2013 Italian general election (Redirected from Italian general election, 2013)

2013 Italian general election

← 2008 24–25 February 2013 2018 →

All 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
316 seats needed for a majority
All 315 elective seats in the Senate
160 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered46,905,154 (C· 42,270,824 (S)
Turnout35,270,926 (C· 75.2% (Decrease5.3 pp)
31,751,350 (S· 75.1% (Decrease5.3 pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Pier Luigi Bersani Silvio Berlusconi
Party Democratic Party People of Freedom
Alliance Italy. Common Good Centre-right coalition
Leader since 25 October 2009 18 January 1994
Leader's seat Lombardy 1 (C) Molise (S)
Seats won 345 (C) / 123 (S) 125 (C) / 117 (S)
Seat change Increase134 (C) / Increase7 (S) Decrease219 (C) / Decrease57 (S)
Coalition vote 10,049,393 (C)
9,685,437 (S)
9,923,600 (C)
9,405,652 (S)
Percentage 29.6% (C)
31.6% (S)
29.2% (C)
30.7% (S)
Swing Decrease7.9 pp (C)
Decrease6.4 pp (S)
Decrease17.6 pp (C)
Decrease16.6 pp (S)

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Beppe Grillo Mario Monti
Party Five Star Movement Civic Choice
Alliance With Monti for Italy
Leader since 4 October 2009 28 December 2012
Leader's seat Did not run Did not run
Seats won 109 (C) / 54 (S) 47 (C) / 19 (S)
Seat change New party New alliance
Coalition vote 8,691,406 (C)
7,286,550 (S)
3,591,541 (C)
2,797,486 (S)
Percentage 25.6% (C)
23.8% (S)
10.6% (C)
9.1% (S)
Swing New party New alliance

Election results maps for the Chamber of Deputies (on the left) and for the Senate (on the right). On the left, the color identifies the coalition which received the most votes in each province. On the right, the color identifies the coalition which won the most seats in respect to each Region. Red denotes Centre-left coalitions, Blue the Centre-right coalition, Yellow the Five Star Movement, and Light Blue the Aosta Valley regional coalition.

Prime Minister before election

Mario Monti
Independent

Prime Minister after the election

Enrico Letta
Democratic Party

The 2013 Italian general election was held on 24 and 25 February 2013 to determine the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate of the Republic for the 17th Italian Parliament. The centre-left alliance Italy Common Good, led by the Democratic Party (PD), obtained a clear majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies thanks to a majority bonus that effectively trebled the number of seats assigned to the winning force and narrowly defeated the centre-right alliance of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the popular vote. Close behind, the new anti-establishment Five Star Movement of comedian Beppe Grillo became the third force, well ahead of the centrist coalition of outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti. In the Senate, no political group or party won an outright majority, resulting in a hung parliament.

In April 2013, a grand coalition between Italy Common Good, the Berlusconi coalition, and the centrists was formed. Berlusconi and his allies withdrew support of the coalition and formed a new Forza Italia six months later, which meant that the PD dominated the government coalition until the 2018 Italian general election.

Background

Following the European sovereign debt crisis, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned from his position in November 2011. He was replaced as Prime Minister by technocratic Senator for Life Mario Monti.

In December 2012, Berlusconi announced his intention to run for Prime Minister for a sixth time. Shortly after, his party, The People of Freedom (PdL), withdrew endorsement for Monti's Cabinet and Monti announced he would resign after sending the annual budget to the Italian Parliament, which was expected by Christmas. The Constitution of Italy then requires an election to be held within 70 days of the dissolution of the parliament by President Giorgio Napolitano. Monti's resignation came after he said that, following the PdL's withdrawal, he "matured [to] the conviction that we could not continue like this any longer," and that he could not govern with a loss of support for his platform.

During Monti's tenure, Italy had faced tax increases and state spending cuts, as well as reforms intended to improve the competitiveness of the Italian economy. On the other hand, PdL parliamentary party leader Angelino Alfano told parliament on 7 December that Italy's debt, unemployment, and tax rates had risen in contrast to the economy since Monti became prime minister. In the approximately one year since Monti took office, unemployment rose by almost two percent. Previously Monti had controversially told the rising tide of youth unemployment to forget about a steady job for life, saying such is "monotonous [anyway and] it's nice to change and take on challenges." He also called for changes to Article 18 of the 1970 Workers Statute that forbids companies with over 15 employees from sacking an employee without "just cause", saying that it "can be pernicious for Italy's growth."

The same reforms and austerity-focused policies which upset many Italians are perceived to have improved international confidence in Italy. Monti was supported by other Eurozone leaders, such as Germany's Angela Merkel and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Merkel's spokesman, Georg Streiter, said that she had "always worked well" with Monti and "had a relationship of esteem"; however, when asked about Berlusconi, he said it was not up to him to decide domestic politics of other countries. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble added that he did not foresee "any destabilization in the euro-zone [but] expect[ed] Italy to keep going forward by respecting its European commitments." In reaction, financial markets fell on speculation of further instability; specifically, Italian 10-year bond yields rose by 0.4% to reach 4.87% and the Italian stock exchange's flagship index dropped by over 3.5%.

