| Election Name: | 1996 Italian general election |
| Country: | Italy |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1994 Italian general election |
| Previous Year: | 1994 |
| Outgoing Members: | Legislature XII of Italy |
| Next Election: | 2001 Italian general election |
| Next Year: | 2001 |
| Elected Members: | Legislature XIII of Italy |
| Seats For Election: | All 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies316 seats needed for a majority315 seats in the Senate163 seats needed for a majority |
| Election Date: | 21 April 1996 |
| Registered: | 48,744,846 42,889,825 |
| Turnout: | 40,401,774 82.9% (3.4 pp) 35,260,803 82.2% (3.6 pp) |
| 1Blank: | Constituency vote |
| 2Blank: | % and swing |
| 3Blank: | Party vote |
| 4Blank: | % and swing |
| Leader1: | Romano Prodi |
| Party1: | Independent politician |
| Alliance1: | The Olive Tree |
| Color1: | EF3E3E |
| Leader Since1: | 6 March 1995 |
| Leaders Seat1: | Bologna |
| Seats1: | 285 / 157 |
| Seat Change1: | 20 / 4 |
| 1Data1: | 15,747,455 13,444,978 |
| 2Data1: | 42.0% 42.2% |
| 3Data1: | 13,014,235 |
| 4Data1: | 34.7% |
| Leader2: | Silvio Berlusconi |
| Party2: | Forza Italia |
| Alliance2: | Pole for Freedoms |
| Color2: | 0A6BE1 |
| Leader Since2: | 18 January 1994 |
| Leaders Seat2: | Milan |
| Seats2: | 246 / 116 |
| Seat Change2: | 26 / 40 |
| 1Data2: | 15,027,030 12,185,020 |
| 2Data2: | 40.1% 37.4% |
| 3Data2: | 15,772,203 |
| 4Data2: | 42.1% |
| Leader4: | Umberto Bossi |
| Party4: | Northern League |
| Alliance4: | — |
| Leader Since4: | 4 December 1989 |
| Leaders Seat4: | Lombardy |
| Seats4: | 59 / 27 |
| Seat Change4: | 58 / 33 |
| 1Data4: | 4,038,239 3,394,733 |
| 2Data4: | 10.8% 10.4% |
| 3Data4: | 3,776,354 |
| 4Data4: | 10.1% |
| Leader5: | Fausto Bertinotti |
| Party5: | PRC |
| Alliance5: | Progressives |
| Leader Since5: | 22 January 1994 |
| Leaders Seat5: | Piedmont |
| Seats5: | 35 / 10 |
| Seat Change5: | 3 / 8 |
| 1Data5: | 982,505 934,974 |
| 2Data5: | 2.6% 2.9% |
| 3Data5: | 3,213,748 |
| 4Data5: | 8.6% |
| Map Size: | 350px |
| Prime Minister | |
| Posttitle: | Prime Minister after the election |
| Before Election: | Lamberto Dini |
| Before Party: | Independent politician |
| After Election: | Romano Prodi |
| After Party: | The Olive Tree (Italy) |
The 1996 Italian general election was held on 21 April 1996 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left The Olive Tree, won the election, narrowly defeating Silvio Berlusconi, who led the centre-right Pole for Freedoms.
For the election, the Northern League of Umberto Bossi ran alone after having left the Berlusconi I Cabinet in 1994, causing a crisis which drove President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro to appoint a technocratic cabinet led by Lamberto Dini, which in turn lost its parliamentary support in 1995, forcing Scalfaro to dissolve the Italian Parliament. The Communist Refoundation Party, led by Fausto Bertinotti, made a pre-electoral alliance with The Olive Tree, presenting its own candidates, supported by Prodi's coalition, mainly in some safe leftist constituencies, in exchange for supporting Olive Tree candidates on the other ones, and ensuring external support for a Prodi government.
