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1976 Italian general election

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Field	Value
election_name	1976 Italian general election
country	Italy
type	legislative
ongoing	no
previous_election	1972 Italian general election
previous_year	1972
outgoing_members	Legislature VI of Italy
next_election	1979 Italian general election
next_year	1979
elected_members	Legislature VII of Italy
seats_for_election	All 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies316 seats needed for a majorityAll 315 elective seats in the Senate162 seats needed for a majority
election_date	20 June 1976
registered	40,426,658 (C)34,928,214 (S)
turnout	37,755,090 (C)93.4% (0.2 pp)
32,621,581 (S)93.4% (0.1 pp)
image1
leader1	Benigno Zaccagnini
leader_since1	21 July 1975
party1	Christian Democracy (Italy)
leaders_seat1	Bologna (C)
seats1	263 (C) / 135 (S)
seat_change1	3 (C) / 0 (S)
popular_vote1	14,218,298 (C)
12,227,353 (S)
percentage1	38.7% (C)
38.8% (S)
swing1	0.0 pp (C)
0.7 pp (S)
image2
leader2	Enrico Berlinguer
leader_since2	17 March 1972
party2	Italian Communist Party
leaders_seat2	Rome (C)
seats2	227 (C) / 116 (S)
seat_change2	48 (C) / 22 (S)
popular_vote2	12,622,728 (C)
10,637,772 (S)
percentage2	34.4% (C)
33.8% (S)
swing2	7.3 pp (C)
7.2 pp (S)
image3
leader3	Francesco De Martino
leader_since3	13 March 1971
party3	Italian Socialist Party
leaders_seat3	Naples (C)
seats3	57 (C) / 29 (S)
seat_change3	8 (C) / 4 (S)
popular_vote3	3,542,998 (C)
3,208,164 (S)
percentage3	9.6% (C)
10.2% (S)
swing3	0.4 pp (C)
0.5 pp (S)
image4
leader4	Giorgio Almirante
leader_since4	29 June 1969
party4	Italian Social Movement
leaders_seat4	Rome (C)
seats4	35 (C) / 15 (S)
seat_change4	21 (C) / 11 (S)
popular_vote4	2,238,339 (C)
2,086,430 (S)
percentage4	6.1% (C)
6.6% (S)
swing4	2.6 pp (C)
2.6 pp (S)
image5
leader5	Pier Luigi Romita
leader_since5	10 October 1976
party5	Italian Democratic Socialist Party
leaders_seat5	Turin (C)
seats5	15 (C) / 6 (S)
seat_change5	14 (C) / 5 (S)
popular_vote5	1,239,492 (C)
974,940 (S)
percentage5	3.4% (C)
3.1% (S)
swing5	0.5 pp (C)
2.3 pp (S)
image6
leader6	Oddo Biasini
leader_since6	2 March 1975
party6	Italian Republican Party
leaders_seat6	Bologna (C)
seats6	14 (C) / 6 (S)
seat_change6	1 (C) / 1 (S)
popular_vote6	1,135,546 (C)
846,415 (S)
percentage6	3.1% (C)
2.7% (S)
swing6	0.2 pp (C)
0.4 pp (S)
map_image	1976 Italian general election - Results.svg
map_size	450px
map_caption	Results of the election in the Chamber and Senate.
title	Prime Minister
posttitle	Prime Minister after the election
before_election	Aldo Moro
before_party	Christian Democracy (Italy)
after_election	Giulio Andreotti
after_party	Christian Democracy (Italy)

32,621,581 (S)93.4% (0.1 pp)

12,227,353 (S) 38.8% (S) 0.7 pp (S)

10,637,772 (S) 33.8% (S) 7.2 pp (S)

3,208,164 (S) 10.2% (S) 0.5 pp (S)

2,086,430 (S) 6.6% (S) 2.6 pp (S)

974,940 (S) 3.1% (S) 2.3 pp (S)

846,415 (S) 2.7% (S) 0.4 pp (S)

The 1976 Italian general election was held in Italy on 20 June 1976. It was the first election after the voting age was lowered to 18.

