1992 Italian general election

The 1992 Italian general election was held on 5 and 6 April 1992.[1] They were the first without the traditionally second most important political force in Italian politics, the Italian Communist Party (PCI), which had been disbanded in 1991. Most of its members split between the more democratic socialist-oriented Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), while a minority who did not want to renounce the communist tradition became the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC); between them, they gained around 4% less than what the already declining PCI had obtained in the 1987 Italian general election, despite PRC absorbing the disbanded Proletarian Democracy (DP).

1992 Italian general election

← 1987 5–6 April 1992 1994 →

All 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies  · 315 seats in the Senate
Registered47,486,964 (C· 41,053,543 (S)
Turnout41,479,764 (C· 87.4% (Decrease1.4 pp)
35,633,367 (S· 86.8% (Decrease1.5 pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Arnaldo Forlani 3 (cropped).jpg
Achille Occhetto 1992 (cropped).jpg
Bettino Craxi Official Portrait.jpg
Leader Arnaldo Forlani Achille Occhetto Bettino Craxi
Party DC PDS PSI
Leader since 22 February 1989[a] 21 June 1988[b] 15 July 1976
Leader's seat Ancona (C) Rome (C) Milan (C)
Seats won 206 (C) / 107 (S) 107 (C) / 66 (S) 92 (C) / 49 (S)
Seat change Decrease46 (C) / Decrease18 (S) Decrease51 (C) / Decrease45 (S) Decrease2 (C) / Increase5 (S)
Popular vote 11,637,569 (C)
9,088,494 (S)
6,317,962 (C)
5,682,888 (S)
5,343,808 (C)
4,523,873 (S)
Percentage 29.7% (C)
27.3% (S)
16.1% (C)
17.0% (S)
13.6% (C)
13.6% (S)
Swing Decrease4.6 pp (C)
Decrease5.3 pp (S)
Decrease10.5 pp (C)
Decrease11.3 pp (S)
Decrease0.7 pp (C)
Increase2.6 pp (S)

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Umberto_Bossi_1994_daticamera.jpg
Sergio Garavini daticamera.jpg
Gianfranco Fini 1992.jpg
Leader Umberto Bossi Sergio Garavini Gianfranco Fini
Party Northern League PRC MSI
Leader since 4 December 1989 10 February 1991 6 July 1991[c]
Leader's seat Milan (C) Rome (C) Rome (C)
Seats won 55 (C) / 25 (S) 35 (C) / 20 (S) 34 (C) / 16 (S)
Seat change Increase54 (C) / Increase24 (S) New party Decrease1 (C) / Steady0 (S)
Popular vote 3,396,012 (C)
2,732,461 (S)
2,204,641 (C)
2,171,950 (S)
2,107,037 (C)
2,171,215 (S)
Percentage 8.7% (C)
8.2% (S)
5.6% (C)
6.5% (S)
5.4% (C)
6.5% (S)
Swing Increase8.2 pp (C)
Increase7.8 pp (S)
New party Decrease0.4 pp (C)
Steady0.0 pp (S)


Prime Minister before election

Giulio Andreotti
DC

Prime Minister after the election

Giuliano Amato
PSI

The other major feature was the sudden rise of the Northern League (LN), a federalist party that increased its vote from 0.5% of the preceding elections to more than 8%, increasing from a single member both in the Chamber and the Senate to 55 and 25, respectively. The "long wave" (onda lunga) of Bettino Craxi's now centrist-oriented Italian Socialist Party (PSI), which in the past elections had been forecast next to overcome PCI, seemed to stop. Christian Democracy (DC) and the other traditional government parties, with the exception of the Italian Republican Party (PRI) and the Italian Liberal Party (PLI), also experienced a slight decrease in their vote.

Electoral system

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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. The remaining votes and seats were transferred at 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.

Background

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In February 1991, the Italian Communist Party (PCI) split into the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), led by Achille Occhetto, and the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC), headed by Armando Cossutta. Occhetto, leader of the PCI since 1988, stunned the party faithfully assembled in a working-class section of Bologna with a speech heralding the end of Communism, a move now referred to in Italian politics as the svolta della Bolognina (Bolognina turning point). The collapse of the Communist governments in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe had convinced Occhetto that the era of Eurocommunism was over, and he transformed the PCI into a progressive left-wing party, the PDS. A third of the PCI's former members, led by Cossutta, refused to join the PDS, and founded the Communist Refoundation Party.[2]

The coalition ended in 1991 when the Italian Republican Party (PRI) withdrew its support from the coalition over its failure to be given the Ministry of Communications.[3] On 29 March 1991, the 5-party Andreotti VI Cabinet was replaced with the 4-party (quadripartito) Andreotti VII cabinet.