The intricate electoral system of Italy, nicknamed as Mattarellum after Sergio Mattarella, who was the official proponent, provided a 75% of the seats on the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house) as elected by a plurality voting system, whereas the remaining 25% was assigned by proportional representation with a minimum threshold of 4%. If possible, the method associate on the Senate was even more complicated: 75% of seats by uninominal method, and 25% by a special proportional method that actually assigned the remaining seats to minority parties.
In December 1994, following the communication of a new investigation from Milan magistrates that was leaked to the press, Umberto Bossi, leader of the Northern League, left the coalition claiming that the electoral pact had not been respected, forcing Berlusconi to resign from office and shifting the majority's weight to the centre-left side. The Northern League also resented the fact that many of its MPs had switched to Forza Italia, allegedly lured by promises of more prestigious portfolios.
Berlusconi remained as caretaker prime minister for a little over a month until his replacement by a technocratic government headed by Lamberto Dini. Dini had been a key minister in the Berlusconi cabinet, and Berlusconi said the only way he would support a technocratic government would be if Dini headed it. In the end, Dini was only supported by most opposition parties and not by Forza Italia and Northern League.
In December 1995, Dini resigned as Prime Minister and President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro decided to begin consultations to form a government, supported by all the parties in the Italian Parliament to make constitutional reforms. In a TV debate on 19 January 1996, both Silvio Berlusconi and Democratic Party of the Left leader Massimo D'Alema supported constitutional reforms; however, there were many problems on this theme in both coalition, as Gianfranco Fini and Romano Prodi wanted a snap election, not sure that the reforms would be helpful for the country. On 16 February 1996, a snap election was called.
On 19 February 1996, the outgoing Prime Minister Lamberto Dini announced that he would run in the election with a new party allied with The Olive Tree rather than Berlusconi's Pole of Freedoms. Shortly after, Berlusconi claimed that Dini "copied our electoral programme".[1]
Another important declaration was that of Umberto Bossi, the leader of the regionalist Northern League, which was very important in 1994 to help Berlusconi winning the election. Bossi said that his party would not support Berlusconi anymore and run alone in the election. At the same time, Prodi's coalition made a pre-electoral agreement with Communist Refoundation Party in which Fausto Bertinotti's party undertook to support Prodi's government after the election in case of no parliamentary majority.
On 25 March 1996, Berlusconi organised a manifestation in Milan against taxes (The Tax Day) attended by many Milanese artisans; on the same day in Turin, Prodi was heavily contested during his electoral speech and accused of not wanting to lower taxes.[2]
| Coalition | Party | Main ideology | Party leader | Coalition leader | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Olive Tree | Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) | Democratic socialism | Massimo D'Alema | Romano Prodi | |||
| (PPI–UD–PRI–SVP) | Christian democracy | Franco Marini | |||||
| Italian Renewal (RI) | Liberalism | Lamberto Dini | |||||
| Federation of the Greens (FdV) | Green politics | Franco Corleone | |||||
| Labour Federation (FL) | Social democracy | Valdo Spini | |||||
| Italian Socialists (SI) | Social democracy | Enrico Boselli | |||||
| The Network (LR) | Anti-corruption politics | Leoluca Orlando | |||||
| bgcolor= | Segni Pact (PS) | Christian liberalism | Mario Segni | ||||
| Pole for Freedoms | Forza Italia (FI) | Liberal conservatism | Silvio Berlusconi | Silvio Berlusconi | |||
| National Alliance (AN) | National conservatism | Gianfranco Fini | |||||
| Christian Democratic Centre (CCD) | Christian democracy | Pier Ferdinando Casini | |||||
| United Christian Democrats (CDU) | Christian democracy | Rocco Buttiglione | |||||
| Northern League (LN) | Regionalism | Umberto Bossi | |||||
| Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) | Communism | Fausto Bertinotti | |||||
| Pannella–Sgarbi List (LPS) | Liberalism | Marco Pannella | |||||
| Tricolour Flame (FT) | Neo-fascism | Pino Rauti | |||||
See main article: Results of the 1996 Italian general election.