Christian Democracy (DC) won roughly the same number of votes as it had four years ago. The Italian Communist Party performed well, winning seven percent more votes than the previous election, while minor parties lost votes to the Christian Democrats due to fears of communism. The historic Italian Liberal Party was nearly annihilated. Two new parties made their debut in this election: the liberal Radical Party, which had led a successful referendum on divorce, and the far-left Trotskyist Proletarian Democracy.

Electoral system

The pure party-list proportional representation had traditionally become the electoral system 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 the national level, where they were divided using the Hare quota, and automatically distributed to best losers into the local lists.

For the Senate, 237 single-seat constituencies were established. Candidates could be elected in such constituencies by winning a supermajority of votes. The only candidates elected this way were German minority candidates in South Tirol. All remaining votes and seats were grouped in party lists and regional constituencies, where a D'Hondt method was used: on the lists, candidates with the best percentages were elected.

Historical background

Although the 1970s in Italy was marked by violence, it was also a time of great social and economic progress. Following the civil disturbances of the 1960s, Christian Democracy and its allies in government (including the Socialist Party) introduced a wide range of political, social, and economic reforms. Regional governments were introduced in the spring of 1970, with elected councils provided with the authority to legislate in areas like public works, town planning, social welfare, and health. Spending on the relatively poor South was significantly increased, while new laws relating to index-linked pay, public housing, and pension provision were also passed. In 1975, a law was passed entitling redundant workers to receive at least 80% of their previous salary for up to a year from a state insurance fund. Living standards also continued to rise, with wages going up by an average of about 25% a year from the early 1970s onwards, and between 1969 and 1978, average real wages rose by 72%. Various fringe benefits were raised to the extent that they amounted to an additional 50% to 60% on wages, the highest in any country in the Western world. In addition, working hours were reduced so that by the end of the decade they were lower than any other country apart from Belgium. Some categories of workers who were laid off received generous unemployment compensation which represented only a little less than full wages, often years beyond eligibility. Initially, these benefits were primarily enjoyed by industrial workers in northern Italy where the “Hot Autumn” had its greatest impact, but these benefits soon spread to other categories of workers in other areas. In 1975, the escalator clause was strengthened in wage contracts, providing a high proportion of workers with nearly 100% indexation, with quarterly revisions, thereby increasing wages nearly as fast as prices.

A statute of worker’s rights that was drafted and pushed into enactment in 1970 by the Socialist Labour minister Giacomo Brodolini, greatly strengthened the authority of the trade unions in the factories, outlawed dismissal without just cause, guaranteed freedom of assembly and speech on the shop floor, forbade employers to keep records of the union or political affiliations of their workers, and prohibited hiring except through the state employment office.

In 1973, the Italian Communist Party's General Secretary Enrico Berlinguer launched a proposal for a "democratic alliance" with the Christian Democracy, embraced by Aldo Moro. This alliance was inspired by the Allende Government in Chile, that was composed by a left-wing coalition Popular Unity and supported by the Christian Democratic Party. After the Chilean coup of the same year, there was an approach between PCI and DC, that became a political alliance in 1976. In this time, the Berlinguer's PCI attempted to distance his party from the USSR, with the launch of "Eurocommunism" along with the Spanish Communist Party and the French Communist Party.

In July 1975, a Christian leftist, Benigno Zaccagnini, became the new Secretary of Christian Democracy.

Parties and leaders

Party	Leader	Seats in 1972	C
Christian Democracy (Italy)}}"	Christian Democracy (DC)	Christian democracy	Benigno Zaccagnini
Italian Communist Party}}"	Italian Communist Party (PCI)	Eurocommunism	Enrico Berlinguer
Italian Socialist Party}}"	Italian Socialist Party (PSI)	Democratic socialism	Francesco De Martino
Italian Social Movement}}"	Italian Social Movement (MSI)	Neo-fascism	Giorgio Almirante
Italian Democratic Socialist Party}}"	Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI)	Social democracy	Pier Luigi Romita
Italian Liberal Party}}"	Italian Liberal Party (PLI)	Conservative liberalism	Valerio Zanone
Italian Republican Party}}"	Italian Republican Party (PRI)	Social liberalism	Oddo Biasini
Radical Party (Italy)}}"	Radical Party (PR)	Radicalism	Marco Pannella
Proletarian Democracy}}"	Proletarian Democracy (DP)	Trotskyism	Mario Capanna

