1963 Italian general election
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All 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 316 seats needed for a majority All 315 elective seats in the Senate 161 seats needed for a majority[a] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Registered | 34,199,184 (C) · 31,019,23 (S) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 31,766,009 (C) · 92.9% (0.9 pp) 28,872,052 (S) · 93.1% (0.9 pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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]
Electoral system
The pure
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
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
Parties and leaders
Results
The election fell after the launch of the
Chamber of Deputies
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Christian Democracy | 11,773,182 | 38.28 | 260 | −13 | |
Italian Communist Party | 7,767,601 | 25.26 | 166 | +16 | |
Italian Socialist Party | 4,255,836 | 13.84 | 87 | +3 | |
Italian Liberal Party | 2,144,270 | 6.97 | 39 | +22 | |
Italian Democratic Socialist Party | 1,876,271 | 6.10 | 33 | +11 | |
Italian Social Movement | 1,570,282 | 5.11 | 27 | +3 | |
Italian Democratic Party of Monarchist Unity | 536,948 | 1.75 | 8 | −17 | |
Italian Republican Party | 420,213 | 1.37 | 6 | 0 | |
South Tyrolean People's Party | 135,457 | 0.44 | 3 | 0 | |
Concentration of Rural Unity | 92,209 | 0.30 | 0 | 0 | |
Autonomous Party of Italy's Pensioners | 87,655 | 0.29 | 0 | New | |
Valdostan Union | 31,844 | 0.10 | 1 | 0 | |
Italian Combatant Movement–National Rebirth Front | 19,902 | 0.06 | 0 | New | |
Italian Catholic Political Movement | 7,220 | 0.02 | 0 | New | |
Christian Social Party | 6,873 | 0.02 | 0 | New | |
National Monarchist Party | 6,472 | 0.02 | 0 | New | |
Slovene Unified List | 5,679 | 0.02 | 0 | New | |
Movement for the Independence of the Free Territory of Trieste | 4,261 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
National Union of Public Health | 2,926 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
Farmers and Employees Movement | 2,685 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
Social Renewal | 1,750 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
Italian Popular Movement | 1,621 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
National Vanguard | 959 | 0.00 | 0 | New | |
Italian Labour Party | 755 | 0.00 | 0 | New | |
Total | 30,752,871 | 100.00 | 630 | +34 | |
Valid votes | 30,752,871 | 96.81 | |||
Invalid/blank votes | 1,013,138 | 3.19 | |||
Total votes | 31,766,009 | 100.00 | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 34,199,184 | 92.89 | |||
Source: Ministry of the Interior |
Results by constituency
Constituency | Total seats |
Seats won | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DC | PCI | PSI | PLI | PSDI | MSI | PDIUM | PRI | Others | ||
Turin | 33 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | |||
Cuneo | 14 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Genoa | 23 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||
Milan | 45 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | |||
Como | 17 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Brescia | 19 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Mantua | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | ||||||
Trentino | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
Verona | 29 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
Venice | 17 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Udine | 14 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||||
Bologna | 27 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
Parma | 19 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Florence | 16 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Pisa | 15 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Siena | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||||||
Ancona | 19 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Perugia | 12 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | |||||
Rome | 48 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | |
L'Aquila | 16 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
Campobasso | 4 | 3 | 1 | |||||||
Naples | 38 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||
Benevento | 21 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
Bari | 23 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
Lecce | 18 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||||
Potenza | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
Catanzaro | 26 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
Catania | 29 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
Palermo | 29 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
Cagliari | 18 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Aosta Valley | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
Trieste | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
Total | 630 | 260 | 166 | 87 | 39 | 33 | 27 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
Senate of the Republic
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Christian Democracy | 10,017,975 | 36.47 | 129 | +6 | |
Italian Communist Party | 6,933,310 | 25.24 | 84 | +25 | |
Italian Socialist Party | 3,849,495 | 14.01 | 44 | +9 | |
Italian Liberal Party | 2,043,323 | 7.44 | 18 | +14 | |
Italian Democratic Socialist Party | 1,743,870 | 6.35 | 14 | +9 | |
Italian Social Movement | 1,458,917 | 5.31 | 14 | +6 | |
Italian Democratic Party of Monarchist Unity | 429,412 | 1.56 | 2 | −5 | |
Italian Republican Party | 223,350 | 0.81 | 0 | 0 | |
MSI – PDIUM | 212,381 | 0.77 | 1 | +1 | |
DC – PRI | 199,805 | 0.73 | 4 | 0 | |
South Tyrolean People's Party | 112,023 | 0.41 | 2 | 0 | |
Concentration of Rural Unity | 58,064 | 0.21 | 0 | New | |
Social Christian Autonomist Party | 43,355 | 0.16 | 1 | New | |
Sardinian Action Party | 34,954 | 0.13 | 0 | 0 | |
Valdostan Union | 29,510 | 0.11 | 1 | +1 | |
Right-wing independents | 24,772 | 0.09 | 0 | New | |
Catholic independents | 22,578 | 0.08 | 1 | +1 | |
Left-wing independents | 15,224 | 0.06 | 0 | –1 | |
Social Christian Sicilian Union | 13,187 | 0.05 | 0 | New | |
Combatant Peasants | 3,797 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
Total | 27,469,302 | 100.00 | 315 | +69 | |
Valid votes | 27,469,302 | 92.36 | |||
Invalid/blank votes | 2,273,406 | 7.64 | |||
Total votes | 29,742,708 | 100.00 | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 31,019,233 | 95.88 | |||
Source: Ministry of the Interior |
Results by constituency
Constituency | Total seats |
Seats won | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DC | PCI | PSI | PLI | PSDI | MSI | PDIUM | Others | ||
Piedmont | 24 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |||
Aosta Valley | 1 | 1 | |||||||
Lombardy | 45 | 19 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||
Trentino-Alto Adige | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | |||||
Veneto | 23 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |||
Friuli-Venezia Giulia | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Liguria | 11 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
Emilia-Romagna | 22 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
Tuscany | 20 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Umbria | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | |||||
Marche | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | |||||
Lazio | 24 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
Abruzzo and Molise | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Campania | 29 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Apulia | 21 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |||
Basilicata | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |||||
Calabria | 12 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ||||
Sicily | 29 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Sardinia | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Total | 315 | 129 | 84 | 44 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 10 |
References
- ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
- ^ 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.
- ^ Italian electors effectively lost any chance to decide their Prime Minister until the majoritarian reform of 1993.
- ISBN 9781135775681.
- ^ Italy by Muriel Grindrod
- ^ Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II: Volume 2 edited by Peter Flora
- ^ taking into account the Senators for life, which accounted for 6 seats at the time the election took place
- Communist Party of Italyfrom 1926 to 1934 and from 1938 to 1943.
- ^ Nenni also served as secretary from 1933 to 1939 and from 1943 to 1945.
- ^ Saragat also served as secretary from 1949 to 1952 and from 1952 to 1954.