1953 Italian general election

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1953 Italian general election
Flag of Italy.svg
  1948 7 June 1953 1958  

All 590 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
296 seats needed for a majority
All 237 elective seats in the Senate
122 seats needed for a majority [lower-alpha 1]
Registered30,272,236 (C) ·27,172,871 (S)
Turnout28,406,479 (C) ·93.8% (Increase2.svg1.6 pp)
25,483,201 (S) ·93.8% (Increase2.svg1.6 pp)
 Majority partyMinority partyThird party
  Alcide de Gasperi 2.jpg
Palmiro Togliatti Official (cropped).jpg
Pietro Nenni 1963.jpg
Leader Alcide De Gasperi Palmiro Togliatti Pietro Nenni
Party DC PCI PSI
Leader since29 December 194415 May 1943 [lower-alpha 2] 16 May 1949 [lower-alpha 3]
Leader's seat Trento (C) Rome (C) Rome (C)
Seats won263 (C) / 112 (S)143 (C) / 52 (S)75 (C) / 26 (S)
Seat changeDecrease2.svg57 (C) / Decrease2.svg19 (S)Increase2.svg19 (C) / Increase2.svg20 (S)Increase2.svg30 (C) / Increase2.svg12 (S)
Popular vote10,862,073 (C)
9,660,210 (S)
6,120,809 (C)
4,910,077 (S)
3,441,014 (C)
2,891,605 (S)
Percentage40.1% (C)
39.8% (S)
22.6% (C)
20.2% (S)
12.7% (C)
11.9% (S)
SwingDecrease2.svg8.4 pp (C)
Decrease2.svg8.3 pp (S)
[lower-alpha 4] [lower-alpha 4]

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
Alfredo Covelli 1963.jpg
Augusto De Marsanich (cropped).jpg
Giuseppe Saragat daticamera (cropped).jpg
Leader Alfredo Covelli Augusto De Marsanich Giuseppe Saragat
Party PNM MSI PSDI
Leader since11 June 194610 January 19507 October 1952 [lower-alpha 5]
Leader's seat Benevento (C) L'Aquila (C) Turin (C)
Seats won40 (C) / 14 (S)29 (C) / 9 (S)19 (C) / 4 (S)
Seat changeIncrease2.svg26 (C) / Increase2.svg10 (S)Increase2.svg23 (C) / Increase2.svg8 (S)Decrease2.svg14 (C) / Decrease2.svg4 (S)
Popular vote1,854,850 (C)
1,581,128 (S)
1,582,154 (C)
1,473,645 (S)
1,222,957 (C)
1,046,301 (S)
Percentage6.9% (C)
6.5% (S)
5.8% (C)
6.1% (S)
4.5% (C)
4.3% (S)
SwingIncrease2.svg4.1 pp (C)
Increase2.svg4.8 pp (S)
Increase2.svg3.8 pp (C)
Increase2.svg5.4 pp (S)
Decrease2.svg2.6 pp (C)
Increase2.svg0.1 pp (S)

1953 Italian general election - Results.svg
1953 Italian general election - Seat Distribution.svg

Prime Minister before election

Alcide De Gasperi
DC

Prime Minister after the election

Alcide De Gasperi
DC

The 1953 Italian general election was held in Italy on Sunday 7 June 1953. [1]

Contents

"Scam law"

The election was characterized by changes in the electoral law. Even if the general structure remained uncorrupted, the government introduced a superbonus of two thirds of seats in the Chamber of Deputies for the coalition which would obtain at-large the absolute majority of votes. The change was hugely opposed by the opposition parties as well as the smaller Christian Democracy's coalition partners, which had no realistic chances of success. The new law was called "scam law" by its detractors, including some dissidents of minor government parties who founded special opposition groups to deny the artificial landslide to Christian Democracy. Its parliamentarian exam had a disruptive effect: "Among the iron pots of political forces that faced in the Cold War, Senate cracked as earthenware pot." [2]

Historical background

In the 1950s, Italy became a founding member of the NATO alliance (1949), a member of the United Nations (1955) and an ally of the United States, which helped to revive the Italian economy through the Marshall Plan. In the same years, Italy also became a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community (1952) and of the European Economic Community (1957), later developed into the European Union. At the end of the 1950s an impressive economic growth was termed "Economic Miracle". Italian families used their newfound wealth to purchase consumer durables for the first time. Between 1958 and 1965, the percentage of families owning a television rose from 12% to 49%, washing machines from 3% to 23%, and fridges from 13% to 55%.

