Italian Election Series - 1964 General Elections

[Antonio the Sixth]

The results of the 1961 election brutally crushed the coalition's hopes for a continued period of stability and moderate government. Not only did the PLI-Pd'Az-PSDI alliance fall far short of an absolute majority, but even a hypothetical government supported by DC and monarchists would not have enough votes to govern. The hypothetical opening to PSI, previously a remote option, had suddenly become a necessity. With its historical performance (the second best result in the party's history and the best since the split with the communists - as well as the best result ever obtained by any party post-WW2), the Socialist party was now in a position of strength to negotiate the formation of the new government. However, it still had to deal with the Liberal party, which remained at its very high 1961 levels. The leaders of the two parties met for several months in order to negotiate the composition and platform of the future government. Finally, in late September, with the help of former "comrade" (and acting PM) Giuseppe Saragat, a deal was reached. Pietro Nenni, the PSI's historic leader, became PM at the age of 70. PLI leader Malagodi was Deputy PM, and the government included a few ministers from PSDI and Pd'Az as well.

The government's first task was the election of a new President, as Ferruccio Parri's term came to an end in April 1962. Fearful of PSI's institutional hegemony, PLI vetoed the hypotheses of a socialist President such as Nenni or Sandro Pertini. Eventually, an agreement was found on Giuseppe Saragat, whose socialist origins made him palatable by the PSI (though some inside the party considered him a traitor) and he was easily elected. The government's second big project was the establishment of the regional governments that the 1948 constitution nominally provided for. The PSI had strongly insisted for it, seeing it as an occasion to implement its policies at the local level in left-leaning regions. The law was voted in late 1962, and the first regional elections were held in May of 1963. PCI and PSI together won an absolute majority in Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Liguria and Piedmont. In most other regions, a coalition similar to the national one was formed, though in some Southern regions the moderate parties were able to ally with the monarchists and kept the socialists out. The PSI also forced the government to repeal of the "fraud law" and return to full Proportional Representation.

PSI and PLI managed to find a compromise on economic policy, though this compromise was painful for both sides. The PSI had to renounce to the nationalizations it has promised and to other radical aspects of its program. On the other hand, the liberals were forced to accept a major overhaul of labor regulations - strengthening the power of unions within businesses, tightly regulating layoffs, banning certain degrading working conditions and increasing unemployment benefits, sick leaves and several other substitution incomes. This "Statute of the Workers" was passed by a PCI-PSI-PSDI-Pd'Az majority, with PLI abstaining. The PSI also obtained major hikes of the minimum wages in many branches (the PLI vetoed the idea of a national minimum wage), and of several other public allowances. The government parties agreed to lower sales taxes while slightly raising income taxes for middle and high incomes. On foreign policy, the new government took a slightly more independent stand toward the United States, but remained a loyal member of the NATO.

The political landscape on the left side changed a bit throughout the legislature. In January 1962 already, the left-wing of the PSI, which opposed the party's strategy of compromise with the centrist parties and remained favorable to an alliance with the PCI, seceded from the party and formed the Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity (PSIUP), taking with it a bit over 40 deputies and 20 senators. This split did not really weaken the government, which (at least nominally) had a comfortable majority in both houses. Meanwhile, the PSDI, shaken by its recent electoral collapse and having lost its natural leader with Saragat's rise to the Presidency, started debating its dissolution in 1963. The party's leadership eventually decided in favor of a merger with the Action Party (the two parties had become ideological twins by that point) over one with the PSI. In December 1963, the two parties made the union official with the formation of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP). Still, many members of the left-wing of the PSDI disapproved of this choice and instead decided to come back in the PSI's ranks.

Despite its momentous achievements, it was clear from the outset that the Nenni government was a fragile one. The government suffered several crises throughout 1962 and 1963, and was eventually forced to resign in September of that year. The PSI's leadership, confident in the party's popularity after the recent achievements, pressured President Saragat to call for new elections, but Saragat refused and instead forced PSI and PLI to patch up together. Nenni, exhausted after two years of squabbles and tough negotiations, left the Prime Ministership to his fellow party member Giacomo Mancini. His government managed to pass the previously described fiscal reform, but it soon clashed over the 1964 budget. After months of fruitless negotiations, the proposed budget was voted down by the Parliament in March of 1964 and the government fell. Once again, Saragat attempted to mediate the conflict, but this time he did not succeed, and was forced to call new elections in May.

Presidents of the Council of Ministers since 1946:
June 1946-Nov 1948: Ferruccio Parri (Pd'Az)
Nov 1948-Aug 1949: Ugo La Malfa (Pd'Az)
Aug 1949-Jan 1951: Amintore Fanfani (DC)
Jan 1951-Mar 1951: Riccardo Lombardi (Pd'Az)
Mar 1951-Apr 1951: Giuseppe Pella (DC)
Apr 1951-July 1951: Amintore Fanfani (DC)
July 1951-Sept 1951: Giuseppe Saragat (PSLI)
Sept 1951-Feb 1952: Antonio Segni
Feb 1952-Apr 1954: Giuseppe Saragat (PSDI)
Apr 1954-Dec 1954: Gaetano Martino (PLI)
Dec 1954-Mar 1955: Ugo La Malfa (Pd'Az)
Mar 1955-May 1955: Antonio Segni (DC)
May 1955-Jan 1956: Bruno Villabruna (PLI)
Jan 1956-Aug 1956: Adone Zoli (DC)
Aug 1956-Feb 1959: Giovanni Malagodi (PLI)
Feb 1959-Oct 1961: Giuseppe Saragat (PSDI)
Oct 1961-Nov 1963: Pietro Nenni (PSI)
Nov 1963- : Giacomo Mancini (PSI)

Presidents of the Republic since 1948:
1948-1955: Luigi Einaudi (PLI)
1955-1962: Ferruccio Parri (Pd'Az)
1962- : Giuseppe Saragat (PSDI, PDP)


List of parties:

Italian Communist Party (PCI) Still hard-left, Marxist, pro-USSR, and anti-US. Has supported some of the government's reforms (notably the Statute of the Workers) but still fiercely opposes the coalition government.

Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity (PSIUP) A splinter group from the PSI, which opposes its new line of compromise with the centrist parties. Like the PSI before 1957, it remains allied with the PCI and supports an alliance of the left.

Italian Socialist Party (PSI) The new dominant government party, it has largely set the agenda for the past 3 years, spearheading several sweeping reforms such as the establishment of regions, the Statute of the Workers and the fiscal reform. It strongly wishes to form a government without needing the PLI's support. A PCI-PSI alliance is a discussed option, but the most likely one remains some sort of agreement with the centrist forces.

Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) The result of the merger between PSDI and Pd'Az. It is a centre-left party which opposes Marxism and supports a continued centrist coalition. It has largely become a government party favorable, if not to status quo, at least to moderate reforms.

Christian Democracy (DC) De Gasperi's old party has kept losing ground throughout the history of the Republic, and since 1956 it has been excluded from government. Losing most of its raison d'être, it is increasingly divided both on economic and social policy. It still vainly calls for the establishment of popular-initiative referendum, in the hope to roll back the divorce and adultery laws.

Italian Liberal Party (PLI) The main force of the Italian right, it retains a very strong level of support. It has fought relentlessly against the PSI's effort at economic reform, with mixed success. It prides itself of being the last bulwark of Italy's free enterprise against the assaults of collectivism. It would prefer to work with right-wing and center-left parties, but this seems difficult at this point.

Italian Democratic Party of Monarchist Unity (PDIUM) Still defending a return to the monarchy, something which seems rather unlikely at this point. It is also uniformly conservative.

Italian Social Movement (MSI) Fascists. Clinging to their ideals despite declining poll numbers.

[Antonio the Sixth]

PLI now PLI forever

For some reason, I thought you were one of the diehard monarchists.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Supersonic and DC are two, but who are the other two?

PDP.  The Socialists have been doing some great work since their pragmatic turn, and I hope they continue to outpoll the Liberals, but I'm not ready to let PCI into the government.  And I'm still a bit skeptical about the regional governments.

Be careful, wild swings sometimes happen in Atlitaly, and PSI could end up with 3 votes!

[Antonio the Sixth]

Looks like polarization is marching on!

[Antonio the Sixth]

Just voted (for PSI obviously)... and wow. Really didn't expect these results. It's basically the last election in reverse!

[Antonio the Sixth]

I wonder if this could end with some sort of PLI-PDIUM-PDP-DC coalition (just for fun, I guess).

Definitely a strong possibility, if these results hold.

[Antonio the Sixth]

PSI sounds pretty good for the time being. Obviously, regionalism is a huge plus in my book.

Thought you'd stick with PCI? Not that I'm unhappy with your choice, of course.

Two more votes and we reach PLI!

[Antonio the Sixth]

Good turnout! Hope we can reach the 40 votes we got last time.

BTW, I'm surprised to see so may voters seemingly switched from PCI to PSIUP... Considering PSIUP's main plank is being best buds with PCI, I'd think the kind of voters who liked it would still prefer PCI.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Good turnout! Hope we can reach the 40 votes we got last time.

BTW, I'm surprised to see so may voters seemingly switched from PCI to PSIUP... Considering PSIUP's main plank is being best buds with PCI, I'd think the kind of voters who liked it would still prefer PCI.

I'd trust PSIUP to be more independent from the Stalinist line, without fully compromising into some social-democratic coalition partner. Even if a popular front is possible, I can't see either PSI or PCI going for it (unlike PSIUP), and punish them both accordingly.

Yeah, that makes sense...

Keep in mind that the PCI is soon going to start evolving as well (it already isn't nearly as doctrinaire as its equivalents in other Western countries). You don't want to kill it off before it becomes really awesome under Berlinguer.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yeah, as painful as it is for me to get rid of a party with such historical significance, I can't keep forever a party that consistently polls so low. For some reason, our resident socons have fallen in love with the monarchists instead.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I don't think DC and PDIUM could outright merge. Although there are certainly many members of DC which would fit well with the monarchists, a large wing of the party would never accept that.

Anyway, I'm closing the vote in about six hours. It seems that we have maxed up in turnout (though I'd love to be proven wrong ).

[Antonio the Sixth]

Remarkably symmetrical.

Two more votes for PSI would make it perfect!

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'm leaving it a couple more hours, since we recently got another vote.

[Antonio the Sixth]

It is not necessary to kill DC. In real history in some elections PRI and PDIUM received less than 2 % votes, but they didn't cease to exist instantly thereafter. So even after this disastrous election DC can survive as a minor, almost useless party.

That's true, but...

1) In a game like these, there is little purpose in keeping a party that consistently gets 0 to 1 vote. It's a source of confusion more than anything. I killed off PRI after 1946, even though it got one vote, based on this logic.

2) DC was designed to be the political powerhouse it became IRL. It probably would not have adapted to political irrelevancy as well as RL PSDI, PRI or PLI did. Furthermore, it's been ostracized from governments for a decade, making it even more irrelevant than the previously cited parties.

3) Keeping DC as a marginal party would mean that several of its most prominent members IRL, which are very interesting characters for Italian politics, would be relegated away from the spotlights. If we get rid of DC these politicians could get a major role within other parties.

Anyway, a bit more than an hour left! Hurry up if you want to vote!