1971 Italian presidential election

Election of the President of the Italian Republic May 2020 1971 Italian presidential election Italy presidential electoral no 1964 Italian presidential election 1964 9–24 December 1971 1978 Italian presidential election 1978 1,008 voters(320 Senators, 630 Deputies and 58 regional representatives) 673 (1st–3rd ballots) or 505 (4th ballot onwards) File:Presidente Leone.jpg 170x170px Giovanni Leone Christian Democracy (Italy) 518 51.4% File:Pietro Nenni 2.jpg Pietro Nenni Italian Socialist Party 408 40.4% President Giuseppe Saragat PSDI Giovanni Leone DC The 1971 Italian presidential election was held in Italy on 9–24 December 1971. Only members of Parliament and regional delegates were entitled to vote, most of these electors having been elected in the 1968 general election and in the 1970 regional elections. As head of state of the Italian Republic, the President has a role of representation of national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Italian Constitution, in the framework of a parliamentary system. On 24 December 1971 former Prime Minister and president of the Chamber of Deputies Giovanni Leone was elected president with 518 votes out of 1,008, the smallest majority ever obtained by an elected president. With twenty-three rounds of voting, this presidential election remains still today the longest presidential election in the Italian republican history. Procedure In accordance with the Italian Constitution, the election was held in the form of a secret ballot, with the senators and the deputies entitled to vote. The election was held in the Palazzo Montecitorio, home of the Chamber of Deputies, with the capacity of the building expanded for the purpose. The first three ballots required a two-thirds majority of the 1,008 voters in order to elect a president, or 673 votes. Starting from the fourth ballot, an absolute majority was required for candidates to be elected, or 505 votes. The presidential mandate lasts seven years. The election was presided over by the President of the Chamber of Deputies Sandro Pertini, who proceeded to the public counting of the votes, and by the President of the Senate Amintore Fanfani. Proposed nominees Francesco De Martino, former secretary of Italian Socialist Party, was the first proposal of the left-wing opposition parties; Amintore Fanfani, one of the most important leaders of Christian Democracy, was initially proposed by the centre-left government; Giovanni Leone, whose nomination emerged only since the twenty-second round of voting; Pietro Nenni, former partisan and leader of the socialists, proposed by left-wing parties at penultimate round of voting. Political background The period from the late 1960 through the 1970s came to be known as the Opposti Estremismi (from left-wing and right-wing extremists' riots), later renamed anni di piombo ("years of lead") because of a wave of bombings and shootings. The first victim of this period was Antonio Annarumma, a policeman, killed on 12 November 1969 in Milan during a left-wing demonstration. In December 1969, four bombings struck in Rome the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II (Altare della Patria), the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, and in Milan the Banca Commerciale and the Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura. The later bombing, known as the Piazza Fontana bombing of 12 December 1969, killed 17 and injured 88. Social protests, in which the student movement was particularly active, shook Italy during the 1969 autunno caldo (Hot Autumn), leading to the occupation of the Fiat factory in Turin. In December 1970, a neo-fascist coup, dubbed the Golpe Borghese, was planned by young far-right fanatics, elderly veterans of Italian Social Republic, and supported by members of the Corpo Forestale dello Stato, along with right-aligned entrepreneurs and industrialists. The "Black Prince", Junio Valerio Borghese, took part in it. The coup, called off at the last moment, was discovered by the newspaper Paese Sera, and publicly exposed three months later.Indro Montanelli Mario Cervi L'Italia degli anni di piombo Milan, Lombardy, Italy Rizzoli Editore 1991 In this extremely difficult context for republican institutions, on 9 December 1971 Italian Parliament convened to elect a new President. As a result of the 1968 general election, left-wing parties had now more representatives in the Parliament, while Christian Democracy had shrunk its numbers, making it more difficult to elect the new President without the help of its centre-left allies. After a long voting period which lasted almost two weeks, the Christian democrat Giovanni Leone managed to be elected President with the votes of the Christian Democracy and the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, facing the extreme opposition of the left-wing parties. Results CandidateFirst round9 Dec 1971Second round9 Dec 1971Third round10 Dec 1971Fourth round11 Dec 1971Fifth round12 Dec 1971Sixth round12 Dec 1971Seventh round13 Dec 1971Eighth round13 Dec 1971Ninth round14 Dec 1971Francesco De Martino397398404411399413408411407Amintore Fanfani384368384377385378–––Giovanni Malagodi495050505148505247Giuseppe Saragat454651505150515055Augusto De Marsanich4239384243––––Mariano Rumor–––––6–––Other candidates1284347224Blank papers577762646291514848Invalid papers1––––3–12Abstentions212215111312446444445Total1,0081,0081,0081,0081,0081,0081,0081,0081,008 CandidateTenth round14 Dec 1971Eleventh round15 Dec 1971Twelfth round15 Dec 1971Thirteenth round16 Dec 1971Fourteenth round17 Dec 1971Fifteenth round18 Dec 1971Sixteenth round18 Dec 1971Seventeenth round19 Dec 1971Francesco De Martino404407394407406400393397Amintore Fanfani–393––––65Giovanni Malagodi4848––––––Giuseppe Saragat565648494942––Pietro Nenni––––––7–Sandro Pertini––––––57Other candidates3221495936Blank papers5060624815191013Invalid papers2211–21–Abstentions44520490494533536583580Total1,0081,0081,0081,0081,0081,0081,0081,008 CandidateEighteenth round20 December 1971Nineteenth round21 December 1971Twentieth round21 December 1971Twenty-first round22 December 1971Twenty-second round23 December 1971Twenty-third round24 December 1971Francesco De Martino402390402400––Giuseppe Saragat––––7–Pietro Nenni–9––408408Sandro Pertini710–666Giovanni Leone––––503518Other candidates761071925Blank papers121715174636Invalid papers––––23Abstentions5795765815781712Total1,0081,0081,0081,0081,0081,008Source: Presidency of the Republic Inauguration Giovanni Leone officially sworn in as the new President of Italy on 29 December 1971. Gallery Notes References Category:Presidential elections in Italy Category:1971 elections in Italy