European Parliament election, 1989 (Italy)
Encyclopedia
The third elections for the European Parliament
in Italy
were held on 18 June 1989.
The election was paired with a non-binding referendum
about the devolution of powers to the European Economic Community
.
was the traditional electoral system of the Italian Republic since its foundation in 1946, so it had been adopted to elect the Italian representatives to the European Parliament too. Two levels were used: a national level to divide seats between parties, and a constituency level to distribute them between candidates. Italian regions were united in 5 constituencies, each electing a group of deputies. At national level, seats were divided between party lists using the largest remainder method
with Hare quota
. All seats gained by each party were automatically distributed to their local open list
s and their most voted candidates.
during the 80's showed that the time had expired. The decline of the traditional opponents of the Christian Democracy opened the door to new forms of protests: the Green lists and, in Northern Italy
, the League.
The government of Ciriaco De Mita
did not survive to this vote: declining Italian Republican Party
fired its leader Giovanni Spadolini
, and the new secretary Giorgio La Malfa
retired his support to the old PM. The Christian Democracy so chose a very expert new PM: Giulio Andreotti
.
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
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...
were held on 18 June 1989.
The election was paired with a non-binding referendum
Italian advisory referendum, 1989
An advisory referendum was held in Italy on 18 June 1989, the same day of the European election.This non-binding referendum was called by all main parties with a special law, because the Italian Constitution does not speak about this type of question...
about the devolution of powers to the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
.
Electoral system
The pure party-list proportional representationParty-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
was the traditional electoral system of the Italian Republic since its foundation in 1946, so it had been adopted to elect the Italian representatives to the European Parliament too. Two levels were used: a national level to divide seats between parties, and a constituency level to distribute them between candidates. Italian regions were united in 5 constituencies, each electing a group of deputies. At national level, seats were divided between party lists using the largest remainder method
Largest remainder method
The largest remainder method is one way of allocating seats proportionally for representative assemblies with party list voting systems...
with Hare quota
Hare quota
The Hare quota is a formula used under some forms of the Single Transferable Vote system and the largest remainder method of party-list proportional representation...
. All seats gained by each party were automatically distributed to their local open list
Open list
Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected...
s and their most voted candidates.
Results
For more than 35 years, Italian Communists had thought that their final victory was no more than a matter of time. However, the de-industrialization of ItalyItaly
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...
during the 80's showed that the time had expired. The decline of the traditional opponents of the Christian Democracy opened the door to new forms of protests: the Green lists and, in Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
, the League.
The government of Ciriaco De Mita
Ciriaco de Mita
Ciriaco Luigi de Mita is an Italian politician. He served as the 47th Prime Minister of Italy from 1988 to 1989 and is currently Member of the European Parliament.-Biography:De Mita was born in Nusco, in the Avellinese hinterland....
did not survive to this vote: declining Italian Republican Party
Italian Republican Party
The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini...
fired its leader Giovanni Spadolini
Giovanni Spadolini
Giovanni Spadolini was a liberal Italian politician, the 45th Prime Minister of Italy, newspaper editor, journalist and a noted historian.-Biography:Spadolini was born in Florence....
, and the new secretary Giorgio La Malfa
Giorgio La Malfa
Giorgio La Malfa is an Italian politician.-Biography:La Malfa was born in Milan, the son of Ugo La Malfa, a long-time Italian political leader and minister....
retired his support to the old PM. The Christian Democracy so chose a very expert new PM: Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti is an Italian politician of the now dissolved centrist Christian Democracy party. He served as the 42nd Prime Minister of Italy from 1972 to 1973, from 1976 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1992. He also served as Minister of the Interior , Defense Minister and Foreign Minister and he...
.
| Christian Democracy | 11,451,053 | 32.9% | 26 |  |
|
| Italian Communist Party Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played... |
9,598,369 | 27.6% | 22 |  5 |
|
| Italian Socialist Party Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II... |
5,151,929 | 14.8% | 12 |  3 |
|
| Italian Social Movement Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s... |
1,918,650 | 5.5% | 4 | 1 |
|
| PLI and PRI Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini... |
1,532,388 | 4.4% | 4 | 1 |
|
| Green Lists Green Lists The Green Lists was an green Italian political party.It was founded in 1986 and merged in 1991 with the Rainbow Greens to form the Federation of the Greens.... |
1,317,119 | 3.8% | 3 | 3 |
|
| Italian Democratic Socialist Party | 945,383 | 2.7% | 2 | 1 |
|
| Rainbow Greens Rainbow Greens Rainbow Greens was a green Italian political party.It was founded in 1989 by splinters of Proletarian Democracy and some leading Radicals .It took part in the 1989 European Parliament elections,... |
830,980 | 2.4% | 2 | 2 |
|
| Lombard League Lega Lombarda – Alleanza Nord Lega Lombarda – Alleanza Nord was an electoral alliance for the 1989 European Parliament election in Italy.It was composed by six regionalist parties representative of six Northern regions:*Lega Lombarda*Liga Veneta... |
636.242 | 1.8% | 2 | 2 |
|
| Proletarian Democracy Proletarian Democracy Proletarian Democracy was a political party in Italy.-1970s:DP was founded in 1975 as a joint electoral front of the Proletarian Unity Party , Workers Vanguard and the Workers Movement for Socialism... |
449,639 | 1.3% | 1 | |
|
| The Radicals | 430,150 | 1.2% | 1 | 2 |
|
| Sardinian Action Party Sardinian Action Party The Sardinian Action Party is a regionalist social-democratic political party in Sardinia, which has recently sided with The People of Freedom, the largest centre-right party in Italy.-History:... and UV 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.... |
207,739 | 0.6% | 1 | |
|
| South Tyrolean People's Party 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... |
172,383 | 0.5% | 1 | |
|
| Others | 162,293 | 0.5% | = | |