General elections were held in Italy on 24 and 25 February 2013 to determine the 630 members of the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
and the 315 elective members of the
Senate of the Republic for the 17th
Italian Parliament
The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...
. The centre-left alliance
Italy Common Good
Italia. Bene Comune (Italy. Common Good, IBC) was a centre-left political list and electoral alliance in Italy created to stand at the 2013 Italian general election. It ''de facto'' ended on 28 April 2013, with PD's new leader Enrico Letta forming ...
, 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
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...
in the popular vote. Close behind, the new anti-establishment
Five Star Movement
The Five Star Movement ( , M5S) is a political party in Italy, led by Giuseppe Conte. It was launched on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a political activist and comedian, and Gianroberto Casaleggio, a web strategist. The party is primarily d ...
of comedian
Beppe Grillo
Giuseppe Piero "Beppe" Grillo (; born 21 July 1948) is an Italian comedian, actor, Blogger (person), blogger, and politician.
He has been involved in politics since 2009 as the co-founder (together with Gianroberto Casaleggio) of the Italian Fi ...
became the third force, well ahead of the centrist coalition of outgoing Prime Minister
Mario Monti
Mario Monti (; born 19 March 1943) is an Italian politician, economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a Technocratic government (Italy), technocratic government in the wake of the European sov ...
. In the Senate, no political group or party won an outright majority, resulting in a
hung parliament
A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...
.
In April 2013 a
grand coalition
A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political party, political parties of opposing political spectrum, political ideologies unite in a coalition government.
Causes of a grand coali ...
was formed, consisting of Italy Common Good, the Berlusconi coalition and the centrists.
Berlusconi and his allies withdrew support of the coalition and formed a new
Forza Italia
(FI; ) was a centre-right liberal-conservative political party in Italy, with Christian democratic,Chiara Moroni, , Carocci, Rome 2008 liberalOreste Massari, ''I partiti politici nelle democrazie contempoiranee'', Laterza, Rome-Bari 2004 (esp ...
six months later, which meant that the PD dominated the government coalition until the
2018 Italian general election
The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March 2018 after the Italian Parliament was Dissolution of parliament in Italy, dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Voters were electing the 630 members of the Chamber of ...
.
Background
Following the
European sovereign debt crisis
The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The ...
, Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...
resigned from his position in November 2011. He was replaced as prime minister by technocratic Senator for Life
Mario Monti
Mario Monti (; born 19 March 1943) is an Italian politician, economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a Technocratic government (Italy), technocratic government in the wake of the European sov ...
.
In December 2012, Berlusconi announced his intention to run for prime minister for a sixth time. Shortly after, his party,
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom (, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL launched by Silvio Berlusconi as an electoral list, including and National Alliance, on 27 February for the 2008 Italian general election. The list was later t ...
(PdL), withdrew
endorsement Endorsement (alternatively spelled "indorsement") may refer to a:
* testimonial, a written or spoken statement promoting or advertising a product
* political endorsement, publicly declaring support for a candidate
* form added to an insurance poli ...
for
Monti's Cabinet and Monti announced he would resign after sending the annual budget to the
Italian Parliament
The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...
, which was expected by Christmas. The
Constitution of Italy
The Constitution of the Italian Republic () was ratified on 22 December 1947 by the Constituent Assembly of Italy, Constituent Assembly, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against, before coming into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the p ...
then requires an election to be held within 70 days of the dissolution of the parliament by President
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano (; 29 June 1925 – 22 September 2023) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first to be re-elected to the office. In office for 8 years and 244 days, he was the longest-serving pre ...
. Monti's resignation came after he said that, following the PdL's withdrawal, he "matured
othe 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
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individ ...
of the
Italian economy. On the other hand, PdL parliamentary party leader
Angelino Alfano
Angelino Alfano (; born 31 October 1970) is an Italian former politician who served as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 12 December 2016 to 1 June 2018.
Alfano was Italian Minister of the Interior, Minister o ...
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
nyway andit'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
The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...
leaders, such as Germany's
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
and former French President
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
.
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
Wolfgang Schäuble (; 18 September 1942 – 26 December 2023) was a German politician whose political career spanned more than five decades. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the longest-serving member of any democratic G ...
added that he did not foresee "any destabilization in the euro-zone
utexpect
dItaly 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

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
Pier Ferdinando Casini (; born 3 December 1955) is an Italian politician. He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy), President of the Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006.
Casini is the honorary president of the Centrist Democra ...
's
Union of the Centre (UdC),
Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini (born 3 January 1952) is a retired Italian politician who served as the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2008 to 2013 and Deputy Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006. He is the former leader of the far-right Italian ...
