The 1994 Italian general election was held on 27 and 28 March 1994 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic for the 12th legislature. Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right coalition won a large majority in the Chamber of Deputies but just missed winning a majority in the Senate.
The Italian People's Party, the official heir of Christian Democracy party, which had dominated Italian politics for almost half a century, was decimated. It took only 29 seats versus 206 for the DC two years earlier—easily the worst defeat a sitting government in Italy has ever suffered enough, and one of the worst ever suffered by a Western European governing party.
New electoral system A new electoral system was introduced for these elections following the 1993 Italian referendum, which repealed the "supermajority clause" concerning Senate elections. Previously, this clause had effectively resulted in Senate elections being conducted using a system close to pure proportional representation.
Under the new system, 75% of the Senate seats were elected through a plurality voting system in single-member constituencies, while the remaining 25% were allocated proportionally in a compensatory manner. This reform significantly changed the structure of parliamentary elections by introducing a mixed electoral system.
Parliament also passed a new electoral law for the Chamber of Deputies in order to align it more closely with the Senate's electoral rules. Under this law, 75% of the seats were filled through plurality voting in single-member districts, while the remaining 25% were distributed proportionally using a supplementary system with a minimum electoral threshold of 4% of the vote.
The new electoral system became widely known as the Mattarellum, named after Sergio Mattarella, who was the main proponent of the reform.
Background
In 1992, the five pro-Western governing parties (Christian Democracy, the Italian Socialist Party, the Italian Democratic Socialist Party, the Italian Republican Party, and the Italian Liberal Party) lost much of their electoral strength almost overnight due to a large number of judicial investigations concerning the financial corruption of many of their foremost members. This led to a general expectation that upcoming elections would be won by the Democratic Party of the Left, the heir of the former Italian Communist Party, and its Progressives coalition unless there was an alternative.
On 26 January 1994, the media magnate Silvio Berlusconi announced his decision to enter politics, ("enter the field", in his own words) presenting his own political party, Forza Italia, on a platform focused on defeating "the communists". His political aim was to convince the voters of the Pentapartito, the usual five governing parties who were shocked and confused by Mani Pulite scandals, that Forza Italia offered both novelty and the continuation of the pro-Western free-market policies followed by Italy since the end of World War II. Shortly after he decided to enter the political arena, investigators into the Mani Pulite affair were said to be close to issuing warrants for the arrest of Berlusconi and senior executives of his business group. During his years of political career, Berlusconi repeatedly stated that the Mani Pulite investigations were led by communist prosecutors who wanted to establish a Soviet-style government in Italy.
In order to win the election, Berlusconi formed two separate electoral alliances: the Pole of Freedoms (Polo delle Libertà) with the Northern League (Lega Nord) in northern Italian districts, and another, the Pole of Good Government (Polo del Buon Governo), with the post-fascist National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale; heir to the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement), in central and southern regions. In a shrewd pragmatic move, he did not ally with the latter in the North because the League disliked them. As a result, Forza Italia was allied with two parties that were not allied with each other.
Berlusconi launched a massive campaign of electoral advertisements on his three TV networks. He subsequently won the election, with Forza Italia garnering 21% of the popular vote, the highest percentage of any single party, narrowly ahead of the Democratic Party of the Left, which finished less than 1% behind. One of the most significant promises that he made in order to secure victory was that his government would create "one million more jobs". On the other side, the center-left Progressives led by Achille Occhetto, also called "the Joyful War Machine", was composed by the two party born from the dissolution of the Italian Communist Party: the Democratic Party of the Left and Communist Refoundation Party. Since the alliance was sure of victory, its campaign was focused on criticizing the media power of Berlusconi.
