This article or section contains information about an upcoming election. It is likely to contain information of a speculative nature and the content about candidates may change dramatically as the election approaches and more information becomes available.

Politics of Italy

Politics of Italy Political parties in Italy Elections in Italy Image File history File links free clipart image of ballot box and ballot File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Elections and Parties Series Democracy Representative democracy History of democracy Referenda Liberal democracy Representation Voting Voting systems Ideology Elections Elections by country Elections by calendar Electoral systems Politics Politics by country Political campaigns Political science Political philosophy Related topics Political parties Parties by country Parties by name Parties by... The contents of this page have been moved to http://en. ... Image taken from Presidenza della Repubblica, in Italian. ... Italy has been a democratic republic since June 2, 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum (see birth of the Italian Republic). ... Political parties in Italy are organized into two dominant political coalitions. ... Elections in Italy gives information on election and election results in Italy. ...

The next Italian general election is scheduled to be in 2006, unless the majority parliamentary group asks the President of the Republic for an early election. The Italian law system elects the two Chambers of the National Parliament at the same time for a maximum of five years. Since the last general election was on May 13, 2001, the next one should occur not later than May 2006. 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

The political battle

The House of Freedoms

The House of Freedoms, the government coalition currently led by the Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, will probably be made up by the same parties as in the previous general election, namely: Casa delle Libertà, or House of Freedoms in English, is an Italian right-wing party alliance, composed of Forza Italia, National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale), Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC), Socialist Party New PSI (Nuovo PSI); the small PRI and Northern League (Lega Nord), led by national media tycoon... This is a list of Prime Ministers of Italy. ... Silvio Berlusconi   listen? (born September 29, 1936 in Milan) is the current Prime Minister of Italy and is the leader of the Forza Italia political movement, a party which was established for his entry into politics. ...

• Forza Italia, personality-driven party led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi himself
• National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale, AN), conservative party led by Ministry for Foreign Affairs and former vice-premier Gianfranco Fini
• Democrats' Centre Union (Unione Democratici di Centro, UDC), moderate Catholic centrists led by current vice-premier Marco Follini
• Northern League (Lega Nord), autonomous right-wing Northern Italian party, led by former Reform Ministry Umberto Bossi

Socialist Party New PSI, a small party composed of former socialists of the late Italian Socialist Party and led by former 1980s and 1990s minister Gianni De Michelis has not decided if it will be part of the House of Freedoms for the general election. Forza Italia is an Italian political party. ... National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale, AN) was created in 1994 by Gianfranco Fini, the former Youth Front leader of the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI) that was formed in 1946 by supporters of the executed dictator Il Duce Benito Mussolini, Italys former fascist leader. ... Gianfranco Fini (born January 3, 1952 in Bologna) is an Italian politician, currently Foreign Minister in the Government led by Silvio Berlusconi. ... The Democrats Centre Union or Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (Italian: Unione Democratici di Centro or Unione dei Democratici Cristiani e Democratici di Centro) is a political party in Italy formed by a merger of the former Centro Cristiano Democratico and Cristiani Democratici Uniti parties. ... Marco Follini (born on 26 September 1954 in Rome, Italy) is a Italian politician, and National Secretary of the Democrats Centre Union party. ... The Northern League (Italian: Lega Nord) is an Italian political party that advocates autonomy for a part of Northern Italy they call Padania (see the article for usage of the name). ... Umberto Bossi, with a green Padania-inspired handkerchief. ... The Partito Socialista – Nuovo PSI is a small Italian party which professes a socialist ideology and claims to be the successor to the old Italian Socialist Party, which was disbanded after an impressive series of corruption scandals of the early 1990s (see Mani Pulite). ... The Italian Socialist Party (Partito Socialista Italiano, PSI) was a social democratic political party founded in Genoa in 1892. ... Gianni De Michelis Gianni De Michelis (born on 26 November 1940 in Venezia) is a Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Southern with the NPSI, and is therefore a Non-Inscrit in the European Parliament. ... Casa delle Libertà, or House of Freedoms in English, is an Italian right-wing party alliance, composed of Forza Italia, National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale), Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC), Socialist Party New PSI (Nuovo PSI); the small PRI and Northern League (Lega Nord), led by national media tycoon...

