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An institutional referendum ( it, referendum istituzionale, or ) was held in
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 ...
on 2 June 1946,
Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An exp ...
& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1047
a key event of Italian contemporary history. Until 1946,
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 ...
had been a kingdom ruled by the
House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
, reigning royal house of Italy since the national unification in 1861 and previously rulers of the Duchy of Savoy. However, in 1922 the rise of
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 ...
and the creation of the
fascist regime Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and th ...
, which eventually resulted in engaging Italy in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
alongside
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, considerably weakened the role of the monarchy. Following the
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
and the Liberation of Italy from Axis troops in 1945, a popular referendum on the institutional form of the state was called and resulted in voters choosing the replacement of the monarchy with a
republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
. A
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
was elected on the same day. As with the simultaneous Constituent Assembly elections, the referendum was not held in the Julian March or South Tyrol, which were still under occupation by Allied forces pending a final settlement of the status of the territories.


Background

Democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...
was not a new concept in Italian politics. The Kingdom of Sardinia had become a constitutional monarchy with the liberalizing reforms of King Charles Albert's famous Albertine Statute in 1848.
Suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
, initially limited to select citizens, was gradually expanded. In 1912
Giovanni Giolitti Giovanni Giolitti (; 27 October 1842 – 17 July 1928) was an Italian statesman. He was the Prime Minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921. After Benito Mussolini, he is the second-longest serving Prime Minister in Italian history. A p ...
's government introduced universal suffrage for male citizens. In this period, the provisions of the Statute were often not observed. Instead, the elected Chamber and the Head of Government took major roles. At the beginning of the 20th century, many observers thought that, by comparison to other countries, Italy was developing in the direction of a modern democracy. Essential issues that needed to be resolved included the relationship of the Kingdom with the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. A crisis arose in Italian society as a result of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, social inequalities, and the consequent tension between
Marxist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...
and other left-wing parties on one side and conservative liberals on the other. This crisis led to the advent of
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...
, which destroyed freedoms and civil rights and established a dictatorship, breaking the continuity of the still fragile parliamentary tradition. The support of the
ruling class In sociology, the ruling class of a society is the social class who set and decide the political and economic agenda of society. In Marxist philosophy, the ruling class are the capitalist social class who own the means of production and by ex ...
and especially of the monarchy was crucial for the seizure of power by
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 ...
. After Mussolini's
March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 192 ...
in October 1922, King Victor Emmanuel III refused to sign a decree to declare a state of siege and instead asked Mussolini to form a new government. The King's decision was within his powers under the Albertine Statute, but contrary to the parliamentary practices of the Italian liberal state, as 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 ...
had only a small minority of the parliamentary deputies. After the invasion of Italy by Allied forces in 1943, the Grand Council of Fascism, with the co-operation of the King, overthrew Mussolini from power and established a new government headed by Marshal
Pietro Badoglio Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...
.
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, worried by the new government's intention to negotiate a separate peace with the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
, invaded and occupied Northern Italy. In the Gran Sasso raid, or Operation Oak, German paratroopers rescued Mussolini from the hilltop hotel in which he had been imprisoned by the new government. Under pressure from
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, Mussolini then established a puppet state, the
Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...
to administer the German-occupied territory, leading to Italy being split in two, each with its own government. In the North, Mussolini declared that the monarchy had been overthrown and began to establish a new republican state, with himself as '' Duce'', but for practical purposes under the control of Karl Wolff and
Rudolf Rahn Rudolf Rahn (16 March 1900 – 7 January 1975) was a German diplomat who served the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. As a member of the Party, and as Plenipotentiary to the Italian Social Republic in the closing stages of the Second World War, h ...
. The Italian Social Republic had its seat of government in the town of
Salò Salò (; la, Salodium) is a town and '' comune'' in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy (northern Italy) on the banks of Lake Garda, on which it has the longest promenade. The city was the seat of government of the Italian Social ...
, so is commonly known as the Republic of Salo. Southern Italy, meanwhile, remained nominally under the control of the new legitimist government of Badoglio, continuing to operate as the Kingdom of Italy. Rome descended into chaos, as fighting erupted between Mussolini loyalists and supporters of the new government, as well as leftist opponents of fascism who emerged from hiding. The King and the government left Rome to seek the protection of the Allied forces that occupied the South. With half of the Italian peninsula occupied by the Germans and the rest by the Allies, a return to civil rights was suspended due to the complete disorder in the country. The pre-Fascist-era parties had been formally disbanded, and so far as they still existed their activity was clandestine and limited, with no form of contact with most of the population. Consequently, the future relationships between these parties and the balance of power were left to be decided at a later, quieter time. However, some political forces organized the Italian Resistance, which enjoyed strong popular support. Almost all of the Resistance were anti-monarchists; nevertheless, a temporary alliance between them and the Badoglio government was created by the decision of
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
and Palmiro Togliatti, secretary of the Italian Communist Party, to postpone the problem of the state organization and focus all efforts on the fight against Hitler's puppet state in the North. At the end of the war, Italy was a severely damaged country, with innumerable victims, a destroyed economy, and a desperate general condition. The defeat left the country deprived of the Empire it had fought for in the past two decades and also occupied by foreign soldiers. For some years after 1945, internal politically motivated fighting continued. The emergence of political forces to replace fascism could not occur until the internal conflict ended and elections could be held. After fighting had died down, a few months were needed before attention could be given to institutional matters. The first important question regarded the
royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pa ...
, blamed by many for the fascist regime, the war, and the defeat. Republican traditions in Italy traditionally hark back to the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
and the Medieval comunes, in which a wide spectrum of people took part in the business of government, but remained largely theoretical, as in the conclusion of Machiavelli's ''
Il Principe ''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...
''. The struggle for a Republican Italy independent of foreign powers had been started by Giuseppe Mazzini in the 19th century. The movement '' Giustizia e Libertà'', which continued the traditional Mazzinian ideology, was the second important force during the Resistance. It posed the question of the form of the state as a fundamental precondition to developing any further agreements with the other parties. ''Giustizia e Libertà'' joined the '' Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale'' (National Liberation Committee, CLN). The various competing political factions agreed that a popular referendum would be held to determine the future institutional form of the Italian State.


