSDI
6.35%
MSI
5.31%
PDIUM
1.56%
Others
3.62%
Seats
DC
40.95%
PCI
26.67%
PSI
13.97%
PLI
5.71%
PSDI
4.44%
MSI
4.44%
PDIUM
0.63%
Others
3.17%

Results by constituency

ConstituencyTotal
seats
Seats won
DC PCI PSI PLI PSDI MSI PDIUM Others
Piedmont 2496432
Aosta Valley 11
Lombardy 4519108431
Trentino-Alto Adige 7412
Veneto 23143411
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 74111
Liguria 1143211
Emilia-Romagna 223103114
Tuscany 20683111
Umbria 7331
Marche 8431
Lazio 24873213
Abruzzo and Molise 95211
Campania 29118321211
Apulia 21106212
Basilicata 7421
Calabria 125421
Sicily 29116331311
Sardinia 95211
Total3151298444181414210

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Democracy (Italy)</span> Political party (1943 to 1994)

Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic political party in Italy. The DC was founded on 15 December 1943 in the Italian Social Republic as the nominal successor of the Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crusader shield. As a Catholic-inspired, centrist, catch-all party comprising both centre-right and centre-left political factions, the DC played a dominant role in the politics of Italy for fifty years, and had been part of the government from soon after its inception until its final demise on 16 January 1994 amid the Tangentopoli scandals. Christian Democrats led the Italian government continuously from 1946 until 1981. The party was nicknamed the "White Whale" due to its huge organisation and official colour. During its time in government, the Italian Communist Party was the largest opposition party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amintore Fanfani</span> Italian politician statesman (1908–1999)

Amintore Fanfani was an Italian politician and statesman, who served as 32nd prime minister of Italy for five separate terms. He was one of the best-known Italian politicians after the Second World War and a historical figure of the left-wing faction of Christian Democracy. He is also considered one of the founders of the modern Italian centre-left.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Italian Republic</span> 20th and 21st century history of Italy

The history of the Italian Republic concerns the events relating to the history of Italy that have occurred since 1946, when Italy became a republic after the 1946 Italian institutional referendum. The Italian republican history is generally divided into two phases, the First and Second Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian Socialist Party</span> Political party that existed in Italy from 1892 to 1994

The Italian Socialist Party was a social-democratic and democratic-socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, the PSI was from the beginning a big tent of Italy's political left and socialism, ranging from the revolutionary socialism of Andrea Costa to the Marxist-inspired reformist socialism of Filippo Turati and the anarchism of Anna Kuliscioff. Under Turati's leadership, the party was a frequent ally of the Italian Republican Party and the Italian Radical Party at the parliamentary level, while lately entering in dialogue with the remnants of the Historical Left and the Liberal Union during Giovanni Giolitti's governments to ensure representation for the labour movement and the working class. In the 1900s and 1910s, the PSI achieved significant electoral success, becoming Italy's first party in 1919 and during the country's Biennio Rosso in 1921, when it was victim of violent paramilitary activities from the far right, and was not able to move the country in the revolutionary direction it wanted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1958 Italian general election</span>

The 1958 Italian general election was held in Italy on 25 May 1958. The number of MPs to be elected was calculated upon the population's size for the last time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 Italian general election</span>

The 1968 Italian general election was held in Italy on 19 May 1968. The Christian Democracy (DC) remained stable around 38% of the votes. They were marked by a victory of the Communist Party (PCI) passing from 25% of 1963 to c. 30% at the Senate, where it presented jointly with the new Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity (PSIUP), which included members of Socialist Party (PSI) which disagreed the latter's alliance with DC. PSIUP gained c. 4.5% at the Chamber. The Socialist Party and the Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI) presented together as the Unified PSI–PSDI, but gained c. 15%, far less than the sum of what the two parties had obtained separately in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972 Italian general election</span>

The 1972 Italian general election was held in Italy on 7 May 1972. The Christian Democracy (DC) remained stable with around 38% of the votes, as did the Communist Party (PCI) which obtained the same 27% it had in 1968. The Socialist Party (PSI) continued in its decline, reducing to less than 10%. The largest increase in vote share was that of the post-fascist Italian Social Movement, which nearly doubled its votes from 4.5% to about 9%, after its leader Giorgio Almirante launched the formula of the National Right, proposing his party as the sole group of the Italian right wing. After a disappointing result of less than 2%, against the 4.5% of 1968, the Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity was disbanded; a majority of its members joined the PCI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 Italian general election</span>