About the candidate who will lead the coalition to the general election, the coalition is experiencing some troubles about his name. In fact, Berlusconi has actually lost the support of UDC, who asked for a reform of the electoral law in a proportional way (which would likely favour it) and a sort of primary election for deciding formally the next candidate. Should a primary election occur, the UDC candidate would be the President of the Lower House Pierferdinando Casini. Pierferdinando (or Pier Ferdinando) Casini (born on 3 December 1955 in Bologna, Italy) is a Italian politician, President of the Chamber of Deputies, and member of the Democrats Centre Union (UDC) party. ...

The Union

The former Olive Tree coalition, expression of the Italian centre-left, now renamed as The Union (L'Unione), will probably be led for the election by former Prime Minister and former President of the European Commission Romano Prodi, who has already beaten Berlusconi in the 1996 elections. Prodi's candidacy is expected to be confirmed by a national primary election, to be held on 16, 2005 (for more information about the primary election, see the related paragraph below). For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ... LUnione (The Union in English) is a Italian left-wing coalition of parties. ... The President of the European Commission is notionally the highest ranking unelected official within the European Union. ... Romano Prodi (Scandiano, Reggio Emilia August 9, 1939) is an Italian politician and a former President of the European Commission. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... A primary election is an election in which registered voters in a jurisdiction select a political partys candidate for a later election (nominating primary). ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Moreover, the former coalition was enlarged in order to cover the whole ensemble of Italian left-wing factions. The parties in the alliance are:

• Popular-UDEUR, small catholic centrist party, the rightist wing of the coalition, led by Clemente Mastella;
• Daisy-Democracy is Freedom, centrist party (catholic, social-liberals, ecologist) led by former Rome's Mayor and former 2001 Olive Tree candidate Francesco Rutelli;
• European Republican Movement, social-liberal party led by Luciana Sbarbati
• Democrats of the Left, social-democratic party, led by Piero Fassino
• Italian Democratic Socialists, small social-democratic party led by Enrico Boselli
• Federation of the Greens, green and ecologist party led by Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio
• Italy of Values-List Di Pietro, small anti-corruption movement led by popular former Mani Pulite magistrate Antonio Di Pietro
• Party of Italian Communists, communist party, born in 1998 as split of the Communist Refoundation Party, led by Oliviero Diliberto
• Communist Refoundation Party, euro-communists led by Fausto Bertinotti

