Italian general election, 1958

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Italian general election, 1958

Flag of Italy.svg


  1953 25 May 1958 1963  

All 596 seats to the Italian Chamber of Deputies
and 246 (of the 253) seats to the Italian Senate
Turnout 93.8%

 Majority partyMinority partyThird party
  Amintore Fanfani daticamera.jpg Palmiro Togliatti Official.jpg Pietro Nenni 2.jpg
Leader Amintore Fanfani Palmiro Togliatti Pietro Nenni
Party Christian Democracy Communist Party Socialist Party
Leader since195419381931
Leader's seat XVII - South Tuscany XX - Latium IV - Milan
Seats won273 C / 123 S140 C / 59 S84 C / 35 S
Seat changeIncrease2.svg17 C / Increase2.svg7 SDecrease2.svg3 C /Increase2.svg7 SIncrease2.svg9 C / Increase2.svg9 S
Popular vote12,520,207 C
10,780,954 S
6,704,454 C
5,700,952 S
4,206,726 C
3,682,945 S
Percentage42.4% (C)
41.2% (S)
22.7% (C)
21.8% (S)
14.2% (C)
14.1% (S)
SwingIncrease2.svg2.3% C
Increase2.svg1.4% S
Increase2.svg0.1% C
Increase2.svg1.6% S
Increase2.svg1.5% C
Increase2.svg2.2% S

Italian Election 1958 Province.png 1958 Italian Senate election map.png

Election results maps for the Chamber of Deputies (on the left) and for the Senate (on the right). Light Blue denotes provinces with a Christian Democratic plurality, Red denotes those with a Communist plurality, Gray denotes those with an Autonomist plurality.

Prime Minister before election

Adone Zoli
Christian Democracy

Elected Prime Minister

Amintore Fanfani
Christian Democracy

General elections were held in Italy on Sunday 25 May 1958, to select the Third Republican Parliament. [1] The number of MPs to be elected was calculated upon the population's size for the last time.

Italy republic in Southern Europe

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates San Marino and Vatican City. Italy covers an area of 301,340 km2 (116,350 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. With around 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth-most populous EU member state and the most populous country in Southern Europe.

Contents

Electoral system

Minor changes were made to the electoral law in 1958, creating a system which would remain unchanged until its abrogation in 1993.

The pure party-list proportional representation was definitely adopted 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 national level, where they were divided using the Hare quota, and automatically distributed to best losers into the local lists.

Party-list proportional representation family of voting systems

Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation (PR) in elections in which multiple candidates are elected through allocations to an electoral list. They can also be used as part of mixed additional member systems.

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. This as opposed to closed list, which allows only active members, party officials, or consultants to determine the order of its candidates and gives the general voter no influence at all on the position of the candidates placed on the party list. Additionally, an open list system allows voters to select individuals rather than parties. Different systems give voter different amounts of influence. Voter's choice is usually called preference vote.

The largest remainder method is one way of allocating seats proportionally for representative assemblies with party list voting systems. It contrasts with various divisor methods.

For the Senate, 237 single-seat constituencies were established, even if the assembly had 9 more members. The candidates needed a landslide victory of two thirds of votes to be elected: only 5 hoping senators reached this goal. 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.

The D'Hondt method or the Jefferson method is a highest averages method for allocating seats, and is thus a type of party-list proportional representation. The method described is named in the United States after Thomas Jefferson, who introduced the method for proportional allocation of seats in the United States House of Representatives in 1791, and in Europe after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt, who described it in 1878 for proportional allocation of parliamentary seats to the parties. There are two forms: closed list and an open list.

Historical background

After De Gasperi's retirement in 1953 Fanfani emerged as the anticipated successor, a role confirmed by his appointment as party secretary from 1954-1959. [2] He reorganized and rejuvenated the national party organization of the Christian Democrats after the dependence on the church and the government which had typified the De Gasperi period. [3]

However, his activist and sometimes authoritarian style, as well as his reputation as an economic reformer, ensured that the moderates within the DC, who opposed the state’s intrusion into the country’s economic life, regarded him with distrust. His indefatigable energy and his passion for efficiency carried him far in politics, but he was rarely able to exploit fully the opportunities that he created. "Fanfani has colleagues, associates, acquaintances and subordinates," one politician once remarked. "But I have never heard much about his friends."