On 17 February 1992, judge Antonio Di Pietro had Mario Chiesa, a member of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), arrested for accepting a bribe from a Milan cleaning firm. The Socialists distanced themselves from Chiesa. Bettino Craxi called Chiesa mariuolo, or "villain", a "wild splinter" of the otherwise clean PSI. Upset over this treatment by his former colleagues, Chiesa began to give information about corruption implicating his colleagues. This marked the beginning of the Mani pulite investigation; news of political corruption began spreading in the press.

In February 1991, the Northern League, which was first launched as an upgrade of the Northern Alliance in December 1989, was officially transformed into a party through the merger of various regional parties, notably including Lombard League and Venetian League, under the leadership of Umberto Bossi. These continue to exist as "national" sections of the federal party.[4][5][6]

The Northern League exploited resentment against Rome's centralism (with the famous slogan Roma ladrona, which loosely means "Rome big thief") and the Italian government, common in northern Italy, as many northerners felt that the government wasted resources collected mostly from northerners' taxes.[7] Cultural influences from bordering countries in the North and resentment against illegal immigrants were also exploited. The party's electoral successes began roughly at a time when public disillusionment with the established political parties was at its height. The Tangentopoli corruption scandals, which invested most of the established parties, were unveiled from 1992 on.[5][6] Contrarily to what many pundits observed at the beginning of the 1990s, the Northern League became a stable political force and it is by far the oldest party among those represented in the Italian Parliament.

The Northern League's first electoral breakthrough was at the 1990 regional elections, but it was with the 1992 general election that the party emerged as a leading political actor. Having gained 8.7% of the vote, 56 deputies, and 26 senators,[8] it became the fourth largest party of the country and within the Italian Parliament.

Parties and leaders

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Party Ideology Leader Seats in 1987
C S Total
Christian Democracy (DC) Christian democracy Arnaldo Forlani
234
125
359
Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) Democratic socialism Achille Occhetto
177
125
302
Italian Socialist Party (PSI) Social democracy Bettino Craxi
94
45
139
Italian Social Movement (MSI) Neo-fascism Gianfranco Fini
35
16
51
Italian Republican Party (PRI) Republicanism Giorgio La Malfa
21
8
29
Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI) Social democracy Franco Nicolazzi
17
6
23
Pannella List (LP) Liberalism Marco Pannella
13
3
16
Federation of the Greens (FdV) Green politics Carlo Ripa di Meana
13
1
14
Italian Liberal Party (PLI) Liberalism Renato Altissimo
11
3
14
Northern League (LN) Regionalism Umberto Bossi
1
1
2
Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) Communism Sergio Garavini
New
The Network (LR) Anti-corruption Leoluca Orlando
New

Results

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Christian Democracy (DC) suffered a significant swing against it, but the coalition it had led prior to the elections managed to retain a small majority. Opposition parties won a significant amount of support; however, the largest opposition party, the Italian Communist Party (PCI), had suffered an internal crisis after the fall of the Soviet Union, with the bulk of the party reforming into the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and a minority forming the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC). Collectively, they suffered a 4% swing against them, with the PDS losing a third of its seats compared to 1987, and the opposition was divided. The biggest winner of the election was Northern League, which was not inclined to alliances at the time due to its separatist leanings.

The resulting parliament was therefore weak and difficult to bring to an agreement, and lasted only two years before new elections were held in 1994. This was accelerated by the mani pulite scandal, which began shortly before the election and expanded in scope throughout 1992 and 1993. The scandal implicated vast sections of almost every major political party in Italy in extensive corruption. This had catastrophic consequences for the political landscape as the governing parties became extremely unpopular.

The 1992–1994 parliamentary term also saw the first major change to the Italian electoral system since the late 1940s, with a 1993 referendum abolishing the clause of the electoral law which required candidates to win two-thirds of votes to be elected in the Senate's single-member districts. This essentially transformed the Senate electoral law from de facto pure proportional representation to a mixed-member majoritarian system. Parliament subsequently passed a new electoral law establishing a similar system for the Chamber of Deputies.