's
Future and Freedom
Future and Freedom (), whose full name was Future and Freedom for Italy (''Futuro e Libertà per l'Italia'', abbreviated to FLI), was a list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy, comprising both liberal conservatism, liberal an ...
(FLI),
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (; born 31 August 1947) is an Italian businessman who is best known as the former chairman of Ferrari, Fiat S.p.A., Confindustria and Alitalia.
Montezemolo descends from an aristocratic family from the region of Pied ...
's
Toward the Third Republic
Toward the Third Republic (''Verso la Terza Repubblica'') was a political manifesto for a new centrism, centrist list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy launched during a convention in Rome on 17 November 2012. It aimed at form ...
(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
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
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
A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...
Pier Luigi Bersani
Pier Luigi Bersani (; born 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 ...
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
Enrico Letta (; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy
The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republ ...
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
The Mayor of Florence is an elected politician who, along with Florence's City Council of 36 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Florence. The title is the equivalent of Lord Mayor in the meaning of an actual executive leader ...
Matteo Renzi
Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...
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
Left Ecology Freedom (, SEL) was a democratic socialist political party in Italy whose bulk was formed by former members of the Communist Refoundation Party.
The party's leader was Nichi Vendola, a former President of Apulia. On 17 December 201 ...
(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
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
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
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
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
With Monti for Italy () was an electoral coalition of political parties in Italy, formed for the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti and his reform plans. Its platform was based on Monti's manifesto titled "C ...
", and in the Lower House as a coalition of several components.

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
(), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
's practice session (the football club he owns along with
Mediaset
Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original ...
, 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
The Five Star Movement ( , M5S) is a political party in Italy, led by Giuseppe Conte. It was launched on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a political activist and comedian, and Gianroberto Casaleggio, a web strategist. The party is primarily d ...
(M5S) leader
Beppe Grillo
Giuseppe Piero "Beppe" Grillo (; born 21 July 1948) is an Italian comedian, actor, Blogger (person), blogger, and politician.
He has been involved in politics since 2009 as the co-founder (together with Gianroberto Casaleggio) of the Italian Fi ...
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
Stop may refer to:
Places
*Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Facilities
* Bus stop
* Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...
), 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
Italy of Values (, IdV) is a populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party was founded in 1998 by former ''Mani pulite'' prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who entered politics in 1996 and finally left the party in 2014. IdV has ai ...
(IdV),
Orange Movement
The Orange Movement (''Movimento Arancione'', MA) was a list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy.
It was launched on 12 December 2012 by Luigi de Magistris (politician), Luigi de Magistris, mayor of Naples and until then member ...
(MA),
Communist Refoundation Party
The Communist Refoundation Party (, PRC) is a Communism, communist List of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy that emerged from a split of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1991. The party's secretary is Maurizio Acerbo, who r ...
(PRC),
Party of Italian Communists
The Party of Italian Communists (, PdCI) was a communist party in Italy established in October 1998 by splinters from the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC). The split was led by Armando Cossutta, founder and early leader of the PRC, who oppos ...
(PdCI) and
Federation of the Greens
The Federation of the Greens (, FdV), frequently referred to as Greens (''Verdi''), was a green political party in Italy. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the Federation of Green Lists and the Rainbow Greens.
The FdV was part of the Eur ...
(FdV). It is led by celebrity magistrate
Antonio Ingroia
Antonio Ingroia (born 31 March 1959) is an Italian lawyer, ex magistrate, politician and leader of Civil Revolution, with Luigi de Magistris, the mayor of Naples. Ingroia is also the director of a United Nations investigation against narcotra ...
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
Angelino Alfano (; born 31 October 1970) is an Italian former politician who served as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 12 December 2016 to 1 June 2018.
Alfano was Italian Minister of the Interior, Minister o ...
. 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
The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...
and twelve deputies for
Italians residing abroad) are allocated based on the national vote in a form of
party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a system of proportional representation based on preregistered Political party, political parties, with each party being Apportionment (politics), allocated a certain number of seats Apportionm ...
with a series of
thresholds
Thresholds is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1959 serving persons with mental illnesses and substance abuse problems in Illinois. Thresholds is the largest community-based mental healthcare provider in Illinois, providing service ...
encouraging parties to form coalitions. Voters cast one vote for a
closed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list systems where voters can effectively vote for only political parties as a whole; thus they have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. If voters had some in ...
, 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 Party-list proportional representation
Apportionment methods
The quota or divide-and-rank methods make up a category of apportionment rules, i.e. algorithms for allocating seats in a legislative body among multiple groups (e.g. parties or f ...