Campaign

Pier Luigi Bersani with the president of Emilia-Romagna Vasco Errani during the electoral campaign

From the summer of 2012, a number of parties and movements from the so-called "Third Pole" of the political spectrum, including Pier Ferdinando Casini's Union of the Centre (UdC), Gianfranco Fini's Future and Freedom (FLI), Luca Cordero di Montezemolo's Toward the Third Republic (VTR), as well as a number of other politicians from both PD and PdL, pushed for direct involvement of Mario Monti in an election. Monti's statement that he would resign after the budget was passed, was suggested by Reuters to be indicative of him seeking to run for office.

Monti also told a press conference in France that "populism" was dangerous, and he further said that a failure to pass the budget "would render more serious the government crisis, also at a European level" and that his resignation would then be "irrevocable." The two largest parties in the parliament, the PdL and the Democratic Party (PD) said they would be willing to work together to expedite passage of the budget. PD Secretary Pier Luigi Bersani said: "Faced with the irresponsibility of the right that betrayed a commitment it made a year ago before the whole country, ... Monti responded with an act of dignity that we profoundly respect." PD Deputy Secretary Enrico Letta said of the PdL's withdrawal from the government that "the financial markets will judge this latest outburst by Berlusconi and they certainly will not judge it positively." Bersani had won the centre-left primary election shortly before the PdL withdrew from the government. Following a defeat in the primary, Mayor of Florence Matteo Renzi ruled out an approach, in writing, from Berlusconi's PdL to join the party during the election. In the following weeks, both PD and Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) announced their intention to hold primary elections for MP candidates on 29 and 30 December.

The possibility of Monti directly involving himself in the election was seen as increasingly likely after the government crisis in December later that year, as Monti was invited to a European People's Party meeting at which Berlusconi was present too. A few days later, Monti published a political agenda for Italy, dubbed the "Monti agenda", and offered it to all political parties. After the Third Pole promptly agreed to use it as their own platform for the upcoming elections, talks started regarding a direct involvement of Monti as premiership candidate. On 28 December 2012, following a 4-hour meeting and after being publicly backed by the Vatican regarding a potential bid, Monti publicly announced his candidacy as head of the Third Pole, which ran in the Senate as a unique component provisionally named "Monti's Agenda for Italy", and in the Lower House as a coalition of several components.

Beppe Grillo in Trento during the electoral campaign

Berlusconi said the platform his party would run on includes opposition to Monti's economic performance, which he said put Italy into a "recessive spiral without end." He also told the media, on the sidelines of AC Milan's practice session (the football club he owns along with Mediaset, the largest media outlet in the country): "I race to win. To win, everyone said there had to be a tested leader. It's not that we did not look for one. We did, and how! But there isn't one. ... I'm doing it out of a sense of responsibility." Berlusconi and Five Star Movement (M5S) leader Beppe Grillo criticised the euro-zone and Germany's influence on European policy. Grillo wrote that the average Italian "is literally terrified about the prospects of five more years of Monti-like rule."

On 8 December 2012, a new political party formed around a think tank named "Fermare il Declino" (Stop the Decline), on an initiative by the economic journalist Oscar Giannino and supported by various economists. On 19 December 2012, the name "FARE per Fermare il Declino" ("ACT to Stop The Decline") was chosen, and a list was presented with Oscar Giannino as PM candidate. The party's programme was also introduced, roughly inspiring to reduce the role of the State in the economy, reduce the national debt through disposing redundant assets, and to propose market liberalizations and privatizations.

On 29 December 2012, a new coalition, Civil Revolution (RC), was formed with the support of Italy of Values (IdV), Orange Movement (MA), Communist Refoundation Party (PRC), Party of Italian Communists (PdCI) and Federation of the Greens (FdV). It is led by celebrity magistrate Antonio Ingroia and Mayor of Naples Luigi de Magistris. FdS co-leader Paolo Ferrero said it would be a "Fourth Pole" that would bring new hope for the left. Civil Revolution attempted to solicit M5S to join them, saying "the door is open." Grillo, however, turned them down, writing on his blog "is the door for M5S open? Well, thank you, but close the door again, please."

On 7 January 2013, Berlusconi announced he had penned a coalition agreement with the Northern League (LN); as part of it, PdL will support Roberto Maroni's bid for the presidency of Lombardy, and he will run as "leader of the coalition", but suggested he could accept a role as Minister of Economy under a cabinet headed by another PdL member, such as Angelino Alfano. Later that day, LN leader Maroni confirmed his party will not support a new candidacy of Berlusconi as Prime Minister in the case of an electoral win.

Electoral system

The electoral system had been last reformed by Law no. 270, 21 December 2005.

Chamber of Deputies

For the election of the lower house, all seats in the Chamber of Deputies (excluding one deputy for the region of Aosta Valley and twelve deputies for Italians residing abroad) are allocated based on the national vote in a form of party-list proportional representation with a series of thresholds encouraging parties to form coalitions. Voters cast one vote for a closed list, meaning they cannot express a preference for individual candidates.