The 1976 Italian general election was held in Italy on 20 June 1976. It was the first election after the voting age was lowered to 18.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 Italian general election</span>

The 1979 Italian general election was held in Italy on 3 June 1979. This election was called just a week before the European vote: the failure to hold the two elections at the same time caused much criticism for wasting public money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 Italian general election</span>

The 1983 Italian general election was held in Italy on 26 June 1983. The Pentapartito formula, the governative alliance between five centrist parties, caused unexpected problems to Christian Democracy. The alliance was fixed and universal, extended both to the national government and to the local administrations. Considering that the election result did no longer depend on the strength of the DC, but the strength of the entire Pentapartito, centrist electors began to look at the Christian Democratic vote as not necessary to prevent a Communist success. Moreover, voting for one of the four minor parties of the alliance was seen as a form of moderate protest against the government without giving advantages to the PCI. Other minor effects of this election were a reduction of the referendarian Radical Party and the appearance of some regional forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliance of Progressives</span> Political party in Italy

The Alliance of Progressives was a left-wing political alliance of parties in Italy formed in 1994, with relevant predecessors at local level in 1993. The leader of the alliance was Achille Occhetto. The alliance was a predecessor of the modern-day centre-left coalition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Veneto</span> Results of elections in Veneto, Italy

This page gathers the results of elections in Veneto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legislature III of Italy</span> 3rd legislature of the Italian Republic (1958–1963)

The Legislature III of Italy was the 3rd legislature of the Italian Republic, and lasted from 12 June 1958 until 15 May 1963. Its composition was the one resulting from the general election of 25 May 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1963 Italian Senate election in Lombardy</span>

Lombardy elected its forth delegation to the Italian Senate on April 28, 1963. This election was a part of national Italian general election of 1963 even if, according to the Italian Constitution, every senatorial challenge in each Region is a single and independent race.

The Pentapartito, commonly shortened to CAF, refers to the coalition government of five Italian political parties that formed between June 1981 and April 1991. The pro-European and Atlanticist coalition comprised the Christian Democracy (DC), the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI), Italian Liberal Party (PLI), and Italian Republican Party (PRI).

The centre-left coalition is a political alliance of political parties in Italy active under several forms and names since 1995, when The Olive Tree was formed under the leadership of Romano Prodi. The centre-left coalition has ruled the country for more than fifteen years between 1996 and 2022; to do so, it had mostly to rely on a big tent that went from the more radical left-wing, which had more weight between 1996 and 2008, to the political centre, which had more weight during the 2010s, and its main parties were also part of grand coalitions and national unity governments.

The Organic centre-left was a coalition of four Italian political parties that formed governments throughout the 1960s and the middle 1970s. Organic meant that the Italian Socialist Party was fully part of the government, it was within the organization of the cabinet, differently from other centre-left governments in the early 1960s, where the PSI gave an external support only.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Milan</span> Political elections for public offices in Milan

All Milan residents who are at least 18 years old and hold an EU citizenship are eligible to vote for the mayor and the City Council, as well as for the president and the Council of the Municipality where they reside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 Italian Senate election in Lombardy</span>

Lombardy renewed its delegation to the Italian Senate on March 27, 1994. This election was a part of national Italian general election of 1994 even if, according to the Italian Constitution, every senatorial challenge in each Region is a single and independent race.

All Rome residents who are at least 18 years old and hold an EU citizenship are eligible to vote for the Mayor and the 48 members of the Capitoline Assembly, as well as for the President and the 30 or 40 members of the Council of the Municipality where they reside.

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1048 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Constitutional Reform number 2 decided a fixed number of 630 member for the House, under the example of the British House of Commons during that period, and of 315 for the Senate, with a minimum of seven senators for each region excluding Aosta Valley and, later, Molise. This reform is still in force.
  3. Italian electors effectively lost any chance to decide their Prime Minister until the majoritarian reform of 1993.
  4. Naldini, Manuela (2013-01-11). The Family in the Mediterranean Welfare States. Routledge. ISBN   9781135775681.
  5. Italy by Muriel Grindrod
  6. Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II: Volume 2 edited by Peter Flora
  1. taking into account the Senators for life, which accounted for 6 seats at the time the election took place