Chamber of Deputies

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PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian Democracy11,637,56929.65206−28
Democratic Party of the Left6,317,96216.10107−70
Italian Socialist Party5,343,80813.6292−2
Northern League3,395,3848.6555+54
Communist Refoundation Party2,201,4285.6135New
Italian Social Movement2,107,2725.3734−1
Italian Republican Party1,723,7564.3927+6
Italian Liberal Party1,121,8542.8617+6
Federation of the Greens1,093,0372.7916+3
Italian Democratic Socialist Party1,066,6722.7216−1
The Network730,2931.8612New
Pannella List486,3441.247−6
Yes Referendum320,0610.820New
Pensioners' Party220,5090.560New
South Tyrolean People's Party198,4310.5130
Hunting – Fishing – Environment193,2280.4900
Federalism–Pensioners Living Men (UVPSd'AzSSKUfS)154,9870.391–1
Lega Autonomia Veneta152,3960.391New
Housewives–Pensioners League134,0930.340New
Lega Alpina Lumbarda90,8750.230New
Lega Alpina Piemont69,6480.180New
Southern Action League53,9930.140New
Veneto Autonomous Region Movement49,0270.1200
Venice Union48,6590.120New
Federalist Greens42,8840.110New
Aosta Valley41,4040.1110
Lega Lombardia Europea Terra Libera33,5790.090New
Dolchi-Fosson Group30,7240.080New
League of Leagues28,0080.070New
Greens Greens25,8620.070New
Love Party22,4010.060New
Independentist Sardinian Party15,1060.040New
Alleanza Lombarda15,0540.040New
Piemont Liber11,2630.030New
Political Movement for the Defence of Motorists10,1090.030New
Lega Marche8,0350.020New
Lega Lazio5,9990.020New
Lega Padana Emilia-Romagna5,8320.010New
Territorial Development Cooperation5,7220.010New
Christian Democracy Party5,0460.010New
Tuscan Autonomist Movement4,4220.010New
Southern League of Italy4,0540.010New
Europa 2000 Party3,3800.010New
Living Together2,8480.010New
Justicialist Party2,8180.010New
Freedom Movement2,4180.010New
European Motorists' Movement2,1080.010New
National Protest League1,4720.000New
Renewal1,2080.000New
Southern League for National Unity4640.000New
Total39,243,506100.006300
Valid votes39,243,50694.70
Invalid/blank votes2,195,4385.30
Total votes41,438,944100.00
Registered voters/turnout47,435,68987.36
Source: JSTOR 45132579 Romano, Brocchini
Popular vote
DC
29.66%
PDS
16.11%
PSI
13.62%
LN
8.65%
PRC
5.62%
MSI
5.37%
PRI
4.39%
PLI
2.86%
FdV
2.79%
PSDI
2.71%
Rete
1.86%
LP
1.24%
Others
5.14%
Seats
DC
32.70%
PDS
16.98%
PSI
14.60%
LN
8.73%
PRC
5.56%
MSI
5.40%
PRI
4.29%
PLI
2.70%
FdV
2.54%
PSDI
2.54%
Rete
1.90%
LP
1.11%
Others
0.95%

Results by constituency

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Constituency Total
seats
Seats won
DC PDS PSI LN PRC MSI PRI PLI FdV PSDI Others
Turin 35 7 5 5 6 3 2 2 1 1 1 2
Cuneo 12 4 1 2 3 1 1
Genoa 19 5 4 2 3 1 1 1 1 1
Milan 48 10 7 7 10 3 2 3 1 2 1 2
Como 19 5 2 3 6 1 1 1
Brescia 21 7 2 2 6 1 1 1 1
Mantua 9 3 2 1 2 1
Trentino 10 3 1 1 1 4
Verona 28 10 3 3 5 1 1 1 1 1 2
Venice 15 5 2 2 3 1 1 1
Udine 12 4 1 2 3 1 1
Bologna 27 5 9 3 2 2 1 2 1 1 1
Parma 18 4 6 2 3 1 1 1
Florence 17 4 6 2 1 2 1 1
Pisa 16 4 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
Siena 7 2 3 1 1
Ancona 16 6 4 2 1 1 1 1
Perugia 11 3 4 2 1 1
Rome 54 17 10 7 3 5 3 2 2 2 3
L'Aquila 16 6 3 2 1 1 1 1 1
Campobasso 5 3 1 1
Naples 44 18 6 8 2 3 1 2 1 1 2
Benevento 19 9 2 5 1 1 1
Bari 25 10 3 5 1 2 1 1 1 1
Lecce 18 7 3 3 1 2 1 1
Potenza 6 4 1 1
Catanzaro 24 9 4 4 2 1 1 1 2
Catania 29 12 3 5 1 2 2 1 1 2
Palermo 27 12 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 4
Cagliari 19 7 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1
Aosta Valley 1 1
Trieste 3 1 1 1
Total 630 206 107 92 55 35 34 27 17 16 16 25