Results

Faced with the rise of the PCI, many centrist politicians and businessmen began to think how to avoid the possibility of a Communist victory that could turn Italy into a Soviet-aligned State. The DC leadership thought to gradually involve the Communists in governmental policies so as to moderate their aims, as had been done with the Socialists previously. The man who was chosen to lead this attempt did not belong to the leftist wing of the DC, as had happened with the PSI moderation effort, but the moderate leader and former-PM Giulio Andreotti, so as to balance the situation and calm the markets. The first government reliant on support from the communists was thus formed, when the PCI decided to grant its external support. However this process, called National Solidarity, was dramatically ended by the terrorist attacks of the Red Brigades, which saw the kidnapping and murder of former-PM Aldo Moro. The country was shocked by these killings, and the Communists returned to full opposition. Giulio Andreotti's subsequent attempt to form a classic centre-left government with the Socialists failed, and a new general election was called for 1979.

Chamber of Deputies

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/−
Christian Democracy (Italy)}}"		Christian Democracy (DC)	14,209,519	38.71	262
Italian Communist Party}}"		Italian Communist Party (PCI)	12,614,650	34.37	228
Italian Socialist Party}}"		Italian Socialist Party (PSI)	3,540,309	9.64	57
Italian Social Movement}}"		Italian Social Movement (MSI)	2,238,339	6.10	35
Italian Democratic Socialist Party}}"		Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI)	1,239,492	3.38	15
Italian Republican Party}}"		Italian Republican Party (PRI)	1,135,546	3.09	14
Proletarian Democracy}}"		Proletarian Democracy (DP)	557,025	1.52	6
Italian Liberal Party}}"		Italian Liberal Party (PLI)	480,122	1.31	5
Radical Party (Italy)}}"		Radical Party (PR)	394,439	1.07	4
South Tyrolean People's Party}}"		South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP)	184,375	0.50	3
	PCI – PSI – PdUP	26,748	0.07	1
Other}}"		Others	87,014	0.24	0
Invalid/blank votes	1,045,512	–	–	–
Total	37,755,090	100	630	±0
Registered voters/turnout	40,426,658	93.39	–	–
Source: [Ministry of the Interior](http://elezionistorico.interno.it/index.php?tpel=C&dtel=20/06/1976&tpa=I&tpe=A&lev0=0&levsut0=0&es0=S&ms=S)

Results by constituency

Constituency	Total
seats	Seats won	DC	PCI	PSI	MSI-DN	PSDI	PRI	DP	PLI	PR	Others	Christian Democracy (Italy)}};"	Italian Communist Party}};"	Italian Socialist Party}};"	Italian Social Movement}};;"	Italian Democratic Socialist Party}};"	Italian Republican Party}};;"	Proletarian Democracy}};;"	Italian Liberal Party}};;"	Radical Party (Italy)}};;"	Others}};;"	Turin	38	Cuneo	16	Genoa	22	Milan	52	Como	19	Brescia	21	Mantua	8	Trentino	9	Verona	28	Venice	16	Udine	13	Bologna	27	Parma	19	Florence	15	Pisa	14	Siena	9	Ancona	16	Perugia	12	Rome	55	L'Aquila	14	Campobasso	4	Naples	39	Benevento	18	Bari	23	Lecce	18	Potenza	8	Catanzaro	23	Catania	29	Palermo	25	Cagliari	16	Aosta Valley	1	Trieste	3	Total	630	262	228	57	35	15	14	6	5	4	4
13	15	4	1	1	1	1	1	1
7	5	1		1	1		1
8	9	2	1		1			1
19	19	6	2	1	2	1	1	1
9	5	2	1		1	1
12	5	2	1			1
4	3	1
4	1	1							3
16	6	3	1	1	1
8	5	2		1
6	4	2		1
7	14	2	1	1	2
6	10	2		1
5	9	1
6	7	1
3	5	1
7	7	1	1
4	6	1	1
19	20	4	5	2	2	1	1	1
7	5	1	1
3	1
15	14	3	4	1	1	1
9	5	1	2	1
10	8	2	2	1
8	6	2	2
4	3	1
10	8	3	2
12	8	2	4	1	1		1
12	7	2	2	1	1
7	7	1	1
									1
2	1