Parties can choose to run in coalitions. Seats are first allocated based on coalition votes, then divided among parties belonging to the same coalition by the largest remainder method. To guarantee a working majority, the coalition or party that obtains a plurality of the vote, but fewer than 340 seats, is assigned additional seats to reach that number, which is roughly 54% of all seats.

The autonomous region of Aosta Valley elects one deputy through a first-past-the-post system. Italians abroad are divided into four constituencies, which elect a total of twelve seats based on proportional representation.

Senate

For the election of the upper house, a similar system is used. However, the results are based on regional, rather than national, vote. This means the coalition or party that wins a plurality of votes in each region is guaranteed a majority of the seats assigned to that region. As this mechanism is region-based, opposing parties or coalitions may benefit from the majority bonus in different regions. It therefore does not guarantee any party or coalition a majority in the Senate.

Three regions have exceptions to the system detailed above. In the region of Molise, that is granted two seats in the Senate, seats are allocated proportionally, with no majority bonus. The region of Aosta Valley, which elects one senator, uses a first-past-the-post system. Finally, the region of Trentino-South Tyrol elects seven senators with a mixed-member proportional system: six senators are elected in six single-member constituencies, while the seventh is allocated to the most underrepresented list based on the regional votes.

Six seats in the Senate are assigned to Italians living abroad and are allocated using the same system used for the Chamber of Deputies.

Constitutionality

At the end of 2013, Italy's Constitutional Court declared that this electoral law failed to meet a number of constitutional requirements. The electoral system for the Chamber of Deputies was later reformed by Law no. 52, 6 May 2015 (commonly called Italicum).

Main coalitions and parties

Coalition Party Main ideology Seats Party leader Coalition leader
C S
Centre-right coalition The People of Freedom (PdL) Liberal conservatism
202
(incl. FdI)
146
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi
Northern League (LN) Regionalism
58
22
Roberto Maroni
Brothers of Italy (FdI) National conservatism
11
(into PdL)
10
Giorgia Meloni
Great South (GS) Regionalism
10
3
Gianfranco Micciché
Movement for the Autonomies (MpA) Regionalism
4
3
Raffaele Lombardo
Popular Agreement (IP) Christian democracy
1
Giampiero Catone
Pensioners' Party (PP) Pensioners' interests
1
Carlo Fatuzzo
The Right (LD) Right-wing populism Francesco Storace
Moderates in Revolution (MIR) Liberal conservatism Gianpiero Samorì [fr]
Italy. Common Good Democratic Party (PD) Social democracy
203
104
Pier Luigi Bersani Pier Luigi Bersani
Democratic Centre (CD) Social liberalism
9
7
Bruno Tabacci
South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) Regionalism
2
3
Luis Durnwalder
Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) Democratic socialism Nichi Vendola
Italian Socialist Party (PSI) Social democracy Riccardo Nencini
Moderates (Mod.) Liberalism
1
(into PD)
Giacomo Portas
The Megaphone (Meg.) Regionalism Rosario Crocetta
With Monti for Italy Civic Choice (SC) Liberalism Mario Monti Mario Monti
Union of the Centre (UdC) Christian democracy
38
6
Pier Ferdinando Casini
Future and Freedom (FLI) Liberal conservatism
24
7
Gianfranco Fini
Civil Revolution (RC) Left-wing populism
15
10
Antonio Ingroia
Five Star Movement (M5S) Populism Beppe Grillo
Act to Stop the Decline (FFD) Economic liberalism Oscar Giannino

Opinion polling

Six-point average trend line of poll results from 14 April 2008 to 25 February 2013, with each line corresponding to a political party
  PdL
  PD
  LN
  UdC
  IdV
  SEL
  M5S
  FLI
  SC
  FdI
  CD
  RC

Results

Chamber of Deputies

Overall results

Summary of the 24–25 February 2013 Chamber of Deputies election results
Coalition Party Italy (19 regions) Aosta Valley Overseas Total
seats
+/–
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
Italy. Common Good Democratic Party 8,646,034 25.43 292 0 287,975 29.30 5 297 +80
Left Ecology Freedom 1,089,231 3.20 37 0 17,434 1.77 0 37 New
Democratic Centre 167,328 0.49 6 0 0 6 New
South Tyrolean People's Party 146,800 0.43 5 0 0 5 +3
Centre-right coalition The People of Freedom 7,332,134 21.56 97 0 145,751 14.83 1 98 −178
Northern League 1,390,534 4.09 18 2,384 3.29 0 0 18 −42
Brothers of Italy 666,765 1.96 9 3,051 4.21 0 0 9 New
Five Star Movement 8,691,406 25.56 108 13,403 18.50 0 95,173 9.68 1 109 New
With Monti for Italy Civic Choice 2,823,842 8.30 37 0 181,041 18.42 2 39 New
Union of the Centre 608,321 1.79 8 1,355 1.87 0 8 −28
Associative Movement of Italians Abroad 0 0 140,868 14.33 2 2 +1
South American Union of Italian Emigrants 0 0 43,918 4.47 1 1 New
Aosta Valley (UVSAFA) 0 18,376 25.36 1 0 1 +1
Others 2,443,360 7.19 0 33,867 46.77 0 70,721 7.20 0 0
Total 34,005,755 100 617 72,436 100 1 982,881 100 12 630 ±0
Popular vote (Party)
M5S
25.56%
PD
25.43%
PdL
21.56%
SC
8.30%
LN
4.09%
SEL
3.20%
RC
2.25%
FdI
1.96%
UdC
1.79%
FFD
1.12%
Others
4.74%
Popular vote (Coalition)
IBC
29.55%
CDX
29.18%
M5S
25.56%
Monti
10.56%
RC
2.25%
FFD
1.12%
Others
1.78%
Seat distribution (Coalition)
IBC
54.8%
CDX
19.8%
M5S
17.3%
Monti
7.5%
Others
0.6%