Abdication

As the Allies advanced through the peninsula, it became apparent that Victor Emmanuel III was too compromised by his earlier support of Mussolini to have any further role. Accordingly, in April 1944 he turned over most of his powers to Crown Prince Umberto. When Rome was recaptured on 4 June 1944, Victor Emmanuel relinquished his remaining powers to Umberto and named him Lieutenant General of the Realm, making him the de facto regent. However, Victor Emmanuel retained the title of king until his abdication in May 1946. Umberto then formally ascended the throne as
King Umberto II en, Albert Nicholas Thomas John Maria of Savoy , house = Savoy , father = Victor Emmanuel III of Italy , mother = Princess Elena of Montenegro , birth_date = , birth_place = Racconigi, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy , de ...
. Many historians have noted that the royal house had an interest in the abdication, finding convenient to have a popular king "on stage" at that crucial moment. Umberto was more acceptable to the Italian people, in part thanks to his young and elegant life-style, and partially because his figure presented a stark contrast to the old, rough Victor Emmanuel, seen as compromised with the fascist regime himself. Umberto was relatively well received by the people from the moment of his
enthronement An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. Enthronements may also feature as part of a larger coronation rite. ...
, even if his wife Marie-José was kept at some distance because of her foreign origins. He was commonly called ''Re di Maggio'' ('the May King'), with reference to his brief rule of only 34 days.