Parties and leaders

PartyIdeologyLeader
Christian Democracy (DC) Christian democracy Amintore Fanfani
Italian Communist Party (PCI) Communism Palmiro Togliatti
Italian Socialist Party (PSI) Democratic socialism Pietro Nenni
Italian Social Movement (MSI) Neo-fascism Arturo Michelini
Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI) Social democracy Giuseppe Saragat
Italian Liberal Party (PLI) Conservative liberalism Giovanni Malagodi
People's Monarchist Party (PMP) Conservatism Achille Lauro
Monarchist National Party (PNM) Conservatism Alfredo Covelli
Italian Republican Party (PRI) Social liberalism Oronzo Reale

Results

The election gave similar results of five years before and, consequently, the same problems of political instability of the centrist formula. Christian Democracy was polarized by a fraction which liked more leftist politics, and another one which urged for a rightist route. Party's secretary Amintore Fanfani was in the first field, and called for a dialogue with the Italian Socialist Party, which had frozen its relationships with the Italian Communist Party after the Hungarian Revolution. Fanfani led a year-term government, but the reaction of the conservative fraction gave the power to Antonio Segni, followed by Fernando Tambroni who received a decisive vote of confidence by the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement. The MSI had been banned by any type of political power since its birth under the theory of the Constitutional Arch , which stated that any government or opposition party which had voted the Italian Constitution, had to refuse any relationship with fascist and monarchist forces, seen as anti-constitutional groups. Strikes and revolts causing some casualties erupted through the country, and Tambroni had to resign. Fanfani returned to the premiership, this time with an openly centre-left programme supported by the socialist abstention. The government created the middle school for workers' sons, and the ENEL after the electric energy nationalisation.

Centrism describes a political outlook or specific position

In politics, centrism—the centre or the center —is a political outlook or specific position that involves acceptance or support of a balance of a degree of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy, while opposing political changes which would result in a significant shift of society strongly to either the left or the right.

Christian Democracy (Italy) Italian political party, founded in 1943 and dissolved in 1994

Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic political party in Italy.

Amintore Fanfani Italian diplomat, politician and academic

Amintore Fanfani was an Italian politician and the Prime Minister of Italy for five separate runs. He was one of the best-known Italian politicians after the Second World War, and a historical figure of the left-wing section of the Christian Democracy party; he is also considered to have been one of the founders of the Italian centre-left.

Chamber of Deputies

Summary of the 25 May 1958 Chamber of Deputies election results
Italian Chamber of Deputies 1958.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/−
Christian Democracy 12,520,20742.35273+10
Italian Communist Party 6,704,45422.68140−3
Italian Socialist Party 4,206,72614.2384+9
Italian Social Movement 1,407,7184.7624−5
Italian Democratic Socialist Party 1,345,4474.5522+3
Italian Liberal Party 1,047,0813.5417+4
People's Monarchist Party 776,9192.6314New
Monarchist National Party 659,9972.2311−29
Italian Republican PartyRadical Party 405,7821.376+1
Community Movement 173,2270.591New
South Tyrolean People's Party 135,4910.463±0
Movement for Piedmontese Regional Autonomy 70,5890.240New
Valdostan Union 30,5960.101New
Others76,0350.260±0
Invalid/blank votes874,412
Total30,434,681100596+6
Registered voters/turnout32,434,85293.83
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Popular vote
DC
42.35%
PCI
22.68%
PSI
14.23%
MSI
4.76%
PSDI
4.55%
PLI
3.54%
PMP
2.63%
PNM
2.23%
PRIPR
1.37%
Others
1.64%
Seats
DC
45.81%
PCI
23.49%
PSI
14.09%
MSI
4.03%
PSDI
3.69%
PLI
2.85%
PMP
2.35%
PNM
1.85%
PRIPR
1.01%
Others
0.84%

Senate of the Republic

Summary of the 25 May 1958 Senate of the Republic election results
Italian Senate 1958.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/−
Christian Democracy 10,780,95441.23123+10
Italian Communist Party 5,700,95221.8059+8
Italian Socialist Party 3,682,94514.0835+9
Italian Democratic Socialist Party 1,164,2804.455+1
Italian Social Movement 1,150,0514.408−1
Italian Liberal Party 1,012,6103.874+1
People's Monarchist Party 774,2422.965New
Monarchist National Party 565,0452.162−14
Italian Republican PartyRadical Party 363,4621.390±0
MSIPNM 291,3591.110±0
PCIPSI 185,5570.712±0
Community Movement 142,8970.550New
South Tyrolean People's Party 120,0680.462±0
Movement for Piedmontese Regional Autonomy 61,0880.230New
PSIPSDI 43,1910.170±0
For The Autonomy of Aosta Valley28,1410.111+1
Sardinian Action Party 25,9230.100±0
Others57,2370.220±0
Invalid/blank votes1,239,240
Total27,391,239100246+9
Registered voters/turnout29,174,85893.9
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Popular vote
DC
41.23%
PCI
21.80%
PSI
14.08%
PSDI
4.45%
MSI
4.40%
PLI
3.87%
PMP
2.96%
PNM
2.16%
PRIPR
1.39%
Others
3.66%
Seats
DC
50.00%
PCI
23.98%
PSI
14.23%
MSI
3.25%
PSDI
2.03%
PMP
2.03%
PLI
1.63%
PNM
0.81%
Others
2.03%

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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. Young Initiative, Time Magazine, 12 July 1954
  3. Out for the Big Win, Time Magazine, 26 May 1958