Senate of the Republic

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/−
Christian Democracy (Italy)}}"		Christian Democracy (DC)	12,227,353	38.88	135
Italian Communist Party}}"		Italian Communist Party (PCI)	10,637,772	33.83	116
Italian Socialist Party}}"		Italian Socialist Party (PSI)	3,208,164	10.20	29
Italian Social Movement}}"		Italian Social Movement (MSI)	2,086,430	6.63	15
Italian Democratic Socialist Party}}"		Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI)	974,940	3.10	6
Italian Republican Party}}"		Italian Republican Party (PRI)	846,415	2.69	6
Italian Liberal Party}}"		Italian Liberal Party (PLI)	438,265	1.39	2
	PLI – PRI – PSDI	334,898	1.06	2
Radical Party (Italy)}}"		Radical Party (PR)	265,947	0.85	0
South Tyrolean People's Party}}"		South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP)	158,584	0.50	2
Proletarian Democracy}}"		Proletarian Democracy (DP)	78,170	0.25	0
	PCI – PSI	52,922	0.17	1
Italian Liberal Party}}"		PLI – PRI	51,353	0.16	0
Valdostan Union}}"		DC – RV – UV – UVP – PRI	22,917	0.07	1
Other}}"		Others	65,301	0.22	0
Invalid/blank votes	1,888,027	–	–	–
Total	32,621,581	100	315	±0
Registered voters/turnout	34,928,214	93.4	–	–
Source: [Ministry of the Interior](http://elezionistorico.interno.it/index.php?tpel=S&dtel=20/06/1976&tpa=I&tpe=A&lev0=0&levsut0=0&es0=S&ms=S)

Results by constituency

Constituency	Total
seats	Seats won	DC	PCI	PSI	MSI	PSDI	PRI	PLI	Others	Christian Democracy (Italy)}};"	Italian Communist Party}};"	Italian Socialist Party}};"	Italian Social Movement}};"	Italian Democratic Socialist Party}};;"	Italian Republican Party}};;"	Italian Liberal Party}};;"	Others}};;"	Piedmont	25	Aosta Valley	1	Lombardy	48	Trentino-Alto Adige	7	Veneto	23	Friuli-Venezia Giulia	7	Liguria	10	Emilia-Romagna	22	Tuscany	20	Umbria	7	Marche	8	Lazio	27	Abruzzo	7	Molise	2	Campania	29	Apulia	20	Basilicata	7	Calabria	11	Sicily	26	Sardinia	8	Total	315	135	116	29	15	6	6	2	6
10	9	2	1	1	1	1
							1
21	16	6	2	1	1	1
3	1	1					2
14	6	2		1
4	2	1
4	4	1					1
7	12	2			1
7	10	2					1
2	4	1
4	4
10	10	2	3	1	1
4	3
1							1
12	10	2	3	1	1
9	7	2	2
3	3	1
5	4	1	1
11	8	2	3	1	1
4	3	1

Maps

Seat distribution by constituency for the Chamber of Deputies (left) and Senate (right).}}}}

Foreign involvement

The rise of the PCI sparked significant concerns among Italy's NATO allies about a communist government in Italy. Through the Information Research Department (IRD), the British Foreign Office took several measures to prevent a PCI victory, including sending journalists anti-communist lines to use in their articles and circulating forged RIA Novosti pamphlets to bolster claims that the Soviet Union was interfering in the election.

Notes

References

[[Dieter Nohlen]] & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1048 {{ISBN. 978-3-8329-5609-7
The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796 by [[Christopher Duggan (historian). Christopher Duggan]]
Italy, a difficult democracy: a survey of Italian politics by Frederic Spotts and Theodor Wieser
(16 June 1976). "U.S. Role Again Becomes An Election Issue in Italy". The New York Times.
(2 October 2022). "Revealed: the secret British plan to keep Italy’s communists from power". The Guardian.

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