In addition to that, four of the most moderate parties of the coalition, Democrats of the Left, Daisy-Democracy is Freedom, European Republican Movement and Italian Democratic Socialists, have joined a parties' confederation, named All United in the Olive Tree. The Popular-UDEUR (Italian: Popolari-UDEUR) is a small centrist political party in Italy, led by Clemente Mastella. ... Daisy-Democracy is Freedom (full name in Italian: Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita: Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy) is a political party in Italy. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ... Francesco Rutelli (Rome, June 14, 1954) is an Italian politician, formerly mayor of Rome. ... The European Republican Movement (Italian: Movimento Repubblicani Europei) of Italy is a small center left liberal party, part of the Olive Tree coalition and the ALDE group in the European Parliament. ... Luciana Sbarbati Luciana Sbarbati (born on 10 May 1946 in Roma) is a Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Central with the Movimento Repubblicani Europei, Member of the Bureau of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the European Parliaments Committee on... Democrats of the Left (Italian: Democratici di Sinistra) is the main Italian left-wing political party, part of the Ulivo electoral coalition. ... Piero Fassino (born October 7, 1949 in Avigliana, Turin) is the current secretary of the Democrats of the Left (DS), currently the major opposition party at the Italian parliament. ... The Italian Democratic Socialists (Italian: Socialisti Democratici Italiani), or SDI, is a small social democratic party of moderate-left policies, heir of the old Italian Socialist Party and led by Enrico Boselli. ... The Federation of the Greens (Federazione dei Verdi, or just Verdi) is the Italian Green Party. ... Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio (Salerno, March 13, 1959), is an Italian politician. ... The Italy of Values-List Di Pietro (Italia dei Valori - Lista Di Pietro) is a liberal party and anti-corruption political movement in Italy, headed by former magistrate and Clean Hands campaigner Antonio Di Pietro. ... Antonio di Pietro Antonio Di Pietro (born Montenero di Bisaccia, Italy, October 2, 1950) is an Italian Senator and was a magistrate in the team of the so-called Mani Pulite. Born to a poor rural family of Molise, very young he went Germany to work as a waiter in... The Party of Italian Communists (Italian: Partito dei Comunisti Italiani, also translated into English as Italian Communists Party) is a political party in Italy. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... The Communist Refoundation Party (Italian: Partito della Rifondazione Comunista) is an Italian reformed communist party. ... Fausto Bertinotti Fausto Bertinotti (born on 22 March 1940 in Sesto San Giovanni, Milan) is an Italian politician and leader of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista. ... Democrats of the Left (Italian: Democratici di Sinistra) is the main Italian left-wing political party, part of the Ulivo electoral coalition. ... Daisy-Democracy is Freedom (full name in Italian: Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita: Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy) is a political party in Italy. ... The European Republican Movement (Italian: Movimento Repubblicani Europei) of Italy is a small center left liberal party, part of the Olive Tree coalition and the ALDE group in the European Parliament. ... The Italian Democratic Socialists (Italian: Socialisti Democratici Italiani), or SDI, is a small social democratic party of moderate-left policies, heir of the old Italian Socialist Party and led by Enrico Boselli. ... For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ...

Political issues

The election date

On July 2005, President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi asked current PM Silvio Berlusconi about the opportunity for an early election for the first half of April 2006, in order to prevent a big political deadlock (the mandate of President Ciampi himself will be over in May 2006 and a newly-elected government will not likely be in office within three weeks). Berlusconi has however refused the deal, claiming he will stay in office until the due date of his term. [1] [2] Pres. ... Silvio Berlusconi   listen? (born September 29, 1936 in Milan) is the current Prime Minister of Italy and is the leader of the Forza Italia political movement, a party which was established for his entry into politics. ...

The par condicio law

One of the main topics that might be relevant for this general election is the par condicio law. Its name, in Latin, means equal treatment; it is a special law which guarantees all the main majority and opposition political forces to have equal media treatment, in terms of times and spaces, and, furthermore, denies political commercials for TV and radio outside some dedicated transmissions. Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Berlusconi has declared several times that he wants the par condicio law to be abrogated. [3] Critics and opponents say that Berlusconi's willingness to have the law abolished are dictated by his almost complete control of 6 channels (he is owner of Mediaset, which broadcasts three national private channels, and controls indirectly, as Head of Government, the three RAI public broadcasting channels). Mediaset is the first italian commercial TV network. ... RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) is the primary Italian radio and television broadcasting system. ...

Tax Breaks

Before winning the 2001 election and becoming Prime Minister of Italy, Berlusconi signed in a TV show a Contract with Italians, where he promised, if elected, to fulfill at least four of the five points included in it. One of the main points regarded a tax break for income levels, whereas the Olive Tree policy was essentially to maintain a progressive taxation system. A national general election was held in Italy on May 13, 2001 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. ... This is a list of Prime Ministers of Italy. ... For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ...

The generalised tax break was somehow performed in 2005, and included in the last Financial Measure. The opposition blamed Berlusconi for doing the tax break in one of the worst economic periods for the country, with no coverage for the resulting debt, and accused Berlusconi's allies of accepting the tax break in return for better power positions; during the negotiations for the Financial Measure, the Alleanza Nazionale leader, and, at that date, vice-premier, Gianfranco Fini, was moved to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and UDC leader Marco Follini, who had no ministerial role before that date, was chosen to replace Fini. The National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale) is a right-wing Italian party, formed from most of the former Italian Social Movement (Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) and conservative elements of the former Christian Democrats, the National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale, AN) was created in 1994. ... Gianfranco Fini (born January 3, 1952 in Bologna) is an Italian politician, currently Foreign Minister in the Government led by Silvio Berlusconi. ...