| align=left colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Coalition | Party | Proportional | First-past-the-post | align=left rowspan=2 | Total seats | align=left rowspan=2 | +/– | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||||||
| The Olive Tree | Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) | 7,894,118 | 21.06 | 26 | 15,747,455 | 42.01 | 146 | 172 | +48 | |||
| 2,554,072 | 6.81 | 4 | 65 | 69 | +18 | |||||||
| Italian Renewal (RI) | 1,627,380 | 4.34 | 8 | 18 | 26 | New | ||||||
| Federation of the Greens (FdV) | 938,665 | 2.50 | 0 | 14 | 14 | +3 | ||||||
| The Network (LR) | 0 | 3 | 3 | −5 | ||||||||
| Ladin Autonomist Union (UAL) | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | ||||||||
| Total seats | 38 | 247 | 285 | – | ||||||||
| Pole for Freedoms | Forza Italia (FI) | 7,712,149 | 20.57 | 37 | 15,027,030 | 40.08 | 86 | 123 | −9 | |||
| National Alliance (AN) | 5,870,491 | 15.66 | 28 | 65 | 93 | −17 | ||||||
| 2,189,563 | 5.84 | 12 | 28 | 30 | +3 | |||||||
| Total seats | 77 | 169 | 246 | – | ||||||||
| Northern League (LN) | 3,776,354 | 10.07 | 20 | 4,038,239 | 10.77 | 39 | 59 | −59 | ||||
| Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) | 3,213,748 | 8.57 | 20 | 982,505 | 2.62 | 15 | 35 | −3 | ||||
| South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) | 0 | 156,708 | 0.42 | 3 | 3 | ±0 | ||||||
| Southern Action League (LAM) | 72,062 | 0.19 | 0 | 82,373 | 0.22 | 1 | 1 | ±0 | ||||
| Aosta Valley (VdA) | 0 | 37,431 | 0.10 | 1 | 1 | ±0 | ||||||
| Others | 1,635,796 | 4.39 | 0 | 1,223,368 | 3.78 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | ||||
| Total | 37,484,398 | 100.00 | 155 | 37,295,109 | 100.00 | 475 | 630 | |||||
| Parties and coalitions | Vote | % | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pole for Freedoms (PpL) | 15,027,030 | 40.09 | 169 | ||||
| The Olive Tree (Ulivo) | 14,447,548 | 38.54 | 228 | ||||
| Northern League (LN) | 4,038,239 | 10.77 | 39 | ||||
| The Olive Tree – Venetian Autonomy League (Ulivo–LAV) | 997,534 | 2.66 | 14 | ||||
| Progressives | 982,505 | 2.62 | 15 | ||||
| Tricolour Flame (FT) | 624,558 | 1.67 | 0 | ||||
| The Olive Tree – Sardinian Action Party (Ulivo–PSd'Az) | 269,047 | 0.72 | 4 | ||||
| South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) | 156,708 | 0.42 | 3 | ||||
| Southern Action League (LAM) | 82,373 | 0.22 | 1 | ||||
| Pannella-Sgarbi List (LPS) | 69,406 | 0.19 | 0 | ||||
| Clean Hands (MP) | 68,443 | 0.18 | 0 | ||||
| Socialist Party (PS) | 44,786 | 0.12 | 0 | ||||
| Sardigna Natzione (SN) | 42,246 | 0.11 | 0 | ||||
| Aosta Valley (VdA) | 37,431 | 0.10 | 1 | ||||
| Democracy and Freedom (DL) | 33,326 | 0.09 | 1 | ||||
| Renovation | 28,988 | 0.08 | 0 | ||||
| Humanist Party (PU) | 27,694 | 0.07 | 0 | ||||
| Italian Renaissance Movement (MRI) | 24,074 | 0.06 | 0 | ||||
| Union for South Tyrol (UfS) | 23,032 | 0.06 | 0 | ||||
| We Sicilians – Sicilian National Front (NS–FNS) | 20,102 | 0.05 | 0 | ||||
| Pact for the Agro | 18,836 | 0.05 | 0 | ||||
| Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) | 17,996 | 0.05 | 0 | ||||
| Greens Greens | 12,905 | 0.03 | 0 | ||||
| Environmentalists | 12,299 | 0.03 | 0 | ||||
| Liberal Federalists (FL) | 11,563 | 0.03 | 0 | ||||
| Aosta Valley for the Olive Tree | 11,526 | 0.03 | 0 | ||||
| Social Democracy (DS) | 9,760 | 0.03 | 0 | ||||
| North-East Union (UNE) | 9,669 | 0.03 | 0 | ||||
| Independent Group Freedom (GIL) | 8,805 | 0.02 | 0 | ||||
| Natural Law Party (PLN) | 7,708 | 0.02 | 0 | ||||
| Moderates | 6,208 | 0.02 | 0 | ||||
| New Energies | 5,627 | 0.02 | 0 | ||||
