Italian general election, 2008 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A snap

Snap election

A snap election is an election called earlier than expected. Generally it refers to an election in a parliamentary system called when not required , usually to capitalize on a unique electoral opportunity or to decide a pressing issue...

general election was held in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President

President of the Italian Republic

The President of the Italian Republic is the head of state of Italy and, as such, is intended to represent national unity and guarantee that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president's term of office lasts for seven years....

Giorgio Napolitano

Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...

dissolved parliament

Parliament of Italy

The Parliament of Italy is the national parliament of Italy. It is a bicameral legislature with 945 elected members . The Chamber of Deputies, with 630 members is the lower house. The Senate of the Republic is the upper house and has 315 members .Since 2005, a party list electoral law is being...

on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government

2008 Italian political crisis

On 24 January 2008 Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi lost a vote of confidence in the Senate by a vote of 161 to 156 votes, causing the downfall of his government. Prodi's resignation led President Giorgio Napolitano to request the president of the Senate, Franco Marini, to assess the...

of Prime Minister Romano Prodi

Romano Prodi

Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...

in a January 2008 Senate

Italian Senate

The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...

vote, and the unsuccessful tentative appointment of Franco Marini

Franco Marini

Franco Marini is an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-left Democratic Party. From 2006 to 2008 he was President of the Italian Senate.-Biography:...

with the aim to change the current electoral law. Under Italian law, elections must be held within 70 days of the dissolution. The voting determined the leader of Italy's 62nd government since the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The coalition led by ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...

from the People of Freedom party defeated that of former Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

Mayor Walter Veltroni

Walter Veltroni

Walter Veltroni, Knight Grand Cross, is an Italian writer, journalist and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He served as Mayor of Rome from 2001 to 2008.-Biography:Walter Veltroni was...

of the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (Italy)

The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....

Electoral system

Italians voted in this election with the same electoral system used in 2006

Italian general election, 2006

In the Italian general election, 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006 the incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the center-right House of Freedoms, was narrowly defeated by Romano Prodi, leader of the center-left The...

, based on party-list representation. This electoral systems allow parties to formally define coalitions. The coalition with a plurality of votes nationwide then obtains an absolute majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies. This is not in Senate's case, as absolute majorities of seats are awarded regionally.

Parties

Major competitors in the election were expected to be Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi

, as leader of the centre-right opposition coalition, and Walter Veltroni

Walter Veltroni

, leader of the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (Italy)

. Berlusconi's right coalition was leading by a significant margin in opinion polls. The 71-year-old Berlusconi, who was twice prime minister—from May 1994 to January 1995 and again from May 2001 to May 2006—is not considered too old for the job although he had heart surgery since leaving office.

Veltroni's campaign has been compared to Barack Obama's presidential run

Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008

Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...

in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The most apparent of the similarities is his slogan, "Si può fare" (literally: "it can be done").

Following the calling of the election, Veltroni stated his party will not make any alliance in either Chamber, choosing instead to run alone with its own platform, and challenged Berlusconi to do likewise with his Forza Italia

Forza Italia

Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....

party. The main four left-wing parties not part of the PD decided to contest the election together under the banner of The Left – The Rainbow

The Left – The Rainbow

The Left – The Rainbow , frequently referred as Rainbow Left , was a left-wing federation of parties in Italy....

. On February 8, Berlusconi announced Forza Italia

Forza Italia

and Gianfranco Fini

Gianfranco Fini

Gianfranco Fini is an Italian politician, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, leader of the center-right Future and Freedom party, and the former leader of the conservative National Alliance and the post-fascist Italian Social Movement...

's National Alliance

National Alliance (Italy)

National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...

will run together under the common symbol of the People of Freedom party, being regionally allied with Lega Nord.

On February 13, Veltroni announced to have reached an agreement with the Italy of Values

Italy of Values

Italy of Values is a centrist, populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party, which is affiliated to the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party , is headed by former Mani pulite prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who entered politics in 1996.The party aims to gather and give...

, led by Antonio Di Pietro

Antonio Di Pietro

Antonio Di Pietro is an Italian politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament, an Italian Senator, and Minister of the Prodi Government...