Christian Democracy's main support areas, sometimes known as "vote tanks", were the rural areas in South, Center, and North-East Italy, whereas the industrial North-West had more left-leaning support because of the larger working class. An interesting exception were the "red regions" (Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, and Umbria) where the Italian Communist Party has historically had a wide support. This is considered a consequence of the particular sharecropping ("mezzadria") farming contracts used in these regions.

The Holy See actively supported Christian Democracy, judging it would be a mortal sin for a Catholic to vote for the Communist party and excommunicating all its supporters; however, in practice many Communists remained religious, and Emilia was known to be an area where people were both religious and communists. Giovannino Guareschi wrote his novels about Don Camillo describing a village, Brescello, whose inhabitants are at the same time loyal to priest Camillo and communist mayor Peppone, who are fierce rivals.

In 1953, a Parliamentary Commission on poverty estimated that 24% of Italian families were either "destitute" or "in hardship", 21% of dwellings were overcrowded, 52% of homes in the South had no running drinking water, and only 57% had a lavatory. [3] In the 1950s, several important reforms were launched, such as agrarian reform (Scelba law), fiscal reform (Vanoni law), and the country enjoyed a period of economic boom and development ( miracolo economico , or "economic miracle"). In this period of time, a massive population transfer, from the impoverished South to the booming industrial North, took place. This exacerbated social contrasts, including between the old-established "worker aristocracy" and the new less qualified immigrants ("operaio-massa") of Southern origin. In addition, a wide gap between rich and poor continued to exist. By the end of the 1960s, it was estimated that 4 million Italians (out of a population of 54.5 million) were unemployed, underemployed, and casual labourers. As noted by the historian Paul Ginsborg, the affluent society to this section of the Italian population "might have meant a television set but precious little else."

Parties and leaders

PartyIdeologyLeader
Christian Democracy (DC) Christian democracy Alcide De Gasperi
Italian Communist Party (PCI) Communism Palmiro Togliatti
Italian Socialist Party (PSI) Democratic socialism Pietro Nenni
Monarchist National Party (PNM) Monarchism Alfredo Covelli
Italian Social Movement (MSI) Neo-fascism Augusto De Marsanich
Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI) Social democracy Giuseppe Saragat
Italian Liberal Party (PLI) Conservative liberalism Bruno Villabruna
Italian Republican Party (PRI) Republicanism Oronzo Reale

Results

The complaint campaign of the oppositions against the "scam law" reached its goal. The centrist coalition (DC, PSDI, PLI, PRI, SVP, and PSd'Az) won 49.9% of the national vote, coming just a few thousand votes short of the threshold for a two-thirds majority; the election resulted in an ordinary proportional distribution of the seats. Minor dissident parties resulted determinant for the final result, especially the short-lived National Democratic Alliance. DC, the leading party, did not repeat the result of five years before, which had been obtained under special conditions linked to the Cold War, and lost a lot of votes to the right wing, which included resurgent Italian Fascist and neo-fascist politicians, particularly in Southern Italy.

While the government won the election with a clear working majority of seats in both houses, frustration at the failure to garner the expected supermajority caused big problems for the leading coalition. Alcide De Gasperi was forced to resign by the Italian Parliament on August 2; he retired and died twelve months later. The legislature continued with weak governments, with minor parties refusing institutional responsibilities. Giuseppe Pella rose to power but fell after five months only following strong disputes about the status of the Free Territory of Trieste, which Pella was claiming. Amintore Fanfani not receiving a vote of confidence, Mario Scelba and Antonio Segni followed with more traditional centrist coalitions supported by the PSDI and the PLI; under the administration of the first one, the problem of Trieste was closed ceding Koper to Yugoslavia. The parliamentary term was closed by the minority government chaired by Adone Zoli, finishing a legislature which hugely weakened the office of the Prime Minister, held by six different rulers.

