1953 Italian general election

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

1953 Italian general election

7 June 1953

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% (Increase1.6 pp)
25,483,201 (S) · 93.8% (Increase1.6 pp)
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Palmiro Togliatti Official (cropped).jpg
Pietro Nenni 1963.jpg
Leader Alcide De Gasperi Palmiro Togliatti Pietro Nenni
Party DC PCI PSI
Leader since 29 December 1944 15 May 1943[lower-alpha 2] 16 May 1949[lower-alpha 3]
Leader's seat Trento (C) Rome (C) Rome (C)
Seats won 263 (C) / 112 (S) 143 (C) / 52 (S) 75 (C) / 26 (S)
Seat change Decrease57 (C) / Decrease19 (S) Increase19 (C) / Increase20 (S) Increase30 (C) / Increase12 (S)
Popular vote 10,862,073 (C)
9,660,210 (S)
6,120,809 (C)
4,910,077 (S)
3,441,014 (C)
2,891,605 (S)
Percentage 40.1% (C)
39.8% (S)
22.6% (C)
20.2% (S)
12.7% (C)
11.9% (S)
Swing Decrease8.4 pp (C)
Decrease8.3 pp (S)
[lower-alpha 4] [lower-alpha 4]

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Alfredo Covelli 1963.jpg
Augusto De Marsanich (cropped).jpg
Giuseppe Saragat daticamera (cropped).jpg
Leader Alfredo Covelli Augusto De Marsanich Giuseppe Saragat
Party Monarchist National Party MSI PSDI
Leader since 11 June 1946 10 January 1950 7 October 1952[lower-alpha 5]
Leader's seat Benevento (C) L'Aquila (C) Turin (C)
Seats won 40 (C) / 14 (S) 29 (C) / 9 (S) 19 (C) / 4 (S)
Seat change Increase26 (C) / Increase10 (S) Increase23 (C) / Increase8 (S) Decrease14 (C) / Decrease4 (S)
Popular vote 1,854,850 (C)
1,581,128 (S)
1,582,154 (C)
1,473,645 (S)
1,222,957 (C)
1,046,301 (S)
Percentage 6.9% (C)
6.5% (S)
5.8% (C)
6.1% (S)
4.5% (C)
4.3% (S)
Swing Increase4.1 pp (C)
Increase4.8 pp (S)
Increase3.8 pp (C)
Increase5.4 pp (S)
Decrease2.6 pp (C)
Increase0.1 pp (S)


Prime Minister before election

Alcide De Gasperi
DC

Prime Minister after the election

Alcide De Gasperi
DC

"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

Party Ideology Leader
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

Party or allianceVotes%Seats+/–
Centrist coalitionChristian Democracy10,862,07340.10263–41
Italian Democratic Socialist Party1,222,9574.5119–14
Italian Liberal Party815,9293.0113–6
Italian Republican Party438,1491.625–4
South Tyrolean People's Party122,4740.4530
Sardinian Action Party27,2310.100–1
Trentino Tyrolean People's Party1,7140.010New
Italian Communist Party6,120,80922.60143+13
Italian Socialist Party3,441,01412.7075+22
Monarchist National Party1,854,8506.8540+26
Italian Social Movement1,582,1545.8429+23
Independent Socialist Union225,4090.830New
Popular Unity171,0990.630New
National Democratic Alliance120,6850.450New
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 Party4,3050.020New
Socialist Radical Party3,2830.010New
Federated National Party2,8950.010New
Christian Social Movement2,7990.010New
Italian Female Movement1,7520.010New
Militant Christian Party1,4730.010New
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

Constituency Total
seats
Seats won
DC PCI PSI PNM MSI PSDI PLI PRI Others
Turin 26 11 7 4 1 2 1
Cuneo 16 8 3 2 1 1 1
Genoa 17 8 5 3 1
Milan 36 16 8 7 1 1 2 1
Como 15 9 2 3 1
Brescia 19 13 2 3 1
Mantua 10 5 2 3
Trentino 8 5 3
Verona 28 17 4 4 1 1 1
Venice 16 10 2 3 1
Udine 15 9 2 2 1 1
Bologna 22 7 10 3 1 1
Parma 19 7 8 3 1
Florence 13 5 6 2
Pisa 13 6 5 2
Siena 10 3 5 2
Ancona 15 8 4 3
Perugia 11 4 3 3 1
Rome 38 15 10 3 3 4 1 1 1
L'Aquila 14 7 4 1 1 1
Campobasso 5 3 1 1
Naples 31 12 7 2 7 2 1
Benevento 20 8 4 1 5 1 1
Bari 22 9 6 2 4 1
Lecce 16 8 4 1 2 1
Potenza 7 4 2 1
Catanzaro 25 11 6 3 2 2 1
Catania 25 10 6 2 3 3 1
Palermo 25 11 6 2 3 3
Cagliari 14 7 4 1 1 1
Aosta Valley 1 1
National 37 6 5 4 5 6 5 3 3
Total 590 263 143 74 40 29 19 13 5 3

Senate of the Republic

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian Democracy9,660,21039.76112−19
Italian Communist Party4,910,07720.2152+6
Italian Socialist Party2,891,60511.9026−15
Monarchist National Party1,581,1286.5114+10
Italian Social Movement1,473,6456.079+8
Italian Democratic Socialist Party1,046,3014.314−4
Italian Liberal Party695,8162.863−4
Italian Republican Party261,7131.080−4
Popular Unity172,5450.710New
National Democratic Alliance165,8450.681New
South Tyrolean People's Party107,1390.4420
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

Constituency Total
seats
Seats won
DC PCI PSI PNM MSI PSDI PLI Others
Piedmont 17 8 4 2 1 1 1
Aosta Valley 1 1
Lombardy 31 16 6 6 1 1 1
Trentino-Alto Adige 6 4 2
Veneto 19 12 3 3 1
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 6 4 1 1
Liguria 8 4 3 1
Emilia-Romagna 17 3 6 3 1 4
Tuscany 15 6 6 3
Umbria 6 2 2 2
Marche 7 4 2 1
Lazio 16 8 4 1 1 2
Abruzzo and Molise 8 5 3
Campania 21 9 3 1 5 1 1 1
Apulia 15 7 4 1 2 1
Basilicata 6 3 2 1
Calabria 10 5 2 1 1 1
Sicily 22 8 4 3 3 1 3
Sardinia 6 4 2
Total 237 112 52 26 14 9 4 3 17

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. 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.
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