, which agreed for an electoral alliance with the Democratic Party, accepting also to join the Democratic Party parliamentary groups after the election. On February 21 the Italian Radicals

Italian Radicals

Italian Radicals is an Italian political party which describes itself as a liberale, liberista e libertario political movement .It was...

announced an agreement with the Democratic Party, accepting to present themselves in list with the latter, under the agreement they will have nine MPs elected in the Parliament, and appointment of Emma Bonino

Emma Bonino

Emma Bonino is an Italian politician, former Member of the European Parliament and current Member of the Italian Senate. She is a leading member of the Italian Radicals, a political party that supports economic and social libertarianism, and human rights...

as Minister in case of victory.

Though Berlusconi and Veltroni were in opposite parties, they allegedly represent such similar policies that they were dubbed "Veltrusconi". Both candidates supported big tax cut

Tax cut

A tax cut is a reduction in taxes. The immediate effects of a tax cut are a decrease in the real income of the government and an increase in the real income of those whose tax rate has been lowered. Due to the perceived benefit in growing real incomes among tax payers politicians have sought to...

s and generous spending programs.

Union of Christian and Centre Democrats was invited to support Berlusconi, but refused and decided to run on its own instead. White Rose

White Rose (Italy)

The White Rose , whose official name is Popular Civic Federative Movement , is a Christian-democratic and centrist political party in Italy.-History:...

originally planned to run alone with Bruno Tabacci

Bruno Tabacci

Bruno Tabacci is an Italian politician, member of the Chamber of Deputies and Secretary of the White Rose party. In November 2009 he was one of the founding members of the new Alliance for Italy party.-Career:...

as their PM candidate, but shortly before the filing deadline, they decided to form joint lists with the UDC.

Chamber of Deputies ("Camera dei Deputati") (Lower house)

Summary of the 13–14 April 2008 Chamber of Deputies of Italy election results
Italian general election, 2008
A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote, and the unsuccessful tentative...

|-
|- bgcolor="#E9E9E9"
!Candidates
!Votes
!%
!Seats
!Parties inside coalitions
!Votes
!%
!Seats

|-
!rowspan="4" valign="top"|Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi

|rowspan="4" valign="top"|17,064,314
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|46.811
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|344

|rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top"|
|valign="top"|13,629,069
|valign="top"|37.388
|valign="top"|272

|-

|-
|
|
|abroad: 4

|-

|align="left"|Lega Nord
|3,024,758
|8.297
|60

|-

|align="left"|Movement for Autonomy

Movement for Autonomy

The Movement for Autonomies is a regionalist Christian democratic political party in Italy. It demands economic development and greater autonomy for Sicily, mainly, and for other regions of Southern Italy...

|410,487
|1.126
|4
|-
!rowspan="4" valign="top"|Walter Veltroni

Walter Veltroni

|rowspan="4" valign="top"|13,686,501
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|37.546
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|246

|rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top"|
|12,092,969
|33.174
|211
|-
|
|
|abroad: 6

|-

|rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top"|
|1,593,532
|4.371
|28
|-
|
|
|abroad: 1
|-
!rowspan="1" valign="top"|Pier Ferdinando Casini

Pier Ferdinando Casini

Pier Ferdinando Casini is an Italian politician.-Biography:President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006...

|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2,050,229
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|5.624
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|36

|align="left"|Union of the Centre
|2,050,229
|5.624
|36
|-
!rowspan="1" valign="top"|Fausto Bertinotti

Fausto Bertinotti

Fausto Bertinotti is an Italian politician and former leader of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista. On April 29, 2006, after the center-left coalition's victory in the Italian general election, he was chosen by the new parliament as President of the Chamber of Deputies .-Trade...

|rowspan="1" valign="top"|1,124,298
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|3.084
|rowspan="1" valign="top"| -

|align="left"|The Left - The Rainbow
|1,124,298
|3.084
| -
|-
!rowspan="1" valign="top"|Daniela Santanchè

Daniela Santanchè

Daniela Garnero Santanché is an Italian entrepreneur and a politician. She was Undersecretary to the Minister of Platform Accomplishment from 2010 to 2011 during Berlusconi IV Cabinet.-Studies and personal life:...