Main coalitions and parties CoalitionParty Main ideologySeats Party leaderCoalition leader TotalAlliance of Progressives Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) Democratic socialism Achille OcchettoAchille Occhetto Italian Socialist Party (PSI) Social democracy Ottaviano Del Turco Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) Communism Fausto Bertinotti Federation of the Greens (FdV) Green politics Carlo Ripa di Meana The Network (LR) Anti-corruption politics Leoluca Orlando Democratic Alliance (AD) Social liberalism Willer Bordon Social Christians (CS) Christian left Pierre Carniti Socialist Rebirth (RS) Social democracy Giorgio BenvenutoPact for Italy Italian People's Party (PPI) Christian democracy Mino MartinazzoliMario Segni Segni Pact (PS) Liberalism Mario SegniPole of Freedoms –Pole of Good Government Northern League (LN) Regionalism Umberto BossiSilvio Berlusconi National Alliance (AN) National conservatism Gianfranco Fini Christian Democratic Centre (CCD) Christian democracy Pier Ferdinando Casini Forza Italia (FI) Liberal conservatism Silvio Berlusconi Union of the Centre (UdC) Liberalism Raffaele Costa Liberal Democratic Pole (PLD) Liberalism Adriano TesoPannella List (LP) Libertarianism Marco Pannella
Results Berlusconi's alliance won a decisive victory over the Progressives, becoming the first centre-right coalition to win a general election in Italy since the end of the Second World War. Berlusconi's coalition won in the main regions of Italy: the strongest parties in Northern Italy were the regionalist Northern League and Forza Italia, which was also able to win in all provinces of Sicily, while the National Alliance received more votes in Southern Italy. The Alliance of Progressives confirmed its predominance in the Red Belt regions of Central Italy, and in the South.
Chamber of Deputies
Overall results + CoalitionPartyProportionalFirst-past-the-postTotal seats +/–Votes % Seats Votes % SeatsPole of Freedoms –Pole of Good GovernmentForza Italia (FI)8,136,13521.013017,746,61246.0987111NewChristian Democratic Centre (CCD)2127NewNational Alliance (AN)5,214,13313.472387110+75 Northern League (LN)3,235,2488.3611107118+62Total seats64 302366–Alliance of ProgressivesDemocratic Party of the Left (PDS)7,881,64620.363812.632,68032.8187125+17 2,343,9466.05112738+4 Federation of the Greens (FdV)1,047,2682.7001111−5 Italian Socialist Party (PSI)849,4292.1901515−77 The Network (LR)719,8411.86088−4Democratic Alliance (AD)456,1141.1801616NewTotal seats49 164213–Pact for ItalyItalian People's Party (PPI)4,287,17211.07296,019,03815.63433−146Segni Pact (PS)1,811,8144.6813013NewTotal seats42 446–South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP)231,8420.600188,0170.4933±0Southern Action League (LAM)59,8730.15046,8200.1311+1 Aosta Valley (VdA)043,7000.1111±0Total630–
Detailed results
+First-past-the-postParty or coalitionVotes%Seats Alliance of Progressives (AdP) 12,632,680 32.81 164 Pole of Freedoms (PdL) 8,767,720 22.77 164 Pact for Italy (PpI) 6,019,038 15.63 4 Pole of Good Government (PdBG) 5,732,890 14.89 129 National Alliance (AN) 2,566,848 6.67 8 Forza Italia (FI) 679,154 1.76 1 Pannella List (LP) 432,667 1.12 0 South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) 188,017 0.49 3 Social Democracy for the Freedoms (PSDI–FDS) 147,493 0.38 0 Southern Action League (LAM) 46,820 0.13 1 Aosta Valley (VdA) 43,700 0.11 1 Others 1,247,131 3.24 0Total 38,504,158 100.00 475 Source: Ministry of the Interior +ProportionalPartyVotes%Seats Forza Italia (FI) 8,136,135 21.01 30 Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) 7,881,646 20.36 38 National Alliance (AN) 5,214,133 13.47 23 Italian People's Party (PPI) 4,287,172 11.07 29 Northern League (LN) 3,235,248 8.36 11 Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) 2,343,946 6.05 11 Segni Pact (PS) 1,811,814 4.68 13 Pannella List (LP) 1,359,283 3.51 0 Federation of the Greens (FdV) 1,047,268 2.70 0 Italian Socialist Party (PSI) 849,429 2.19 0 The Network (LR) 719,841 1.86 0 Democratic Alliance (AD) 456,114 1.18 0 South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) 231,842 0.60 0 Social Democracy for Freedoms (PSDI–FDS) 179,495 0.46 0 Program Italy (PI) 151,328 0.39 0 Lombard Alpine League (LAL) 136,782 0.35 0 Venetian Autonomy League (LAV) 103,764 0.27 0 Southern Action League (LAM) 59,873 0.15 0 Others 517,780 1.34 0Total 38,720,893 100.00 155 Source: Ministry of the Interior
FPTP results by constituency ConstituencyTotalseatsSeats wonPdL – PBGAdPPpIOthersAbruzzo11110Aosta Valley11Apulia3423101Basilicata514Calabria17710Campania 1251015Campania 2227123Emilia-Romagna32329Friuli-Venezia Giulia1010Lazio 132293Lazio 21111Liguria1477Lombardy 13131Lombardy 23232Lombardy 311101Marche1212Molise321Piedmont 119145Piedmont 21717Sardinia14941Sicily 120164Sicily 22121Trentino-Alto Adige853Tuscany2929Umbria77Veneto 12222Veneto 215141Total47530216445
PR results by constituency ConstituencyTotalseatsSeats wonPdL – PBGAdPPpIAbruzzo321Apulia10154Basilicata211Calabria6222Campania 18422Campania 27412Emilia-Romagna9441Friuli-Venezia Giulia3111Lazio 110163Lazio 23111Liguria6321Lombardy 110442Lombardy 211533Lombardy 34211Marche4211Molise11Piedmont 16321Piedmont 26321Sardinia4112Sicily 17322Sicily 27322Trentino-Alto Adige211Tuscany11542Umbria22Veneto 18323Veneto 25311Total155644942
Senate of the Republic Overall results + CoalitionPartyFirst-past-the-postProportional seatsTotal seats +/–Votes % SeatsPole of Freedoms – Pole of Good GovernmentNorthern League (LN)13,342,94040.341282860+35 National Alliance (AN)48+32 Forza Italia (FI)36New Christian Democratic Centre (CCD)12NewTotal seats156–Alliance of ProgressivesDemocratic Party of the Left (PDS)10,881,32032.90962676+12 18−2Italian Socialist Party (PSI)9−40Federation of the Greens (FdV)7+3 Democratic Alliance (AD)6NewThe Network (LR)6+3 Total seats122–Pact for Italy (PpI)5,519,09016.6932831−64Pannella List (LP)767,765 2.32011+1 Lombard Alpine League (LAL)246,0460.74011±0South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP)217,1370.66303±0Magris List (Magris)61,4000.19101NewAosta Valley (VdA)27,4930.08101±0Total315–
Detailed results Party or coalitionVotes%SeatsFPTP Proportional Alliance of Progressives (AdP) 10,881,320 32.90 96 26Pole of Freedoms (PdL) 6,570,468 19.87 74 8Pact for Italy (PpI)5,519,09016.69328Pole of Good Government (PBG) 4,544,573 13.74 56 19National Alliance (AN) 2,077,9346.2808Pannella List (LP)767,765 2.3201Pensioners' Party (PP)250,6370.7600Lombard Alpine League (LAL)246,0460.7401South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP)217,1370.6630Venetian Autonomy League (LAV)165,3700.5000Federalist Greens (VF)100,4180.3000Sardinian Action Party (PSd'Az)88,2250.2700Natural Law Party (PLN)86,5790.2600Social Democracy for Freedoms (PSDI–FDS)80,2640.2400The League of Angela Bossi72,4550.2200Greens Greens (VV)68,2180.2100Veneto Autonomous Region Movement (MVRA)64,1490.1900Magris List (Magris)61,4000.1910Southern Action League (LAM)54,3950.1600League for Piedmont49,5050.1500Aosta Valley (VdA)27,4930.0810Others931,1432.8200Total33,074,549100.0023283Source: Ministry of the Interior
FPTP by constituency