Senate of the Republic

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PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian Democracy9,088,49427.27107−18
Democratic Party of the Left5,682,88817.0564−37
Italian Socialist Party4,523,87313.5749+13
Northern League2,732,4618.2025+24
Communist Refoundation Party2,171,9506.5220New
Italian Social Movement2,171,2156.51160
Italian Republican Party1,565,1424.7010+2
Federation of the Greens1,027,3033.084+3
Italian Liberal Party939,1592.824+1
Italian Democratic Socialist Party853,8952.563−2
Yes Referendum332,3181.000New
The Network239,8680.723New
Pensioners' Party215,8890.650New
Lega Alpina Lumbarda192,4500.581New
Federalism–Pensioners Living Men (UVPSd'AzSSKUfS)174,7130.5210
South Tyrolean People's Party168,1130.503+1
Pannella List166,7080.500−3
For Calabria143,9760.432New
Lega Autonomia Veneta142,4460.431New
Housewives-Pensioners League134,3270.400New
Hunting – Fishing – Environment116,3950.3500
Lega Lombardia Europea Terra Libera52,3660.160New
Veneto Autonomous Region Movement50,9380.150New
Southern Action League49,7690.150New
For Molise48,3520.151New
Federalist Greens47,0510.140New
Venice Union42,9670.130New
Without Borders36,1150.110New
Aosta Valley34,1500.1010
Alleanza Lombarda32,7480.100New
Dolchi-Fosson Group31,1750.090New
Greens Greens29,2170.090New
League of Leagues24,0510.070New
Love Party16,8750.050New
Independentist Sardinian Party13,4260.040New
Lega Marche7,5780.020New
Lega Lazio7,4450.020New
Freedom Movement6,7930.020New
Tuscan Autonomist Movement6,5460.020New
European Motorists' Movement3,6780.010New
Political Movement for the Defence of Motorists3,2660.010New
Southern League for National Unity4920.000New
Total33,328,581100.003150
Valid votes33,328,58193.53
Invalid/blank votes2,304,7866.47
Total votes35,633,367100.00
Registered voters/turnout41,053,54386.80
Source: Ministry of the Interior, Brocchini
Popular vote
DC
27.27%
PDS
17.05%
PSI
13.57%
LN
8.20%
PRC
6.52%
MSI
6.51%
PRI
4.70%
FdV
3.08%
PLI
2.82%
PSDI
2.56%
Others
7.72%
Seats
DC
33.97%
PDS
20.32%
PSI
15.56%
LN
7.94%
PRC
6.35%
MSI
5.08%
PRI
3.17%
FdV
1.27%
PLI
1.27%
PSDI
0.95%
Others
4.13%

Results by constituency

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Constituency Total
seats
Seats won
DC PDS PSI LN PRC MSI PRI FdV PLI PSDI Others
Piedmont 24 6 4 4 4 2 1 1 1 1
Aosta Valley 1 1
Lombardy 48 14 7 7 11 3 1 2 1 1 1
Trentino-Alto Adige 7 2 1 1 3
Veneto 23 9 3 3 4 1 1 1 1
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 7 3 1 2 1
Liguria 10 3 3 1 2 1
Emilia-Romagna 21 5 9 2 2 2 1
Tuscany 19 5 7 3 2 1 1
Umbria 7 2 3 1 1
Marche 8 3 3 1 1
Lazio 27 9 7 4 2 3 1 1
Abruzzo 7 4 2 1
Molise 2 1 1
Campania 30 11 5 5 2 3 1 1 1 1
Apulia 21 7 4 4 1 3 1 1
Basilicata 7 4 1 2
Calabria 11 5 2 1 1 2
Sicily 26 10 3 4 1 2 1 1 1 3
Sardinia 9 4 2 2 1
Total 315 107 64 49 25 20 16 10 4 4 3 13

Notes

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  1. ^ Forlani also served as secretary from 1969 to 1973.
  2. ^ Occhetto served as secretary of the PCI from 1988 to 1991. In 1991, he was appointed secretary of PCI's heir, the PDS.
  3. ^ Fini also served as secretary from 1987 to 1990.

References

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  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1048 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Kertzer, David I. (1998). Politics and Symbols: The Italian Communist Party and the Fall of Communism. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-07724-7.
  3. ^ Martin J Bull (2015). "The Pentapartito". In Jones, Erik; Pasquino, Gianfranco (eds.). Oxford Handbook of Italian Politics. Oxford. p. 307. ISBN 9780199669745.
  4. ^ Ignazi, Pietro (2008). Partiti politici in Italia. Bologna: Il Mulino. p. 88.
  5. ^ a b Ginsborg, Paul (1996). L'Italia del tempo presente. Turin: Einaudi. pp. 336–337, 534–535.
  6. ^ a b Galli, Giorgio (2001). I partiti politici italiani. Milan: BUR. pp. 379–380, 384.
  7. ^ Rumiz, Paolo (2001). La secessione leggera. Dove nasce la rabbia del profondo Nord. Milan: Feltrinelli. pp. 10–13.
  8. ^ Parenzo, David; Romano, Davide (2009). Romanzo padano. Da Bossi a Bossi. Storia della Lega. Milan: Sperling & Kupfer. pp. 263–266.