General elections were held in Italy on 18 April 1948 to elect the first
Parliament of the Italian Republic.
After the
Soviet-backed coup in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, the U.S. became alarmed about
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
intentions in
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
. The U.S. feared that Italy would be drawn into the Soviet
sphere of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity.
While there may be a formal al ...
if the leftist
Popular Democratic Front (Italian
abbr.
An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...
: FDP), which consisted of the
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) 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 (PSI). ...
(PCI) and the
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country.
Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...
(PSI), were to win the 1948 general election. As the last month of the election campaign began, ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine published an article which argued that an FDP victory would push Italy to "the brink of catastrophe".
The U.S. consequently
intervened in the election by heavily funding the centrist coalition led by
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
(, DC) and launching an
anti-communist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
propaganda campaign in Italy. The U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(CIA) claims that the Soviet Union responded by sending exorbitant funds to the FDP coalition. However, the PCI refuted this claim and, in contrast, expressed its discontent with what it perceived as a lack of support from the Soviets.
The DC coalition won the election by a comfortable margin and defeated the FDP coalition. The Christian Democrats went on to form a government without the leftists, who had been expelled from the government coalition in the
May 1947 crises
In the May 1947 crises (or exclusion crises), the Communists were excluded from government in Italy and France. The crises contributed to the start of the Cold War in Western Europe. In Italy
In Italy, the Christian Democracy (DC), led by Alcide De ...
and remained frozen out.
Electoral system
The pure
party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...
chosen two years before for the election of the Constituent Assembly was adopted for the Chamber of Deputies.
Italian province
The provinces of Italy ( it, province d'Italia) are the second-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, on an intermediate level between a municipality () and a region (). Since 2015, provinces have been classified as "institutio ...
s were divided into 31 constituencies, each electing a group of candidates. In each constituency, seats were divided between
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. This is as opposed to closed list, which allows only active members, par ...
s using the
largest remainder method
The largest remainder method (also known as Hare–Niemeyer method, Hamilton method or as Vinton's method) is one way of allocating seats proportionally for representative assemblies with party list voting systems. It contrasts with various h ...
with the
Imperiali quota
The Imperiali quota is a formula used to calculate the minimum number, or quota, of votes required to capture a seat in some forms of single transferable vote or largest remainder method party-list proportional representation voting systems. It i ...
. Remaining votes and seats transferred to the national level, where special
closed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list systems where voters can effectively only vote for 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 inf ...
s of national leaders received the last seats using the
Hare quota
The Hare quota (also known as the simple quota) is a formula used under some forms of proportional representation. In these voting systems the quota is the number of votes that guarantees a candidate, or a party in some cases, captures a seat. Th ...
.
For the Senate, 237 single-seat constituencies were created. The candidates needed a two-thirds majority to be elected, but only 15 aspiring senators were elected this way. All remaining votes and seats were grouped in party lists and regional constituencies, where the
D'Hondt method
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
was used: Inside the lists, candidates with the best percentages were elected.
This electoral system became standard in Italy, and was used until 1993.
Campaign
The election remain unmatched in verbal aggression and fanaticism in Italy's period of democracy. According to the historian Gianni Corbi the 1948 election was "the most passionate, the most important, the longest, the dirtiest, and the most uncertain electoral campaign in Italian history".
[Ventresca, ''From Fascism to Democracy'']
p. 4
/ref> The election was between two competing visions of the future of Italian society. On the right, a Roman Catholic, conservative and capitalist Italy, represented by the governing Christian Democrats of De Gasperi. On the left a secular, revolutionary and socialist society, linked to the Soviet Union and represented by the FDP coalition led by the PCI.[
The Christian Democrat campaign pointed to the recent communist coup in Czechoslovakia. It warned that in Communist countries, "children send parents to jail", "children are owned by the state", and told voters that disaster would strike Italy if the Communists were to take power.]
TIME Magazine, 12 April 1948
TIME Magazine, 19 April 1948 Another slogan was "In the secrecy of the polling booth, God sees you – Stalin doesn't."["Fertility vote galvanises Vatican"](_blank)
BBC News, 13 June 2005
The FDP campaign focused on living standards and avoided embarrassing questions of foreign policy, such as UN membership (vetoed by the Soviet Union) and Yugoslav control of Trieste, or losing American financial and food aid. The PCI led the FDP coalition and had effectively marginalised the PSI, which suffered loss in terms of parliamentary seats and political power. The PSI had also been hurt by the secession of a social-democratic faction led by Giuseppe Saragat
Giuseppe Saragat (; 19 September 1898 – 11 June 1988) was an Italian politician who served as the president of Italy from 1964 to 1971.
