1984 European Parliament election in Italy

The 1984 European Parliament election in Italy was held on 17 June 1984. The election took place just a week after the death of Italian Communist Party (PCI) leader Enrico Berlinguer; this fact greatly influenced the vote, producing a historical result.[1]

1984 European Parliament election in Italy
Italy
17 June 1984
All 81 Italian seats to the European Parliament
Turnout82.47% (Decrease 2.9 pp)
PartyLeader % Seats +/–
PCI Alessandro Natta 33.3% 27 +3
DC Ciriaco De Mita 33.0% 26 -3
PSI Bettino Craxi 11.2% 9 0
MSI Giorgio Almirante 6.5% 5 +1
PLI–PRI V. Zanone & G. Spadolini 6.1% 5 +2
PSDI Pietro Longo 3.5% 3 -1
PR Marco Pannella 3.7% 3 0
DP Mario Capanna 1.4% 1 0
SVP Silvius Magnago 0.6% 1 0
PSd'Az – others Several leaders 0.6% 1 +1
Major party in each Province.

Electoral system

The pure party-list proportional representation was the traditional electoral system of the Italian Republic since its foundation in 1946, so it had been adopted to elect the Italian representatives to the European Parliament too. Two levels were used: a national level to divide seats between parties, and a constituency level to distribute them between candidates. Italian regions were united in 5 constituencies, each electing a group of deputies. At national level, seats were divided between party lists using the largest remainder method with Hare quota. All seats gained by each party were automatically distributed to their local open lists and their most voted candidates.

Results

The public emotion caused by Berlinguer's tragic death resulted in an extraordinary strength for the PCI;[1] for the first time in Western Europe since the 1956 French legislative election and the first time ever in Italian history, a Communist party received a plurality by a democratic vote.

In opposition, this result reinforced the moderate government ruling the country. The Italian Socialist Party of Prime Minister Bettino Craxi had maintained its vote, and its major ally, the defeated Christian Democracy, did not want to take any chances of a political crisis that could lead to dangerous general election.

← Summary of the 17 June 1984 European Parliament election results in Italy →
National party EP group Main candidate Votes  % +/– Seats +/–
Italian Communist Party (PCI) COM Enrico Berlinguer 11,714,428 33.33 3.76 Increase 27 3 Increase
Christian Democracy (DC) EPP Ciriaco De Mita 11,583,767 32.96 3.49 Decrease 26 3 Decrease
Italian Socialist Party (PSI) SOC Carlo Tognoli 3,940,445 11.21 0.18 Increase 9 0 Steady
Italian Social Movement (MSI) ER Giorgio Almirante 2,274,556 6.47 1.02 Increase 5 1 Increase
Italian Liberal Party – Italian Republican Party (PLI–PRI) LD Sergio Pininfarina 2,140,501 6.09 2.46 Increase 5 2 Increase
Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI) SOC Giovanni Moroni 1,225,462 3.49 0.83 Decrease 3 1 Decrease
Radical Party (PR) NI Enzo Tortora 1,199,876 3.41 0.26 Decrease 3 0 Steady
Proletarian Democracy (DP) RBW Emilio Molinari 506,753 1.44 0.72 Increase 1 0 Steady
South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) EPP Joachim Dalsass 198,220 0.56 0 Steady 1 0 Steady
Federalism (UV–PSd'Az–Others) RBW Michele Columbu 193,430 0.55 0.08 Increase 1 1 Increase
Venetian League (ŁV) None 164,115 0.47 — 0 0 Steady
Valid votes 35,141,553 94.80
Blank and invalid votes 1,928,073 5.20
Totals 37,069,626 100.00 — 81 —
Electorate (eligible voters) and voter turnout 44,948,253 82.47 2.91 Decrease
Source: Italian Ministry of the Interior
Popular vote
PCI
 
 33.33%
DC
 
 32.96%
PSI
 
 11.21%
MSI
 
 6.47%
PLI-PRI
 
 6.09%
PR
 
 3.67%
PSDI
 
 3.49%
DP
 
 1.44%
Others
 
 1.58%

See also
  1. Lomellini, Valentine (2015). "The PCI and the European Integration from Eurocommunism to Berlinguer's Death". In Bonreschi, Lucia; Orsina, Giovanni; Varsori, Antonio (eds.). European Political Cultures and Parties and the European Integration Process, 1945–1992. Bern: Peter Lang. ISBN 978-2-87574-279-7.
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