. To guarantee a working majority, the coalition or party that obtains a
plurality
Plurality may refer to:
Law and politics
* Plurality decision, in a decision by a multi-member court, an opinion held by more judges than any other but not by an overall majority
* Plurality (voting), when a candidate or proposition polls more ...
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
The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...
elects one deputy through a
first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
system. Italians abroad are divided into four constituencies, which elect a total of twelve seats based on
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
.
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
A majority bonus system (MBS, also called a minority-friendly majoritarian system) is a mixed-member, partly-proportional electoral system that gives extra seats in a legislature to the party with a plurality or majority of seats. Typically, th ...
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
Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...
, that is granted two seats in the Senate, seats are allocated proportionally, with no majority bonus. The region of
Aosta Valley
The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...
, which elects one senator, uses a
first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
system. Finally, the region of
Trentino-South Tyrol elects seven senators with a limited
compensatory system
Compensation or correction is an optional mechanism of electoral systems, which corrects the results of one part of the system based on some criterion to achieve a certain result, usually to make it more proportional. There are in general two for ...
: six senators are elected in six
single-member constituencies
A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a Multiwinner voting, multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders.
In some countries, such as ...
, 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
A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
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
Opinion polling
Results
Chamber of Deputies
Overall results
Italy (except Aosta Valley)
;Notes
Results by region (except Aosta Valley)
Aosta Valley
The autonomous region of
Aosta Valley
The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...
, in northwestern Italy, elects one member to the Chamber of Deputies through a direct
first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
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.
Overseas constituencies

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
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
), four members for South America (including
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
), five members for Europe, and one member for the rest of the world (Africa, Asia, Oceania, and
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
). 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
Left Ecology Freedom (, SEL) was a democratic socialist political party in Italy whose bulk was formed by former members of the Communist Refoundation Party.
The party's leader was Nichi Vendola, a former President of Apulia. On 17 December 201 ...
to provide a list as an independent party, instead of making themselves available as part of the mainlands coalition with
Democratic Party.
;Notes
Map
Senate of the Republic
Overall results
Italy (except Aosta Valley and Trentino-Alto Adige)
Aosta Valley
The semi-autonomous region of
Aosta Valley
The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...
, in northwestern Italy, elects one member to the Senate through a direct
first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
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.
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.
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
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
), two members for South America (including
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
), two members for Europe, and one member for the rest of the world (Africa, Asia, Oceania, and
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
). 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.
Seats by region
Map
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
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
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
(; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...
'' ran the headline "Boost for Grillo: Italy ungovernable",
whilst ''
Il Giornale
(), known from its founding in 1974 until 1983 as (), is an Italian-language daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 28,933 in May 2023. In 2006, it was considered one of Italy's main national newspapers.
History an ...
'' described Berlusconi's result as a miracle.
''
Il Messaggero
''Il Messaggero'' (English: "The Messenger") is an Italian Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper based in Rome, Italy. It has been in circulation since 1878. It is one of the main national newspapers in Italy.
History and profile
''Il Messaggero'' ...
'' declared: "The winner is ungovernability."
Government formation

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 Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...
.
The formation task immediately turned out to be tough due to the absence of a clear majority in the Senate, with
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano (; 29 June 1925 – 22 September 2023) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first to be re-elected to the office. In office for 8 years and 244 days, he was the longest-serving pre ...
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
Pier Luigi Bersani (; born 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 ...
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.
[Amend Article 66 of the Constitution so as to give to an independent and impartial tribunal the decision on the electoral procedure, on ineligibility and incompatibility, taking it from Parliament: this is one of the proposals the 'sages' suggested in their report to the Head of State ]
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
Franco Marini (9 April 1933 – 9 February 2021) was an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-left Democratic Party. From 2006 to 2008, he was the president of the Senate.
Biography Trade unionist
Marini was born in San P ...
and
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...
, 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.
Successively, Napolitano started talks again and on 24 April appointed the Democratic Party's deputy secretary
Enrico Letta
Enrico Letta (; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy
The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republ ...
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
A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...
the next day.
The same day as the swearing-in a gunman opened fire at the prime minister's office,
Palazzo Chigi
The Chigi Palace ( ) is a palace and former noble residence in Rome which is the seat of the Council of Ministers and the official residence of the Prime Minister of Italy. It is located in the Piazza Colonna, next to Palazzo Montecitorio, s ...
, 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.
Notes
Literature
*
*
Preview of chapter.* (''Uses data from the Italian general election of 2013.'')
References
External links
2013 Italian Parliamentary Election Pre-Election Report ''The Monkey Cage'', 19 February 2013
Italy Election Data ''European Journal of Political Research-Political Data Yearbook: Interactive''
{{Italian elections
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
General election
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...