Referendum

On 25 June 1944, a decree by Crown Prince Umberto, issued in his capacity as Lieutenant General of the Realm, during Ivanoe Bonomi’s time in office as Prime Minister, prescribed that a Constitutional Assembly would be organized after the war to draft a constitution and to choose an institutional form for the Italian State. The institutional debate was accelerated in the spring of 1946: * On 1 March, De Gasperi government gave its approval for the definitive scope of the referendum to be ''
Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
'' versus ''
Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic ( constitutional monar ...
''; * On 12 March, the government called the 2 June 1946 as the date of the referendum and of the election of the Constituent Assembly; * On 18 March, the King issued the decrees together with a letter in which he anticipated his intention to abdicate in favour of his son Umberto (who was named Lieutenant General); the date for abdication being the anniversary of the Allied forces’ entry into Rome; * On 25 April, at the congress of
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 ...
, it was revealed that, after an internal investigation, the opinion of the members of the party was 60% in favour of the republic, 17% in favour of the monarchy, and 23% undecided; * On 9 May, Victor Emanuel III abdicated and left Italy from
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...
by ship, after a long meeting with Umberto. The Crown Prince then ascended the throne as Umberto II; * On 10 May, early in the morning, Umberto II made his first public announcement as king. That afternoon, the government censured Admiral Raffaele de Courten, who had set aside a battle cruiser for Victor Emanuel's exile that was supposed to be used to bring home Italian prisoners. It was also decided that the traditional institutional formula by which any decree or sentence was released in the name of "''N,'' King of Italy, by God's grace and the nation's will", would be reduced to the simpler "''N,'' King of Italy". Taking effect on the day Umberto became king, this act did not present a warm welcome for the new king, especially since the government had not given him advance notice of its intention. Nevertheless, the king's main powers were "frozen" until the referendum. The political campaign for the referendum was framed by incidents, especially in northern Italy, where monarchists were attacked by both republicans and post-fascists of the Italian Social Republic. Following a second decree (''decreto legge luogotenenziale 16 marzo 1946, n. 98''), during the government of De Gasperi, a
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...
was held on 2 June, which was later named a national holiday in honour of the vote, and 3 June 1946. The question was simple: "Republic or Monarchy?" Following Italian law, the results were checked by the
Corte di Cassazione The Supreme Court of Cassation ( it, Corte Suprema di Cassazione) is the highest court of appeal or court of last resort in Italy. It has its seat in the Palace of Justice, Rome. The Court of Cassation also ensures the correct application of ...
(the highest judicial Court at that time), as expected. A problem arose when the Court, itself divided between monarchists and republicans, ''provisionally'' declared a republican victory on 10 June, but postponed the final result to 18 June. To avoid huge dangers of political riots due to the Court's delay, the government itself declared a republic and appointed De Gasperi as the provisional Head of State on 13 June. The legality of this action (according to the law in force at the time) is debated, as the Corte di Cassazione already declared a republican victory, at the same time stating that further data were to be analyzed.


Results


By district

The conservative, rural ''
Mezzogiorno Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the pe ...
'' (southern Italy) region voted solidly for the monarchy (63.8%) while the more urbanised and industrialised ''Nord'' (northern Italy) voted equally firmly for a republic (66.2%).


By most populated city


Aftermath

The republic was formally proclaimed on 6 June 1946, ending King Umberto II's brief 34-day reign as king. Umberto at first refused to accept what he called "the outrageous illegality" of the referendum, and took his
deposition Deposition may refer to: * Deposition (law), taking testimony outside of court * Deposition (politics), the removal of a person of authority from political power * Deposition (university), a widespread initiation ritual for new students practiced f ...
badly. In his last statement as king, Umberto refused to accept the republic, saying he was the victim of a ''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
'' by his ministers and the referendum had been rigged against him.Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p.340. In response, Alcide De Gasperi, who became Acting President, replied in a press statement:
"We must strive to understand the tragedy of someone who, after inheriting a military defeat and a disastrous complicity with dictatorship, tried hard in recent months to work with patience and good will towards a better future. But this final act of the thousand-year old House of Savoy must be seen as part of our national catastrophe; it is an expiation, an expiation forced upon all of us, even those who have not shared directly in the guilt of the dynasty".
Some monarchists advocated using force to prevent a republic from being proclaimed, even at the risk of a civil war, but Mack Smith wrote that: "Common sense and patriotism saved Umberto from accepting such counsel".Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p.339 Umberto rejected the advice that he should go to Naples and proclaim a rival government, with the intention of starting a civil war in which the Army would presumably side with the House of Savoy, under the grounds that "My house united Italy. It will not divide it". The monarchy of the
House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
formally ended on 12 June 1946, and Umberto left the country. Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi assumed office as Italy's interim Head of State. At about 15:00 on 13 June, Umberto left the Quirinal Palace for the last time with the servants all assembled in the courtyard to see him off; many were in tears. At the
Ciampino Airport Ciampino () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, Italy. It was a ''frazione'' of Marino until 1974, when it became a ''comune''; it obtained the city ( it, città) status (being therefore officially known as Citt� ...
in Rome, as Umberto boarded the aeroplane that was to take him to Lisbon, a '' Carabiniere'' grabbed him by the hand and shaking it in tears said "Your Majesty, we will never forget you!"


See also

* 1946 Italian general election * History of the Italian Republic


References


External links


Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 134, 20 June 1946
{{Authority control History of the Italian Republic 1946 referendums 1946 elections in Italy 1946 Monarchy referendums June 1946 events in Europe