Early life
Born to Sardinian parents, he was a member of the Unitary Socialist Party (Italy, 1922), Unita ...
, which contested the election with the concurrent list of Socialist Unity.
The PCI had difficulties in restraining its more militant members, who, in the period immediately after the war, had engaged in violent acts of reprisals. The areas affected by the violence (the so-called "Red Triangle" of Emilia
Emilia may refer to:
People
* Emilia (given name), list of people with this name
Places
* Emilia (region), a historical region of Italy. Reggio, Emilia
* Emilia-Romagna, an administrative region in Italy, including the historical regions of Emi ...
, or parts of Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
around Genoa and Savona, for instance) had previously seen episodes of brutality committed by the Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
s during Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
's regime and the Italian Resistance
The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...
during the Allied advance through Italy.
Foreign interference
The 1948 general election was greatly influenced by the Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
that was underway between the Soviet Union and the United States.[Brogi, ''Confronting America'']
pp. 101–110
/ref> After his defeat in the election, PCI leader Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Michele Nicola Togliatti (; 26 March 1893 – 21 August 1964) was an Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 until his death. He was nicknamed ("The Best") by his supporters. In 1930 he became a citizen of ...
stated on 22 April that: "The elections were not free... Brutal foreign intervention was used consisting of a threat to starve the country by withholding ERP aid if it voted for the Democratic Front... The menace to use the atom bomb against towns or regions" that voted pro-communist. The U.S. government's ''Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
'' radio began broadcasting anti-Communist propaganda to Italy on 24 March 1948. The CIA, by its own admission, gave US$1 million (equivalent to $ in ) to what they referred to as "center parties" and was accused of publishing forged letters to discredit the leaders of the PCI. The National Security Act of 1947
The National Security Act of 1947 ( Pub.L.br>80-253 61 Stat.br>495 enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the pro ...
, that made foreign covert operations
A covert operation is a military operation intended to conceal the identity of (or allow plausible deniability by) the party that instigated the operation. Covert operations should not be confused with clandestine operations, which are performe ...
possible, had been signed into law about six months earlier by the American President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
.
U.S. agencies also sent ten million letters, made numerous short-wave radio broadcasts, and funded the publishing of books and articles, all of which warned Italians of the "consequences" of a communist victory. Overall, the U.S. funnelled $10 million to $20 million (equivalent to $ to $ in ) into the country for specifically anti-PCI purposes. The CIA also made use of off-the-books sources of financing to interfere in the election: millions of dollars from the Economic Cooperation Administration
The Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) was a U.S. government agency set up in 1948 to administer the Marshall Plan. It reported to both the State Department and the Department of Commerce. The agency's first head was Paul G. Hoffman, a fo ...
affiliated with the Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
and more than $10 million in captured Nazi money were steered to anti-communist propaganda. In this regard, CIA operative F. Mark Wyatt claimed: "We had bags of money that we delivered to selected politicians, to defray their political expenses, their campaign expenses, for posters, for pamphlets."[F. Mark Wyatt, 86, C.I.A. Officer, Is Dead](_blank)
The New York Times, 6 July 2006
Wyatt also claimed that, in the lead up to the election, the PCI received exorbitant funds of up to $10 million per month from the Soviet Union and that Italian authorities were aware of the Soviets' activities.[ This was refuted by the PCI itself, which voiced its frustration at the Soviets' lack of support for the FDP campaign.][Brogi, ''Confronting America'']
p. 109
/ref> Italian historian Alessandro Brogi dismisses the CIA's claims as "overexaggerated" and notes that the Soviets only undertook "ad hoc last minute diplomatic ndfinancial action" because it feared that inaction in Italy would set a precedent for U.S. intervention in Eastern Europe. Despite amicable meetings in the postwar years between top PCI official Pietro Secchia and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
,[Pons, Silvio (2001)]
"Stalin, Togliatti, and the Origins of the Cold War in Europe"
''Journal of Cold War Studies'', Volume 3, Number 2, Spring 2001, pp. 3–27 the Soviets were apprehensive about committing to Italy financially and only provided "occasional and modest" funds to the PCI.[Ventresca, ''From Fascism to Democracy'']
p. 269
/ref>[Callanan, ''Covert Action in the Cold War'']
pp. 41–45
/ref>
The Christian Democrats eventually won the 1948 election with 48 per cent of the vote, and the FDP received 31 per cent. The CIA's practice of influencing the political situation was repeated in every Italian election for at least the next 24 years.[ No leftist coalition won a general election until 1996. That was partly because of Italians' traditional bent for conservatism and, even more importantly, the Cold War, with the U.S. closely watching Italy, in their determination to maintain a vital ]NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
presence amidst the Mediterranean and retain the Yalta-agreed status quo in western Europe.