Italy (except Aosta Valley)

Coalition Party Votes % Seats
Italy. Common Good Democratic Party (PD) 8,646,034 25.43 292
Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) 1,089,231 3.20 37
Democratic Centre (CD) 167,328 0.49 6
South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) 146,800 0.43 5
Total 10,049,393 29.55 340
Centre-right coalition The People of Freedom (PdL) 7,332,134 21.56 97
Northern League (LN) 1,390,534 4.09 18
Brothers of Italy (FdI) 666,765 1.96 9
The Right (LD) 219,585 0.65 0
Great SouthMPA (GS–MPA) 148,248 0.44 0
Moderates in Revolution (MIR) 82,557 0.24 0
Pensioners' Party (PP) 54,418 0.16 0
Popular Agreement (IP) 26,120 0.08 0
Free for an Equable Italy (LIE) 3,239 0.01 0
Total 9,923,600 29.18 124
Five Star Movement (M5S) 8,691,406 25.56 108
With Monti for Italy Civic Choice (SC) 2,823,842 8.30 37
Union of the Centre (UdC) 608,321 1.79 8
Future and Freedom (FLI) 159,378 0.47 0
Total 3,591,541 10.56 45
Civil Revolution (RC) 765,189 2.25 0
Act to Stop the Decline (FFD) 380,044 1.12 0
New Force (FN) 90,047 0.26 0
Workers' Communist Party (PCL) 89,643 0.26 0
Amnesty Justice Freedom List (AGL) 65,022 0.19 0
Die Freiheitlichen (DF) 48,317 0.14 0
CasaPound (CPI) 47,991 0.14 0
Tricolour Flame (FT) 44,408 0.13 0
I Love Italy (ALI) 42,603 0.12 0
Venetian Independence (IV) 33,217 0.09 0
Italian Liberal Party (PLI) 27,964 0.08 0
Sardinian Action Party (PSd'Az) 18,592 0.05 0
Venetian Republic League (LVR) 15,838 0.05 0
Protest Vote 12,743 0.04 0
Veneto State (VS) 11,398 0.03 0
Italian Reformists (RI) 8,248 0.02 0
Independence for Sardinia (IpS) 7,471 0.02 0
Italian Republican Party (PRI) 6,910 0.02 0
Sardinian Rebirth European Movement (MERIS) 5,897 0.02 0
Communist Alternative Party (PdAC) 5,196 0.02 0
The Pirates 4,557 0.01 0
Project Italy Movement (MPI) 3,957 0.01 0
Italian Missinian Refoundation (RMI) 3,091 0.01 0
United Populars (PU) 2,992 0.01 0
National Project (PN) 2,870 0.01 0
Thought and Action Party (PPA) 1,526 0.00 0
All Together for Italy 1,485 0,00 0
Popular Union (UP) 1,475 0.00 0
Atheist Democracy (DA) 598 0,00 0
Stems of Italy 586 0,00 0
Invalid/blank/unassigned votes 1,265,171
Total 34,005,755 100.00 617
Registered voters/turnout 46,905,154 75.20
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Notes
  1. ^ taking into account the Senators for life, who accounted for 5 seats at the time the election took place
  2. ^ Appointed senator for life on December 2011
  3. ^ The party instead opted to be part of the Monti-coalition in the "Chamber of Deputies election")
  4. ^ Incl. the Union for Trentino (UPT) party leader Lorenzo Dellai, who decided not to submit his own party list for the Monti-coalition, but opted to be a direct part of the Civic Choice list. – only for Senate in: Trentino-Alto Adige

Results by region (except Aosta Valley)

Region Italy. Common Good Centre-right coalition Five Star Movement With Monti for Italy Civil Revolution Others
Abruzzo 26.2 29.5 29.9 8.9 3.3 2.2
Apulia 26.5 33.0 25.5 10.5 2.4 2.1
Basilicata 34.2 24.6 24.3 11.3 2.4 3.2
Calabria 28.3 30.2 24.9 10.5 2.9 3.2
Campania 26.0 35.6 22.2 11.3 2.6 2.3
Emilia-Romagna 40.2 20.9 24.7 9.3 1.9 3.0
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 27.5 28.0 27.2 12.9 2.1 2.3
Lazio 29.9 27.9 28.1 8.8 2.6 2.7
Liguria 31.1 23.0 32.1 9.9 2.1 1.8
Lombardy 28.2 35.7 19.6 12.1 1.6 2.8
Marche 31.1 21.2 32.1 10.7 2.2 2.7
Molise 28.8 28.4 27.7 10.7 3.4 1.0
Piedmont 28.3 28.1 27.5 12.1 2.1 1.9
Sardinia 29.5 23.7 29.7 9.4 2.8 4.9
Sicily 21.4 31.3 33.6 8.6 3.4 1.7
Trentino-Alto Adige 35.6 15.9 14.6 13.9 1.4 18.6
Tuscany 41.6 20.7 24.0 8.4 2.7 2.6
Umbria 35.6 24.3 27.2 9.6 2.5 0.8
Veneto 23.3 31.8 26.3 11.9 1.3 5.4

