2001 Italian general election

2001 Italian general election

← 1996 13 May 2001 2006 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies · 315 seats in the Senate
Registered	49,256,295 (C) · 44,499,794 (S)
Turnout	40,085,397 (C) · 81.4% (1.5 pp) 36,189,394 (S) · 81.3% (0.9 pp)
Leader Silvio Berlusconi Francesco Rutelli Fausto Bertinotti Alliance House of Freedoms The Olive Tree Communist Refoundation Leader since 18 January 1994 25 September 2000 22 January 1994 Leader's seat Milan (C) Rome (C) Piedmont (C) Seats won 368 (C) / 176 (S) 241 (C) / 128 (S) 11 (C) / 4 (S) Seat change 96 (C) / 33 (S) 82 (C) / 29 (S) 24 (C) / 6 (S) Coalition vote 18,398,246 (C) 14,406,519 (S) 13,169,239 (C) 13,106,860 (S) 1,868,659 (C) 1,708,707 (S) Percentage 49.6% (C) 42.5% (S) 35.5% (C) 38.7% (S) 5.0% (C) 5.0% (S)
Results of the single-member constituencies in the Chamber of Deputies (left) and Senate (right).
Prime Minister before election Giuliano Amato The Olive Tree Prime Minister after the election Silvio Berlusconi House of Freedoms

The 2001 Italian general election was held in Italy on 13 May 2001 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. The 14th Parliament of the Italian republic was chosen.

The election was won by the centre-right coalition House of Freedoms led by Silvio Berlusconi, defeating Francesco Rutelli, former Mayor of Rome, and Prime Ministerial candidate of the centre-left coalition The Olive Tree, and rising back to power after Berlusconi's first victory, in the 1994 general election.

Electoral system[]

The intricate electoral system, called scorporo, provided 75% of the seats on the Chamber of Deputies (the Lower House) as elected by first-past-the-post system, whereas the remaining 25% was assigned on a proportional way with a minimum threshold of 4%.

The method used for the Senate was even more complicated: 75% of seats by uninominal method, and 25% by a special proportional method that assigned the remaining seats to minority parties. Formally, these were examples of additional member systems.

General election[]

Campaign[]

For this election Berlusconi again ran as leader of the centre-right coalition the House of Freedoms (Italian: La Casa delle Libertà), which included the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, the Northern League, the National Alliance and other parties.

On the television interviews programme Porta a Porta, during the last days of the electoral campaign, Berlusconi created a powerful impression on the public by undertaking to sign a so-called Contratto con gli Italiani (English: Contract with the Italians), an idea copied outright by his advisor Luigi Crespi from the Newt Gingrich's Contract with America introduced six weeks before the 1994 US Congressional election,^[1] which was widely considered to be a creative masterstroke in his 2001 campaign bid for prime ministership. In this solemn agreement, Berlusconi claimed his commitment on improving several aspects of the Italian economy and life. Firstly, he undertook to simplify the complex tax system by introducing just two tax rates (33% for those earning over 100,000 euros, and 23% for anyone earning less than that figure: anyone earning less than 11,000 euros a year would not be taxed); secondly, he promised to halve the unemployment rate; thirdly, he undertook to finance and develop a massive new public works programme. Fourthly, he promised to raise the minimum monthly pension rate to 516 euros; and fifthly, he would suppress the crime wave by introducing police officers to patrol all local zones and areas in Italy's major cities.^[2] Berlusconi undertook to refrain from putting himself up for re-election in 2006 if he failed to honour at least four of these five promises.

Main coalitions and parties[]

Coalitions' leaders[]

Portrait	Name		Most recent position	Refs
		Silvio Berlusconi (1936– )	Prime Minister of Italy (1994–1995) Other positions Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1994–2013) President of Forza Italia (1994–2009)	[3][4]
		Francesco Rutelli (1954– )	Mayor of Rome (1993–2001) Other positions Mayor of Rome (2001–2008) Minister of Environment (1993–1993) Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1983–1994)	[5][6]
		Fausto Bertinotti (1940– )	Secretary of the Communist Refoundation Party (1994–2006) Other positions Member of the European Parliament (1999–2006) Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1994–2008)	[7][8]
		Antonio Di Pietro (1950– )	Minister of Public Works (1996–1996) Other positions President of Italy of Values (1998–2013)	[9][10]
		Sergio D'Antoni (1946– )	General Secretary of CISL (1991–2000)	[11][12]
		Emma Bonino (1948– )	European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection (1995–1999) Other positions Member of the European Parliament (1979–1988; 1999–2006) Member of the Chamber of Deputies (1976–1978; 1979–1986; 1987–1990; 1992–1995)	[13][14]

Results[]

This section is in a table format that may be better if supplemented with prose. You can help by adding a prose summary of the table(s). Editing help is available. (January 2022)

Chamber of Deputies[]

Overall results[]