The foreign reputation

A good friend of George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin, Berlusconi supported the American invasion of Iraq, and, during the Italian EU presidency, suggested to MEP Martin Schulz, during a talk, a role of kapo for a hypothetical movie. [4] [5] This diplomatic incident, which cooled down the Italy-Germany foreign relations for a long period, followed another of Berlusconi's gaffes in 2001, when he declared the Western civilization to be "superior to Islam". [6] George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States and a former Governor of the State of Texas. ... Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian: Владимир Владимирович Путин, Vladimir Vladimirovič Putin   pronunciation?, Pútin; born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and the current President of the Russian Federation. ... Martin Schulz Martin Schulz (born on 20 December 1955 in Hehlrath) is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament with the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Chairman of the Socialist Group and . ...

Several times, before and after his election as prime minister, the weekly worldwide magazine The Economist accused Berlusconi to be essentially "unfit to lead Italy". [7] [8] [9]. Front cover of September 3, 2005 edition. ...

Attempts for a Constitutional Reform

During the last few months of 2004, the House of Freedoms coalition proposed a large and consistent reform of the current Italian Constitution, which was formulated in 1948 [10]. It proposes several changes to the current political system, from a parliamentary system to a more presidential-centered one, with several references to devolution, the main programme point of the autonomist government party Northern League. 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Devolution or home rule is the granting of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ... The Northern League (Italian: Lega Nord) is an Italian political party that advocates autonomy for a part of Northern Italy they call Padania (see the article for usage of the name). ...

The Italian law prescribes that the Parliament accept twice, in each of the chambers and with at least three months' interval, every modification to the constitution, and, if it passes with less than 2/3 of the votes, a national referendum on the modification can be held. Since the opposition coalition is clearly against the new constitution reform, defining it as dangerous, separatist, and somehow antidemocratic [11], a prospective referendum might be called for 2006 or 2007. The first procedural step, that is, the approval by the Chamber of Deputies, was done successfully for October 2004, but with less than 2/3 of the lower-house votes. [12] The second favourable polling, in Senate, was done on March 2005. [13] A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The House of Freedoms' proposal of constitutional reform has been done in a unilateral way, with no agreement with the opposition, whereas the current Italian Constitution was written after World War II by all the national political forces (except the fascists), ranging from liberals, to christian democrats, to socialists, to communists and others. Wikipedia will not tolerate irrelevant posts. ... Founded back in [1922], the PLI was one of the smaller parties in the old party system until 1994. ... SITO ISTITUZIONALE DELLA DEMOCRAZIA CRISTIANA Christian Democracy, (Democrazia Cristiana), the Christian democratic party of Italy, commonly called the democristiani or DC, dominated government for nearly half a century until its demise amid a welter of corruption allegations in 1992-94. ... The Italian Socialist Party (Partito Socialista Italiano, PSI) was a social democratic political party founded in Genoa in 1892. ... Logo of the Italian Communist Party The Partito Comunista Italiano (PCI) or Italian Communist Party emerged as Partito Comunista dItalia or Communist Party of Italy from a secession by the Leninist comunisti puri tendency from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) during that bodys congress on 21 January 1921...

The 2005 regional elections

For more information, see Italian Regional Elections, April 3 and 4, 2005 and Regional Election of Basilicata, April 17 and 18, 2005 The Italian Regional elections of April 3 and 4, 2005 were a major victory (11-2) for the centre-left coalition LUnione, led by Romano Prodi. ... Due to some legal issues with the presentation of the list of Alternativa Sociale, Basilicata did not vote along with the other Italian regions in the Italian Regional Elections, April 3 and 4, 2005, but a couple of weeks later instead. ...