Aosta Valley

The autonomous region of Aosta Valley, in northwestern Italy, elects one member to the Chamber of Deputies through a direct first-past-the-post election. Some parties that formed electoral coalitions in Italy, might have opted to run against one another (or form different coalitions) in this particular region.

Candidate Party (or a unified coalition list) Total votes % Seats
Rudi Marguerettaz (SA) Aosta Valley (UVSAFA) 18,376 25.36 1
Laurent Viérin Progressive Valdostan Union (UVP) 18,191 25.11 0
Jean Pierre Guichardaz Autonomy Liberty Democracy (ALD) 14,340 19.79 0
Roberto Ugo Massimo Cognetta Five Star Movement (M5S) 13,403 18.50 0
Giorgia Meloni Brothers of Italy (FdI) 3,051 4.21 0
Nicoletta Spelgatti Northern League (LN) 2,384 3.29 0
Lucia Bringhen Union of the Centre (UdC) 1,355 1.87 0
Fabrizio Buillet Act to Stop the Decline (FFD) 748 1.03 0
Andrea Ladu CasaPound (CPI) 443 0.61 0
Eros Campion Nation Val d'Outa 145 0.20 0
Total valid votes 72,436
Blank/void/unassigned votes 4,733
Total votes 77,169 100.00 1
Registered voters/turnout 100,277 76.95
Source: Ministry of the Interior Archived 28 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine

Overseas constituencies

Electoral package sent to an Italian voter in South America

Twelve members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected by Italians abroad. Two members are elected for North America and Central America (including most of the Caribbean), four members for South America (including Trinidad and Tobago), five members for Europe, and one member for the rest of the world (Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Antarctica). Voters in these regions select candidate lists and may also cast a preference vote for individual candidates. The seats are allocated by proportional representation.

The electoral law allows for parties to form different coalitions on the lists abroad, compared to the lists in Italy. In the 2013 election, this freedom was used by Left Ecology Freedom to provide a list as an independent party, instead of making themselves available as part of the mainlands coalition with Democratic Party.

Party (or a unified coalition list) Votes % Seats
Democratic Party (PD) 287,975 29.30 5
With Monti for Italy 181,041 18.42 2
The People of Freedom (PdL) 145,751 14.83 1
Associative Movement of Italians Abroad (MAIE) 140,868 14.33 2
Five Star Movement (M5S) 95,173 9.68 1
South American Union of Italian Emigrants (USEI) 43,918 4.47 1
Italians for Freedom 22,348 2.27 0
Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) 17,434 1.77 0
Civil Revolution (RC) 16,033 1.63 0
Union of Italians for South America 11,330 1.15 0
Act to Stop the Decline (FFD) 10,195 1.04 0
Communist Party (PC) 6,977 0.71 0
Together for the Italians 3,838 0.39 0
Invalid/blank/unassigned votes 121,108
Total 982,881 100.00 12
Registered voters/turnout 3,494,687 31.59
Source: Ministry of the Interior Archived 26 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
Notes
  1. ^ The 5 deputies from Democratic Party were elected by the following regions: Europe (2), North- and Central America (1), South America (1), remaining world (1).
  2. ^ The 2 deputies from the Monti-coalition were elected by the following regions: Europe (1), North- and Central America (1).
  3. ^ The deputy from the Berlusconi-coalition was elected by the following region: Europe (1).
  4. ^ The 2 deputies from MAIE were elected by the following region: South America (2).
  5. ^ The deputy from the Five Star Movement was elected by the following region: Europe (1).
  6. ^ The deputy from USEI was elected by the following region: South America (1).

Distribution of seats

Seat totals by constituency. As this is a MB election, seat totals are determined by the national popular vote, benefiting the largest coalition nationwide.