← Summary of the 13 May 2001 Chamber of Deputies election results →

Coalition		Party		Proportional			First-past-the-post			Total seats	+/–
				Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	House of Freedoms		Forza Italia (FI)	10,923,431	29.43	62	16,915,513	45.57	132	194[15]	+71
			National Alliance (AN)	4,463,205	12.02	24			75	99	+6
			Northern League (LN)	1,464,301	3.94	0			30	30	−29
			White Flower (CCD–CDU)	1,194,040	3.22	0			40	40	+10
			New Italian Socialist Party (NPSI)	353,269	0.95	0			3	3	New
			Sardinian Reformers (RS)	N/A	N/A	0			1	1	+1
			New Sicily (NS)	N/A	N/A	0			1	1	New
		Total seats				86			282	368	–
	The Olive Tree		Democrats of the Left (DS)	6,151,154	16.57	31	16,019,388	43.15	105	136	−36
			Democracy is Freedom (DL)	5,391,827	14.52	27			56	83	−12
			The Sunflower (FdV–SDI)	805,340	2.17	0			17	17	–
			Party of Italian Communists (PdCI)	620,859	1.67	0			10	10	New
			South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP)	200,059	0.54	0			3	3	±0
			With Illy for Trieste	78,284	0.21	0			1	1	New
			Aosta Valley (VdA)	N/A	N/A	0	25,577	0.07	1	1	±0
		Total seats				58			192	251	–
	Communist Refoundation Party (PRC)			1,868,659	5.03	11	N/A	N/A	0	11	−24
Total										630	–

Proportional and FPTP results[]

In 2001 the proportional list exhausted before all the deputies — which the winning party was entitled to — were declared elected.^[16]

Senate of the Republic[]

Overall results[]

← Summary of the 13 May 2001 Senate of the Republic election results →

Coalition		Party		First-past-the-post			Proportional (Seats)	Total seats	+/–
				Votes	%	Seats
	House of Freedoms		Forza Italia (FI)	16,915,513	45.57	152	24	82	+40
			National Alliance (AN)					45	+2
			White Flower (CCD–CDU)					29	+4
			Northern League (LN)					17	−10
			Italian Republican Party (PRI)					1	+1
			New Italian Socialist Party (NPSI)					1	New
			Tricolour Flame (FT)[17]					1	±0
		Total seats						176	–
	The Olive Tree[18]		Democrats of the Left (DS)	13,408,672[19]	39.59[20]	74	51	64	−38
			Democracy is Freedom (DL)					43	−5
			Federation of the Greens (FdV)					8	−6
			Italian Democratic Socialists (SDI)					6	–
			South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP)					3	+1
			Party of Italian Communists (PdCI)					2	New
			Independent candidates					4	–
		Total seats						130	–
	Communist Refoundation Party (PRC)			1,708,707	5.04	0	4	4	−6
	European Democracy (DE)			1,066,908	3.15	0	2	2	New
	Italy of Values (IdV)			1,140,489	3.37	0	1	1	New
	League for Autonomy – Lombard League (LAL)			308,559	0.91	0	1	1	+1
	Tricolour Flame (FT)			340,221	1.00	0	0	0	–
	Bonino List (LB)			677,725	2.00	0	0	0	−1
	Venetian Front League (LFV)			138,134	0.41	0	0	0	New
	Va' pensiero Padania			119,058	0.35	0	0	0	New
	National Social Front (FSN)			98,132	0.29	0	0	0	New
	Autonomist Socialists – European Democracy (SA–DE)			79,002	0.23	0	0	0	New
	Pensioners' Party (PP)			39,545	0.12	0	0	0	±0
	New Force (FN)			78,572	0.23	0	0	0	New
	Greens Greens (VV)			35,743	0.11	0	0	0	±0
	Sardinian Action Party–Sardinia Nation (PSd'Az–SN)			32,822	0.10	0	0	0	−1
	Aosta Valley (VdA)			32,429	0.10	0	1	1	±0
	Filograna List for Salento			21,857	0.06	0	0	0	New
	We Sicilians (NS)			20,761	0.06	0	0	0	±0
	Southern Action League (LAM)			19,914	0.06	0	0	0	±0
	It's enough!			19,913	0.06	0	0	0	New
	Liberal Popular Party			10,301	0.03	0	0	0	New
	Amadu List			9,203	0.03	0	0	0	New
	Alternative List			7,704	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Forza Chiappetta			6,932	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Die Freiheitlichen (dF)			5,354	0.02	0	0	0	–
	Franco Greco List			4,284	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Movement of Freedoms			4,023	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Renato Fiorelli			2,924	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Third Pole for Autonomy			2,392	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Communism			2.159	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Giuseppe Boscolo			1,058	0.00	0	0	0	New
	Independent Parliamentarian			993	0.00	0	0	0	New
	Justice and Progress			950	0.00	0	0	0	New
	Grand Ducal Tuscany			625	0.00	0	0	0	New
	Italian Constitutional Party (PACI)			175	0.00	0	0	0	New
Total				33,871,262	100.00	232	83	315	–

Maps[]

Results for the Chamber of Deputies (left) and Senate of the Republic (right) in single-member constituencies. The color corresponds to the party that won more votes in that area. Blue represents the House of Freedoms, red The Olive Tree, and turquois the Aosta Valley coalition.

Composition of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate by coalition

Leaders' races[]

References[]

External links[]

• Repubblica.it: About 2001 Election (in Italian)
• Corriere della Sera: About 2001 Election (in Italian)
• CNN.com: About 2001 Election
• Minister of Internal Affairs of Italy: 2001 Election Results, Chamber of Deputies (in Italian)
• Minister of Internal Affairs of Italy: 2001 Election Results, Senate of the Republic (in Italian)