The Irish government, motivated by the country's devout Catholicism, also interfered in the election by funnelling the modern day equivalent of €2 million through the Irish Embassy to the Vatican, which then distributed it to Catholic politicians. Joseph Walshe
Joseph (Joe) Walshe (2 October 1886 – 6 February 1956) was an Irish civil servant and diplomat. As Secretary of the Department of External Affairs of the Irish Free State from 1923 to 1946, he was the department's most senior official.
Early ...
, Ireland's ambassador to the Vatican, had privately suggested secretly funding Azione Cattolica
The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) for short, is a widespread Roman Catholic lay association in Italy.
History
In Italy in 1905, Azione Cattolica was established as a non-political lay organization under the dir ...
."Irish state secretly intervened in Italian 1948 general election"
''Irish Times''
Parties and leaders
Results
Christian Democracy won a sweeping victory, taking 48.5 per cent of the vote and 305 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 131 seats in the Senate. With an absolute majority in both chambers, DC leader and premier Alcide De Gasperi
Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi (; 3 April 1881 – 19 August 1954) was an Italian politician who founded the Christian Democracy party and served as prime minister of Italy in eight successive coalition governments from 1945 to 1953.
De Gasp ...
could have formed an exclusively DC government. Instead, he formed a "centrist" coalition with Liberals, Republicans and Social Democrats. De Gasperi formed three ministries
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian mi ...
during the parliamentary term, the second one in 1950 after the defection of the Liberals, who hoped for more rightist politics, and the third one in 1951 after the defection of the Social-democrats, who hoped for more leftist politics.
Following a provision of the new republican constitution, all living democratic deputies elected during the 1924 general election and deposed by the National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...
in 1926, automatically became members of the first republican Senate.
Chamber of Deputies
By constituency
Senate of the Republic
By constituency
Maps
Notes
References
Further reading
* Chapter 2 Italy 1947–1948
Free elections: Hollywood style
* Brogi, Alessandro (2011).
Confronting America: The Cold War Between the United States and the Communists in France and Italy
', Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
* Callanan, James (2010).
Covert Action in the Cold War: US Policy, Intelligence and CIA Operations
', London/New York: I.B. Tauris,
* Del Pero, Mario
"The United States and 'psychological warfare' in Italy, 1948–1955"
''Journal of American History'' 87.4 (2001): 1304–1334.
* Luconi, Stefano. "Anticommunism, Americanization, and ethnic identity: Italian Americans and the 1948 parliamentary elections in Italy." ''Historian'' 62.2 (1999): 285–302
online
* Lundestad, Geir. "Empire by Invitation? The United States and Western Europe, 1945–1952." ''Journal of peace research'' 23.3 (1986): 263–277.
* Miller, James E. "Taking off the gloves: The United States and the Italian elections of 1948." ''Diplomatic History'' 7.1 (1983): 35–56
Online
* Mistry, Kaeten. "The case for political warfare: Strategy, organization and US involvement in the 1948 Italian election." ''Cold War History'' 6.3 (2006): 301–329.
* Mistry, Kaeten. ''The United States, Italy and the origins of cold War: Waging political warfare, 1945–1950'' (Cambridge UP, 2014).
* Pedaliu, Effie G. H. "The 18 April 1948 Italian election: seventy years on." ''LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog'' (2018
online
* Pedaliu, Effie G. H. "The 'British Way to Socialism': British Intervention in the Italian Election of April 1948 and its Aftermath." in Pedaliu, ''Britain, Italy and the Origins of the Cold War'' (Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2003) pp. 58–95.
* Pons, Silvio. "Stalin, Togliatti, and the origins of the cold war in Europe." ''Journal of Cold War Studies'' 3.2 (2001): 3–27
online
* Ventresca, Robert A.
From Fascism to Democracy: Culture and Politics in the Italian Election of 1948
', (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004).
External links
* Pedaliu, Effie GH.
The 18 April 1948 Italian election: seventy years on
LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog (2018)
{{Italian elections
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
General election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
General elections in Italy
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
Foreign electoral intervention
Election and referendum articles with incomplete results