On April 3 and 4, 2005, regional elections were held in 13 Italian regions (the election in Basilicata was put off for two weeks because of irregularities). The final result actually reversed the political scenario of Italy, with left-wing opposition coalition The Union winning in 11 regions, while right-wing government coalition House of Freedoms maintaining only two of the eight regions they were ruling before the election. These results have brought some right-wing members, including vice-premier Marco Follini, to ask for early national election. Basilicata is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Puglia to the east, Calabria to the south, it has one short coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea and another of the Gulf of Taranto in the Ionian Sea to the south-east. ...

The left-wing primary election

For more information, see The Union (political coalition)#Primary Elections LUnione (The Union in English) is a Italian left-wing coalition of parties. ...

On October 16, 2005, a primary election will be held to officially declare the one and only candidate for the left-wing coalition The Union. [14] October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Major candidate Romano Prodi, who has been one of the main supporters of the primary election, will challenge euro-communist leader Fausto Bertinotti, green Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, popular former magistrate Antonio Di Pietro, catholic centrist politician Clemente Mastella, independent candidate Ivan Scalfarotto and far left-wing candidate Simona Panzino. The election will also be opened to non-Italian official residents, even if they will not be eligible to vote for the general election. Romano Prodi (Scandiano, Reggio Emilia August 9, 1939) is an Italian politician and a former President of the European Commission. ... Fausto Bertinotti Fausto Bertinotti (born on 22 March 1940 in Sesto San Giovanni, Milan) is an Italian politician and leader of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista. ... Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio (Salerno, March 13, 1959), is an Italian politician. ... Antonio di Pietro Antonio Di Pietro (born Montenero di Bisaccia, Italy, October 2, 1950) is an Italian Senator and was a magistrate in the team of the so-called Mani Pulite. Born to a poor rural family of Molise, very young he went Germany to work as a waiter in...

Economical issues

On September 22, 2005, the Italian minister for economy, Domenico Siniscalco, resigned from his office in the third Berlusconi government. Siniscalco, a "technical" minister with no party affiliation, was nominated in July 2004, in order to replace Giulio Tremonti. Siniscalco is the fourth minister to resign since 2001. His resignation is considered to be strongly linked to the Fazio scandal, and the rejection, from several majority parties, such as Northern League and UDC, of his proposal for the 2006 Financial Bill. [15] September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Giulio Tremonti (born August 18, 1947) is the current Italian minister of Economy and Finance under the government of Silvio Berlusconi. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Antonio Fazio (born 1936/37) is the Governor of the Bank of Italy, a lifetime appointment (although legislation establishing a fixed-term appointment is now expected) and considered one of the most powerful positions in Italy. ...

After Siniscalco's resignation, several from the House of Freedoms asked for a immediate replacement, with a political minister and without any long-time interim approach, such as in 2002, when Berlusconi standed for 11 months (January to November) as minister of foreign affairs after the resignation of Riccardo Ruggiero (according to Italian law, when a ministry is vacant, the Prime Minister assumes the position until a new replacement is nominated). The Union asked instead for an early general election, to be held possibly in February 2006. 2002(MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

The government crisis was eventually resolved the same night, appointing back Giulio Tremonti as the new ministry. Tremonti, who is one of the vice-prime ministers, had already held the position from 2001 to 2004, when he resigned, being then replaced exactly by Siniscalco himself. Giulio Tremonti (born August 18, 1947) is the current Italian minister of Economy and Finance under the government of Silvio Berlusconi. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The electoral system

Italy has currently in use a mixed electoral system, in which 75% of the seats are assigned by uninominal voting system, and the remaining 25% by proportional system.

The majority of the seats are assigned by several local elections, which cover each small zone of the country, allowing a representative to exist for every area in the country.

The Italian Chamber of Deputies is composed of 630 seats, while the Senate of Republic has 315 (exactly half).