|rowspan="1" valign="top"|885,226
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2.428
|rowspan="1" valign="top"| -

|align="left"|The Right - Tricolour Flame
|885,226
|2.428
| -
|-
!rowspan="1" valign="top"|Others
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|
|rowspan="1" valign="top"| 4

!
!
!
!

|-
!Total
!
!
!630
!
!
!
!630
|}

Senate (of the Republic) ("Senato della Repubblica") (Upper house)

Summary of the 13–14 April 2008 Senate election results
Italian general election, 2008
A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote, and the unsuccessful tentative...

|-
|- bgcolor="#E9E9E9"
!Candidates
!Votes
!%
!Seats
!Parties inside coalitions
!Votes
!%
!Seats

|-
!rowspan="4" valign="top"|Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi

|rowspan="4" valign="top"|15,507,548
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|47.320
|rowspan="4" valign="top"|168

|rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top"|
|valign="top"|12,510,306
|valign="top"|38.164
|valign="top"|141

|-

|-
|
|
|abroad: 3

|-

|align="left"|Lega Nord
|2,642,166
|8.062
|25

|-

|align="left"|Movement for Autonomy

Movement for Autonomy

|355,076
|1.083
|2
|-
!rowspan="3" valign="top"|Walter Veltroni

Walter Veltroni

|rowspan="3" valign="top"|12,456,444
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|38.010
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|130

|rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top"|
|11,042,263
|33.695
|116
|-
|
|
|abroad: 2

|-

|align="left"|Italy of Values

Italy of Values

|1,414,118
|4.315
|14

|-
!rowspan="1" valign="top"|Pier Ferdinando Casini

Pier Ferdinando Casini

Pier Ferdinando Casini is an Italian politician.-Biography:President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006...

|rowspan="1" valign="top"|1,866,338
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|5.693
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|11

|align="left"|Union of the Centre
|1,866,338
|5.693
|11
|-
!rowspan="1" valign="top"|Fausto Bertinotti

Fausto Bertinotti

|rowspan="1" valign="top"|1,053,154
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|3.213
|rowspan="1" valign="top"| -

|align="left"|The Left - The Rainbow
|1,053,154
|3.213
| -
|-
!rowspan="1" valign="top"|Daniela Santanchè

Daniela Santanchè

|rowspan="1" valign="top"|687,211
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|2.096
|rowspan="1" valign="top"| -

|align="left"|The Right - Tricolour Flame
|687,211
|2.096
| -
|-
!rowspan="1" valign="top"|Others
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|
|rowspan="1" valign="top"|
|rowspan="1" valign="top"| 4

!
!
!
!

|-
!Total
!
!
!315
!
!
!
!315
|}

Overall

Parliamentary groups in the Italian Parliament at the inauguration of the 16th Republican Legislature.

Parliamentary groups after 2008 Italian general election
|- bgcolor="#e9e9e9" style="text-align: center"
!colspan="2"|Parties
!House
!Senate
|-
|style="background-color:blue"|
|style="text-align: center"| The People of Freedom

The People of Freedom

The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....

Democratic Party (Italy)

Italy of Values

South Tyrolean People's Party

The South Tyrolean People's Party is a regionalist Christian democratic political party active in the Italian province of South Tyrol.Founded in 1945, the SVP represents the German-speaking population of the province, as well as Ladin speakers. Since the first election of the Provincial Council in...

South Tyrolean People's Party

* Valdotanian Union

Valdotanian Union

The Valdotanian Union is a regionalist-centrist Italian political party active in Aosta Valley. Its leaders are Ego Perron, party president, and Augusto Rollandin, President of the Region....

* Independents

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

and Senators for life

Senator for life

A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , 7 Italian Senators out of 322, 4 out of the 47 Burundian Senators and all members of the British House of Lords have lifetime tenure...

|| 14 seats
| 6 seats
|- bgcolor="#e9e9e9"
|colspan="2" style="text-align: center"| Parties
|| 630 seats || 322 seats
|-
|}

External links

NSD: European Election Database - Italy publishes regional level election data

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.