Senate of the Republic

Overall results

Summary of 24–25 February 2013 Senate of the Republic election results
Coalition Party Italy (18 regions) Aosta Valley Trentino-Alto Adige Overseas Total
seats
+/−
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
Italy. Common Good Democratic Party 8,400,255 27.43 105 0 281,217 50.60 6 274,732 30.70 4 111 −7
Left Ecology Freedom 912,374 2.97 7 0 0 7 New
The Megaphone 138,581 0.45 1 0 0 1 New
SVPPATT 0 0 0 4 ±0
Centre-right coalition The People of Freedom 6,829,373 22.30 98 0 85,298 15.65 1 136,052 15.20 0 98 −49
Northern League 1,328,555 4.33 17 2,608 3.92 0 0 18 −7
Great South 122,100 0.39 1 0 0 0 1 New
Five Star Movement 7,285,850 23.79 54 13,760 20.71 0 82,499 15.14 0 89,562 10.10 0 54 New
With Monti for Italy 2,797,486 9.13 18 1,594 2.39 0 6,646 1.39 0 177,402 19.80 1 19 New
Associative Movement of Italians Abroad 0 0 0 120,290 13.43 1 1 ±0
Aosta Valley (UVSAFA) 0 24,609 37.03 1 0 0 1 ±0
Others 3,936,776 9.21 0 23,868 35.95 0 89,178 17.22 0 150,029 10.77 0 0
Total 31,751,350 100 301 66,439 100 1 544,838 100 7 948,067 100 6 315 ±0
Popular vote (Party)
PD
27.43%
M5S
23.79%
PdL
22.30%
Monti
9.13%
LN
4.33%
SEL
2.97%
FdI
1.92%
RC
1.79%
Others
6.34%
Popular vote (Coalition)
IBC
31.6%
CDX
30.7%
M5S
23.8%
Monti
9.1%
Others
5.4%
Seat distribution (Coalition)
IBC
39.1%
CDX
37.1%
M5S
17.1%
Monti
6.0%
Others
0.6%

Italy (except Aosta Valley and Trentino-Alto Adige)

Coalition Party Votes % Seats
Italy. Common Good Democratic Party (PD) 8,400,255 27.43 105
Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) 912,374 2.97 7
Democratic Centre (CD) 163,427 0.53 0
The Megaphone (Meg.) 138,581 0.45 1
Italian Socialist Party (PSI) 57,688 0.18 0
Moderates (Mod.) 14,358 0.04 0
Total 9,686,683 31.63 113
Centre-right coalition The People of Freedom (PdL) 6,829,373 22.30 98
Northern League (LN) 1,328,555 4.33 17
Brothers of Italy (FdI) 590,083 1.92 0
The Right (LD) 221,112 0.72 0
Pensioners' Party (PP) 123,458 0.40 0
Great South (GS) 122,100 0.39 1
Moderates in Revolution (MIR) 69,649 0.22 0
Party of SiciliansMPA (PdS–MPA) 48,618 0.15 0
Popular Agreement (IP) 24,979 0.08 0
Cantiere Popolare (CP) 21,685 0.07 0
Stop Taxes 19,298 0.06 0
Free for an Equable Italy (LIE) 6,769 0.02 0
Total 9,405,679 30.71 116
Five Star Movement (M5S) 7,285,850 23.79 54
With Monti for Italy 2,797,486 9.13 18
Civil Revolution (RC) 549,987 1.79 0
Act to Stop the Decline (FFD) 278,396 0.90 0
Workers' Communist Party (PCL) 113,935 0.37 0
New Force (FN) 81,519 0.26 0
Amnesty Justice Freedom List (AGL) 63,149 0.20 0
Tricolour Flame (FT) 52,106 0.17 0
I Love Italy (ALI) 40,781 0.13 0
CasaPound (CPI) 40,540 0.13 0
Venetian Independence (IV) 29,696 0.09 0
Venetian Republic League (LVR) 20,381 0.06 0
Ottavio Pasqualucci's
coalition
Let's halve the salary for politicians 7,968 0.02 0
No to the closure of hospitals 7,547 0.02 0
Long Live Italy 4,759 0.01 0
Total 20,274 0.06 0
Sardinian Action Party (PSd'Az) 18,602 0.06 0
Rural Civility Development (CRS) 13,945 0.04 0
Stand Up Abruzzo! 11,817 0.03 0
Marxist–Leninist Italian Communist Party (PCIM-L) 9,604 0.03 0
Veneto State (VS) 8,950 0.02 0
Italian Republican Party (PRI) 8,476 0.02 0
Women for Italy 7,610 0.02 0
Independence for Sardinia (IpS) 7,494 0.02 0
Padanian Union (UP) 7,324 0.02 0
United Populars (PU) 6,583 0.02 0
The Pirates 6,265 0.02 0
Italian Reformists (RI) 5,952 0.01 0
Sardinian Rebirth European Movement (MERIS) 5,580 0.01 0
Communist Alternative Party (PdAC) 5,176 0.01 0
Action Party for Development (PAS) 4,522 0.01 0
National Project (PN) 3,822 0.01 0
The Base Sardinia 3,386 0.01 0
All Together for Italy 3,155 0.01 0
Italian Missinian Refoundation (RMI) 2,717 0.00 0
EuWoman Movement 2,689 0.00 0
Building Democracy 2,635 0.00 0
Project Italy Movement (MPI) 1,451 0.00 0
Party of the South (PdS) 1,276 0.00 0
Italian Naturalist Movement (MNI) 1,170 0.00 0
Lucanian Community 882 0.00 0
Invalid/blank votes 1,133,805
Total 31,751,350 100.00 301
Registered voters/turnout 42,271,967 75.11
Source: Ministry of the Interior Archived 26 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine

Aosta Valley

The semi-autonomous region of Aosta Valley, in northwestern Italy, elects one member to the Senate through a direct first-past-the-post election. Some parties that formed electoral coalitions in Italy, might have opted to run against one another (or form different coalitions) in this particular region.