Proposals for a new voting system

A new proposal of law for a proportional-only electoral system one has been presented to the Chamber of Deputies on September 13, 2005, that is just seven or eight months before the general election. This proportional proposal of reform, strongly wished by the Catholic centre-right Democrats' Centre Union, proposes a 4% minimum threshold for having any seat, and a majority bonus of (at least) 340 seats for the winning coalition, in which the total votes, for each coalition, are computed on summing single votes of the coalition parties which have at least a 4% of the national votes. Should the new proposal be approved by the parliament, it will overturn the result of a 1993 referendum, which brought about the abolition of the old proportional voting system. [16] [17] September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Democrats Centre Union or Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (Italian: Unione Democratici di Centro or Unione dei Democratici Cristiani e Democratici di Centro) is a political party in Italy formed by a merger of the former Centro Cristiano Democratico and Cristiani Democratici Uniti parties. ...

An electoral survey published on September 15, 2005 by the national newspaper La Repubblica [18] claims that, should the new proposal of electoral reform become law, the House of Freedoms would win the next elections 340-290, even if they would have only the 45% of votes, against the 50% of the opposition coalition The Union. With the current electoral system, instead, the left-wing Union would win the election 363-263. All that is easily explained because of the composition of the left-wing Union, that is made up of several small parties with less than 4% of national votes. September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Democrats' Centre Union, commenting the proposal, asked for the abolition of the 4% cut-off clause, whereas the National Alliance did not show any favour to this attempt of reform, with its leader Gianfranco Fini claimed to want first vote for the constitutional reform, and then for the new voting system, on condition that the 4% cut-off would not be repealed. [19] The Democrats Centre Union or Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (Italian: Unione Democratici di Centro or Unione dei Democratici Cristiani e Democratici di Centro) is a political party in Italy formed by a merger of the former Centro Cristiano Democratico and Cristiani Democratici Uniti parties. ... National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale, AN) was created in 1994 by Gianfranco Fini, the former Youth Front leader of the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI) that was formed in 1946 by supporters of the executed dictator Il Duce Benito Mussolini, Italys former fascist leader. ... Gianfranco Fini (born January 3, 1952 in Bologna) is an Italian politician, currently Foreign Minister in the Government led by Silvio Berlusconi. ...

This proposal of law has been strongly questioned by the opposition coalition, which defined it as an "attempted coup", included its leader Romano Prodi, who commented it as "an absolutely inadmissible proposal" that "let think to the needing to think over more about a democratic attitude". [20] Romano Prodi (Scandiano, Reggio Emilia August 9, 1939) is an Italian politician and a former President of the European Commission. ...

Notably, some smaller opposition parties, such as Communist Refoundation Party and Popular-UDEUR, support a proportional electoral law; nevertheless, they declared to be against an electoral reform to be approved by this parliament, because it would be changed too close to the 2006 general election, for which they do not want the rules to be changed. The Communist Refoundation Party (Italian: Partito della Rifondazione Comunista) is an Italian reformed communist party. ... The Popular-UDEUR (Italian: Popolari-UDEUR) is a small centrist political party in Italy, led by Clemente Mastella. ...

It must be noted that Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi had been, in his past, a strong supporter of a uninominal electoral law; in 1995, he even defined the uninominal principle as "our religion", talking about his coalition. [21] Silvio Berlusconi   listen? (born September 29, 1936 in Milan) is the current Prime Minister of Italy and is the leader of the Forza Italia political movement, a party which was established for his entry into politics. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Political & Electoral Surveys
• Il Termometro Politico (The Political Thermometer)

Image File history File links Icon for Wikipedia links to Italian language pages. ... Image File history File links Icon for Wikipedia links to Italian language pages. ...

See also

• Elections in Italy
• Politics of Italy
• European Parliament Election, 2004 (Italy)

Elections in Italy gives information on election and election results in Italy. ... Italy has been a democratic republic since June 2, 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum (see birth of the Italian Republic). ... Elections to the European Parliament were held in Italy on June 13, 2004. ...

A national general election was held in Italy on May 13, 2001 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. ... Elections in Italy gives information on election and election results in Italy. ...