| New Democracy (ND) | 5,333 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Development and Legality | 5,275 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| For Marche | 4,317 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Resurgence of the South | 4,291 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Free North Autonomy | 4,013 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| New Ways | 3,904 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| State of Friuli | 3,345 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Liberist Solidary Alliance | 3,219 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Ingenuity and Audacity | 2,805 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Venetian Solidarity | 2,655 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| South Pole Movement | 2,310 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Federalist Italian League (LIF) | 2,268 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Trieste Women's Pact | 2,121 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Others | 71,281 | 0.19 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 37,295,109 | 100.00 | 475 | ||||
| Source: Ministry of the Interior | |||||||
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) | 7,894,118 | 21.06 | 26 | ||||
| Forza Italia (FI) | 7,712,149 | 20.57 | 37 | ||||
| National Alliance (AN) | 5,870,491 | 15.66 | 28 | ||||
| Northern League (LN) | 3,776,354 | 10.07 | 20 | ||||
| Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) | 3,213,748 | 8.57 | 20 | ||||
| Populars for Prodi (PPI–UD–PRI–SVP) | 2,554,072 | 6.81 | 4 | ||||
| 2,189,563 | 5.84 | 12 | |||||
| Italian Renewal (RI) | 1,627,380 | 4.34 | 8 | ||||
| Federation of the Greens (FdV) | 938,665 | 2.50 | 0 | ||||
| Pannella-Sgarbi List (LPS) | 702,988 | 1.88 | 0 | ||||
| Tricolour Flame (FT) | 339,351 | 0.91 | 0 | ||||
| Socialist Party (PS) | 149,441 | 0.40 | 0 | ||||
| Southern Action League (LAM) | 72,062 | 0.19 | 0 | ||||
| North-East Union (UNE) | 63,934 | 0.17 | 0 | ||||
| Union for South Tyrol (UfS) | 55,548 | 0.15 | 0 | ||||
| Clean Hands (MP) | 44,935 | 0.12 | 0 | ||||
| We Sicilians – Sicilian National Front (NS–FNS) | 41,001 | 0.11 | 0 | ||||
| Sardinian Action Party (PSd'Az) | 38,002 | 0.10 | 0 | ||||
| 25,788 | 0.07 | 0 | |||||
| Sardigna Natzione (SN) | 23,355 | 0.06 | 0 | ||||
| Independent Group Freedom | 17,451 | 0.05 | 0 | ||||
| Environmentalists | 15,560 | 0.04 | 0 | ||||
| Humanist Party (PU) | 14,601 | 0.04 | 0 | ||||
| Renovation | 13,677 | 0.04 | 0 | ||||
| Pact for the Agro | 12,297 | 0.03 | 0 | ||||
| Social Democracy | 9,319 | 0.02 | 0 | ||||
| Italian Renaissance Movement (MRI) | 8,886 | 0.02 | 0 | ||||
| Tuscan Autonomist Movement (MAT) | 8,627 | 0.02 | 0 | ||||
| Natural Law Party (PLN) | 8,298 | 0.02 | 0 | ||||
| New Democracy | 8,185 | 0.02 | 0 | ||||
| Liberal Federalists (FL) | 6,475 | 0.02 | 0 | ||||
| For Marche | 5,545 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| New Energies | 5,393 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Development and Legality | 5,347 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Free North Autonomy | 4,965 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Federalist Party (PF) | 3,743 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Resurgence of the South | 3,084 | 0.01 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 100.00 | 37,484,398 | 155 | ||||
| Invalid/blank/unassigned votes | – | 2,917,376 | – | ||||
| Total | – | 40,401,774 | – | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 82.88% | 48,744,846 | – | ||||
| Source: Ministry of the Interior | |||||||
| align=left colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Coalition | Party | First-past-the-post | Proportional Seats | Total seats | align=left rowspan=2 | +/– | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | |||||||||
| The Olive Tree | Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) | 13,444,978 | 41.21 | 134 | 23 | 102 | +26 | ||||
| Italian People's Party (PPI) | 27 | −4 | |||||||||
| Federation of the Greens (FdV) | 14 | +7 | |||||||||
| Italian Renewal (RI) | 11 | New | |||||||||