Chamber of Deputies

Italian Chamber of Deputies 1953.svg
Party or allianceVotes%Seats+/–
Centrist coalition Christian Democracy 10,862,07340.10263–41
Italian Democratic Socialist Party 1,222,9574.5119–14
Italian Liberal Party 815,9293.0113–6
Italian Republican Party 438,1491.625–4
South Tyrolean People's Party 122,4740.4530
Sardinian Action Party 27,2310.100–1
Trentino Tyrolean People's Party 1,7140.010New
Italian Communist Party 6,120,80922.60143+13
Italian Socialist Party 3,441,01412.7075+22
Monarchist National Party 1,854,8506.8540+26
Italian Social Movement 1,582,1545.8429+23
Independent Socialist Union 225,4090.830New
Popular Unity 171,0990.630New
National Democratic Alliance 120,6850.450New
Left-wing independents21,9200.080New
Italian Political Centre14,4930.050New
Italian National Monarchist Party8,0890.030New
Monarchist List6,7590.020New
Democratic National Union of Civil Servants6,5810.020New
Italian Nettist Party 4,3050.020New
Socialist Radical Party3,2830.010New
Federated National Party2,8950.010New
Christian Social Movement2,7990.010New
Italian Female Movement1,7520.010New
Militant Christian Party 1,4730.010New
Italian National Movement1,2570.000New
Italian Social Unitary Party1,1010.000New
National Will Party1,0100.000New
Italian Federalist Party8660.000New
Garibaldian Antifascist Partisan Movement of Italy7620.000New
Universal Existentialist Party7160.000New
National Union Party5630.000New
Independents5300.000New
Total27,087,701100.00590+16
Valid votes27,087,70195.36
Invalid/blank votes1,318,7784.64
Total votes28,406,479100.00
Registered voters/turnout30,272,23693.84
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Popular vote
DC
40.10%
PCI
22.60%
PSI
12.70%
PNM
6.85%
MSI
5.84%
PSDI
4.51%
PLI
3.01%
PRI
1.62%
Others
2.77%
Seats
DC
44.85%
PCI
24.24%
PSI
12.71%
PNM
6.78%
MSI
4.92%
PSDI
3.22%
PLI
2.20%
PRI
0.85%
Others
0.81%

By constituency

ConstituencyTotal
seats
Seats won
DC PCI PSI PNM MSI PSDI PLI PRI Others
Turin 261174121
Cuneo 16832111
Genoa 178531
Milan 3616871121
Como 159231
Brescia 1913231
Mantua 10523
Trentino 853
Verona 281744111
Venice 1610231
Udine 1592211
Bologna 22710311
Parma 197831
Florence 13562
Pisa 13652
Siena 10352
Ancona 15843
Perugia 114331
Rome 381510334111
L'Aquila 1474111
Campobasso 5311
Naples 311272721
Benevento 20841511
Bari 2296241
Lecce 1684121
Potenza 7421
Catanzaro 251163221
Catania 251062331
Palermo 25116233
Cagliari 1474111
Aosta Valley 11
National3765456533
Total590263143744029191353

Senate of the Republic

Italian Senate 1953.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian Democracy 9,660,21039.76112−19
Italian Communist Party 4,910,07720.2152+6
Italian Socialist Party 2,891,60511.9026−15
Monarchist National Party 1,581,1286.5114+10
Italian Social Movement 1,473,6456.079+8
Italian Democratic Socialist Party 1,046,3014.314−4
Italian Liberal Party 695,8162.863−4
Italian Republican Party 261,7131.080−4
Popular Unity 172,5450.710New
National Democratic Alliance 165,8450.681New
South Tyrolean People's Party 107,1390.4420
Autonomy Aosta – Peace16,8730.070New
Other parties1,313,3805.4114
Total24,296,277100.002370
Valid votes24,296,27795.34
Invalid/blank votes1,186,9244.66
Total votes25,483,201100.00
Registered voters/turnout27,172,87193.78
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Popular vote
DC
39.76%
PCI
20.21%
PSI
11.90%
PNM
6.51%
MSI
6.07%
PSDI
4.31%
PLI
2.86%
PRI
1.08%
Others
7.30%
Seats
DC
47.26%
PCI
21.94%
PSI
10.97%
PNM
5.91%
MSI
3.80%
PSDI
1.69%
PLI
1.27%
Others
5.06%

By constituency

ConstituencyTotal
seats
Seats won
DC PCI PSI PNM MSI PSDI PLI Others
Piedmont 17842111
Aosta Valley 11
Lombardy 311666111
Trentino-Alto Adige 642
Veneto 1912331
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 6411
Liguria 8431
Emilia-Romagna 1736314
Tuscany 15663
Umbria 6222
Marche 7421
Lazio 1684112
Abruzzo and Molise 853
Campania 219315111
Apulia 1574121
Basilicata 6321
Calabria 1052111
Sicily 22843313
Sardinia 642
Total23711252261494317

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1048 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Buonomo, Giampiero (2014). "Come il Senato si scoprì vaso di coccio" . L'Ago e Il Filo (in Italian).
  3. Italy: Library of Nations: Italy, Time-Life Books, 1985
  1. taking into account the Senators for life, which accounted for 6 seats at the time the election took place
  2. Togliatti also served as secretary of the Communist Party of Italy from 1926 to 1934 and from 1938 to 1943.
  3. Nenni also served as secretary from 1933 to 1939 and from 1943 to 1945.
  4. 1 2 PCI and PSI ran in a unified list in the 1948 election, named Popular Democratic Front (FDP).
  5. Saragat also served as secretary from 1949 to 1952.