Candidate Party (or a unified coalition list) Total votes % Seats
Albert Lanièce (UV) Aosta Valley (UVSAFA) 24,609 37.03 1
Patrizia Morelli Autonomy Liberty Democracy (ALD) 20,430 30.75 0
Stefano Ferrero Five Star Movement (M5S) 13,760 20.71 0
Sandra Maria Cane Northern League (LN) 2,608 3.92 0
Paolo Dalbard The Right (LD) 2,014 3.03 0
Luigi Bracci Union of the Centre (UdC) 1,594 2.39 0
Enrico Martial Act to Stop the Decline (FFD) 814 1.22 0
Vilma Margaria CasaPound (CPI) 424 0.63 0
Giovanni Battista Mascia Nation Val d'Outa 186 0.27 0
Total valid votes 66,439
Blank/void/unassigned votes 5,280
Total votes 71,719 100.00 1
Registered voters/turnout 93,040 77.08

Source: Ministry of the Interior

Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol

The semi-autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige in north Italy, including South Tyrol, elects seven members to the Senate through its six constituencies. Each constituency elects one senator by first-past-the post, while the seventh seat attributed to the region is filled by the most underrepresented party based on the overall regional result (mixed-member proportional system). Some parties that formed electoral coalitions in Italy, might have opted to run against one another (or form different coalitions) in this particular region.

Party (or a unified coalition list) Total votes % Seats
SVPPATTPDUPT (only Trentino) 127,656 23.43 3
South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) (only Brixen and Merano constituencies) 97,141 17.82 2
The People of Freedom – Northern League (PdL–LN) 85,298 15.65 1
Five Star Movement (M5S) 82,499 15.14 0
PD – SVP (only Bolzano constituency) 47,623 8.74 1
Die Freiheitlichen (DF) (only South Tyrol) 42,094 7.72 0
Greens (VGV) (only Brixen and Merano constituencies) 12,808 2.34 0
Civil Revolution (RC) 11,262 2.06 0
Democratic Party (PD) (only Brixen and Merano constituencies) 8,797 1.61 0
Act to Stop the Decline (FFD) (only Bolzano constituency and Trentino) 8,796 1.61 0
With Monti for Italy (only Brixen and Merano constituencies) 6,646 1.39 0
Alto Adige in the Heart (AAC) 4,672 0.85 0
Moderates in Revolution (MIR) (only Trentino) 3,414 0.62 0
Brothers of Italy (FdI) (only Bolzano constituency) 3,414 0.62 0
The Right (LD) (only South Tyrol) 1,181 0.21 0
CasaPound (CPI) (only Bolzano constituency) 1,160 0.21 0
Party for All (only Bolzano constituency) 426 0.07 0
Total valid votes 544,838
Blank/void/unassigned votes 30,437
Total votes 575,275 100.00 7
Registered voters/turnout 707,666 81.29
Source: Ministry of the Interior Archived 26 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine

Overseas constituencies

Six members of the Senate are elected by Italians abroad. One member is elected for North America and Central America (including most of the Caribbean), two members for South America (including Trinidad and Tobago), two members for Europe, and one member for the rest of the world (Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Antarctica). Voters in these regions select candidate lists and may also cast a preference vote for individual candidates. The seats are allocated by proportional representation.

The election law allow for parties to form other electoral coalitions on the lists abroad, compared to the lists in Italy. In the 2013 electional list for the Senate all parties were listed independently without any coalitions formed. None of the parties were neither in internal coalitions at the mainland; so in 2013 the electoral situation abroad actually was not different compared to the electoral situation at the mainland.

Party (or a unified coalition list) Votes % Seats
Democratic Party (PD) 274,732 30.7 4
With Monti for Italy 177,402 19.8 1
The People of Freedom (PdL) 136,052 15.2 0
Associative Movement of Italians Abroad (MAIE) 120,290 13.4 1
Five Star Movement (M5S) 89,562 10.0 0
South American Union of Italian Emigrants (USEI) 38,223 4.3 0
Italians for Freedom 15,260 1.7 0
Civil Revolution (RC) 14,134 1.6 0
Union of Italians for South America 10,881 1.2 0
Act to Stop the Decline (FFD) 7,892 0.9 0
Communist Party (PC) 7,578 0.8 0
Together for the Italians 3,223 0.4 0
Invalid/blank/unassigned votes 108,150
Total 948,067 100.00 6
Registered voters/turnout 3,149,501 30.1
Source: Ministry of the Interior Archived 26 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine

Seats by region

Region Coalitions Majority bonus
winner
Senators
Others
Lombardy
Lombardy
11 (PD) 16 (PdL)
11 (LN)
7 (M5S) 4 (Monti) CDX 49
Campania
Campania
5 (PD)
1 (SEL)
16 (PdL) 5 (M5S) 2 (Monti) CDX 29
Lazio
Lazio
14 (PD)
2 (SEL)
6 (PdL) 6 (M5S) IBC 28
Sicily
Sicily
4 (PD)
1 (IM-LC)
14 (PdL) 6 (M5S) CDX 25
Veneto
Veneto
4 (PD) 9 (PdL)
5 (LN)
4 (M5S) 2 (Monti) CDX 24
Piedmont
Piedmont
13 (PD) 3 (PdL)
1 (LN)
3 (M5S) 2 (Monti) IBC 22
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
13 (PD) 4 (PdL) 4 (M5S) 1 (Monti) IBC 22
Apulia
Apulia
3 (PD)
1 (SEL)
11 (PdL) 4 (M5S) 1 (Monti) CDX 20
Tuscany
Tuscany
9 (PD)
1 (SEL)
3 (PdL) 4 (M5S) 1 (Monti) IBC 18
Calabria
Calabria
2 (PD) 5 (PdL)
1 (GS)
2 (M5S) CDX 10
Sardinia
Sardinia
4 (PD)
1 (SEL)
1 (PdL) 2 (M5S) IBC 8
Liguria
Liguria
5 (PD) 1 (PdL) 1 (M5S) 1 (Monti) IBC 8
Marche
Marche
5 (PD) 1 (PdL) 1 (M5S) 1 (Monti) IBC 8
Abruzzo
Abruzzo
1 (PD) 4 (PdL) 2 (M5S) CDX 7
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
4 (PD) 1 (PdL) 1 (M5S) 1 (Monti) IBC 7
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Trentino-South Tyrol
3 (SVPPATT
PDUPT)
1 (PDSVP)
1 (PdL) 2 (SVP) N/A 7
Umbria
Umbria
4 (PD) 1 (PdL) 1 (M5S) 1 (Monti) IBC 7
Basilicata
Basilicata
3 (PD)
1 (SEL)
1 (PdL) 1 (M5S) 1 (Monti) IBC 7
Molise
Molise
1 (PD) 1 (PdL) N/A 2
Aosta Valley
Aosta Valley
1 (VA) N/A 1
Italians abroad 4 (PD) 1 (Monti) 1 (MAIE) N/A 6
Total 121 117 54 19 4 315
Seat totals by constituency. As this is a MB election, seat totals are determined by the regional popular vote, benefiting the largest coalition in each region.

Reactions

In most of the rest of Europe, Bersani would have had more than enough support to form a government in his own right, as Italy Common Good won a decisive majority in the Chamber of Deputies. In Italy, unlike in most other parliamentary democracies, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate have equal power. Governments must thus maintain the confidence of both houses, and require a majority in both houses to pass legislation. As Italy Common Good was 35 seats short of a majority in the Senate, it could not form government on its own. Bersani said that Italy was in a "dramatic situation". Italian and global shares fell as the result became clear, with the value of the euro also dropping. Strong results for anti-austerity parties were interpreted as showing popular opposition to the austerity measures of the Monti government, with the populist Five Star Movement considered to have had a strong election. Analysts were uncertain as to how this new party would behave in the legislature.

On 26 February, La Repubblica ran the headline "Boost for Grillo: Italy ungovernable", whilst Il Giornale described Berlusconi's result as a miracle. Il Messaggero declared: "The winner is ungovernability."

Government formation

Enrico Letta in 2013

Formal talks to form a new government were expected to start on 10 March with the official confirmation of the results and the convening of the Italian Parliament. The formation task immediately turned out to be tough due to the absence of a clear majority in the Senate, with Giorgio Napolitano being unable to dissolve Parliament due to constitutional constraints forbidding a president from doing so during the last six months of his term.

On 22 March, after the election of house speakers Laura Boldrini and Piero Grasso, and after two days of consultations with all the parliamentary groups, Napolitano designated Pier Luigi Bersani with the task of forming a new government. Bersani immediately ruled out the possibility of a grand coalition with Berlusconi's right-wing coalition, and instead tried to form a minority government supported by the Five Star Movement. On 28 March, after formal talks with Napolitano, Bersani admitted there was no chance to form such a government. Given the troubles in forming a majority coalition, Napolitano then decided to directly form two informal bipartisan commissions with the task of agreeing on a number of shared reforms.

At the same time, a new presidential election was called for 18 April. However, the lack of a clear majority turned out to be problematic also in this scenario, as the first five ballots failed to elect a candidate. The Democratic Party split into several factions due to internal conflicts involving the support of party candidates Franco Marini and Romano Prodi, leading to Bersani's resignation as party leader. On the sixth ballot, in an unprecedented move, Napolitano was elected for a second term as Italian president.[citation needed]

Successively, Napolitano started talks again and on 24 April appointed the Democratic Party's deputy secretary Enrico Letta as designated prime minister on 28 April, he announced that he had managed to form a grand coalition of his Democratic Party, the People of Freedom, Civic Choice, the Union of the Centre and the Radicals that would take office and seek a vote of confidence the next day. The same day as the swearing-in a gunman opened fire at the prime minister's office, Palazzo Chigi, injuring two police officers. Letta told parliament in his inaugural speech "Italy is dying from austerity alone. Growth policies cannot wait." He added that there would not be a property tax imposed and that a "fairer" system for the less affluent was being worked. He also won the vote of confidence by 453 votes to 153.


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