| The Network (LR) | 1 | −5 | |||||||||
| Venetian Autonomy League (LAV) | 1 | +1 | |||||||||
| Sardinian Action Party (PSd'Az) | 1 | +1 | |||||||||
| Total seats | 157 | – | |||||||||
| Pole for Freedoms | Forza Italia (FI) | 12,185,020 | 37.35 | 67 | 49 | 48 | +13 | ||||
| National Alliance (AN) | 43 | −4 | |||||||||
| Christian Democratic Centre (CCD) | 15 | +3 | |||||||||
| United Christian Democrats (CDU) | 10 | New | |||||||||
| Total seats | 116 | – | |||||||||
| Northern League (LN) | 3,394,733 | 10.41 | 18 | 9 | 27 | −33 | |||||
| Progressives | 934,974 | 2.87 | 10 | 0 | 10 | −8 | |||||
| Tricolour Flame (FT) | 747,487 | 2.29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | New | |||||
| Pannella-Sgarbi List (LPS) | 509,826 | 1.56 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ±0 | |||||
| Socialist Party (PS) | 286,426 | 0.88 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| The Fir – South Tyrolean People's Party – PATT | 178,425 | 0.55 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −1 | |||||
| Clean Hands | 109,113 | 0.33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| League for Autonomy – Lombard Alliance | 106,313 | 0.33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| North-East Union (UNE) | 72,541 | 0.22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| We Sicilians – Sicilian National Front (NS–FNS) | 71,841 | 0.22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Southern Action League (LAM) | 66,750 | 0.20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | |||||
| Greens Greens | 61,434 | 0.19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | |||||
| Pensioners' Party (PP) | 60,640 | 0.19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | |||||
| Social Democracy | 60,016 | 0.18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Federation of Italian Civic Lists | 55,793 | 0.17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Sardigna Natzione (SN) | 44,713 | 0.14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Aosta Valley (VdA) | 27,493 | 0.08 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ±0 | |||||
| Piedmont Nation of Europe | 26,951 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | |||||
| Environmentalists | 26,756 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Independent Group Freedom (GIL) | 23,301 | 0.07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Union for South Tyrol (UfS) | 19,330 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Tuscan Autonomist Movement (MAT) | 18,691 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | |||||
| Pact for the Agro | 17,980 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Renovation | 16,216 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Right of the People | 6,710 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Natural Law Party (PLN) | 10,371 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Democrats for Progress | 5,688 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) | 5,681 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Popular Movement of Moralization (MPM) | 5,297 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Azure Alps | 5,144 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Democratic Alternative for the Roman Castles | 4,524 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Progressive People's Party (PPP) | 4,450 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | |||||
| For a Normal Country | 3,976 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| European Dolomite Region | 2,898 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Free North Autonomy | 2,411 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Hit the Center | 2,178 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Total | 32,624,584 | 100.00 | 232 | 83 | 315 | ||||||
| Source: Ministry of the Interior | |||||||||||