Legislature IV of Italy

IV legislatura della Repubblica Italiana
4th legislature
Type
Type
HousesChamber of Deputies
Senate of the Republic
History
Founded16 May 1963 (1963-05-16)
Disbanded4 June 1968 (1968-06-04) (5 years, 19 days)
Preceded byIII Legislature
Succeeded byV Legislature
Leadership
Cesare Merzagora, Ind
(16 May 1963 – 7 November 1967)
Ennio Zelioli-Lanzini, DC
(8 November 1967 – 4 June 1968)
Giovanni Leone, DC
(16 May 1963 – 21 June 1963)
Brunetto Bucciarelli-Ducci, DC
(26 June 1963 – 4 June 1968)
Structure
Seats630 (C)
315+ (S)
Chamber of Deputies political groups
  •   DC (260)
  •   PCI (166)
  •   PSI (87)
  •   PLI (39)
  •   PSDI (33)
  •   MSI (27)
  •   PDIUM (8)
  •   PRI (6)
  •   Others (4)
Senate political groups
Elections
Proportional
Proportional
Last general election
28 April 1963
Meeting place
Palazzo Montecitorio, Rome (C)
Palazzo Madama, Rome (S)
Website
Fourth Legislature – Chamber of Deputies
Fourth Legislature – Senate
Constitution
Constitution of Italy

The Legislature IV of Italy (Italian: IV Legislatura della Repubblica Italiana) was the 4th legislature of the Italian Republic, and lasted from 16 May 1963 until 4 June 1968.[1][2] Its composition was the one resulting from the general election of 28 April 1963.

Main chronology

Despite a good approval in public opinion, late Fanfani's reformist policy produced a significant mistrust of the Italian industrial class and the right-wing faction of the Christian Democracy (DC).

In the 1963 general election, the Christian Democrats lost almost one million votes, gaining nearly 38%, while the Communists arrived second with 25%.[3] However the liberals surged to 7%, their best results ever, receiving many votes from former Christian Democratic supporters, who were against Fanfani's centre-left policies. With the decline of electoral support, the majority of DC members decided to replace Fanfani with a provisional government (also defined "governo balneare", literarily "seaside government", by many journalists) led by impartial President of the Chamber of Deputies, Giovanni Leone.[4] When the congress of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) in autumn that year authorized a full engagement of the party into the government, Leone resigned and Aldo Moro became the new Prime Minister.[5]

Aldo Moro's government was unevenly supported by the DC, but also by the PSI, along with the minor Italian Republican Party (PRI) and Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI). The coalition was also known as Organic Centre-left and was characterized by consociationalist and social corporatist tendencies.[6]

Moro I Cabinet sworn in at the Quirinal Palace in front of President Antonio Segni on 4 December 1963

During Moro's premiership, a wide range of social reforms were carried out. The 1967 Bridge Law (Legge Ponte) introduced urgent housing provisions as part of an envisioned reform of the entire sector, such as the introduction of minimum standards for housing and environment.[7] A reform, promulgated on 14 December 1963, introduced an annual allowance for university students with income below a given level. Another law, promulgated on 10 March 1968, introduced voluntary public pre-elementary education for children aged three to five years. While a bill, approved on 21 July 1965, extended the program of social security.[8] Moreover, the legal minimum wage was raised, all current pensions were revalued, seniority pensions were introduced (after 35 years of contributions workers could retire even before attaining pensionable age), and within the Social Security National Institute (INPS), a Social Fund (Fondo Sociale) was established, ensuring to all members pensioners a basic uniform pension largely financed by state, known as the "social pension".[9] A law, approved on 22 July 1966, extended social security insurance to small traders, while law of 22 July 1966 extended health insurance to retired traders. Another important reform was implemented with a bill, approved on 29 May 1967, which extended compulsory health insurance to retired farmers, tenant farmers, and sharecroppers, and extended health insurance to the unemployed in receipt of unemployment benefits.[10] Moreover, a law of 5 November 1968 extended family allowances to the unemployed who received unemployment benefits.[11]

On 25 June 1964, the government was beaten on the budget law for the Italian Ministry of Education concerning the financing of private education, and on the same day Moro resigned. The right-wing Christian Democratic President of Italy, Antonio Segni, during the presidential consultations for the formation of a new cabinet, asked the socialist leader Pietro Nenni to exit from the government majority.[12]

On 16 July, Segni sent the Carabinieri general, Giovanni De Lorenzo, to a meeting of representatives of DC, to deliver a message in case the negotiations around the formation of a new centre-left government would fail. According to some historians, De Lorenzo reported that President Segni was ready to give a subsequent mandate to the President of the Senate Cesare Merzagora, asking him of forming a "president's government", composed by all the conservative forces in the Parliament.[13][14] Moro, on the other hand, managed to form another centre-left majority. During the negotiations, Nenni had accepted the downsizing of his reform programs and, on 17 July, Moro went to the Quirinal Palace, with the acceptance of the assignment and the list of ministers of his second government.[15]

In August 1964, President Segni suffered a serious cerebral hemorrhage and resigned after a few months.[16] In December presidential election, Moro and his majority tried to elect a leftist politician at the Quirinal Palace. On the twenty-first round of voting, the leader of the PSDI and former President of the Constituent Assembly Giuseppe Saragat was elected president. Saragat was the first left-wing politician to become President of the Republic.[17][18]

Despite the opposition by Segni and other prominent rightist Christian Democrats, the centre-left coalition, the first one for the Italian post-war political life, stayed in power for nearly five years, until the 1968 general election, which was characterised by a defeat for DC's centre-left allies.[19]

Presidential election

On 16 December 1964 the Parliament met to elect the fourth President of Italy. On 28 December 1964 the democratic socialist Giuseppe Saragat was elected on the twenty-first ballot with 646 votes out of 927.

Government

Prime Minister Party Term of office Government Composition
Took office Left office
Giovanni Leone
(1908–2001)		 Christian Democracy 21 June 1963 4 December 1963 Leone I DC
(with PSDI, PRI and PSI's external support)
Aldo Moro
(1916–1978)		 Christian Democracy 4 December 1963 22 July 1964 Moro I DC  • PSI  • PSDI  • PRI
(Organic Centre-left)
22 July 1964 23 February 1966 Moro II
23 February 1966 24 June 1968 Moro III

Parliamentary composition

Chamber of Deputies

Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies: Giovanni Leone (1963) and Brunetto Bucciarelli-Ducci (1963–1968)
Parliamentary groups in the Chamber of Deputies
Initial composition[20]
(16 May 1963)		 Final composition[20]
(4 June 1968)
Parliamentary group Seats Parliamentary group Seats Change
Christian Democracy 260 Christian Democracy 259 Decrease 1
Italian Communist Party 166 Italian Communist Party 166 Steady
Italian Socialist Party 87 Unified Socialist Party 94 Decrease 26
Italian Democratic Socialist Party 33
Italian Liberal Party 39 Italian Liberal Party 37 Decrease 2
Italian Social Movement 27 Italian Social Movement 26 Decrease 1
Italian Democratic Party of Monarchist Unity 8 Italian Democratic Party of Monarchist Unity 8 Steady
Italian Republican Party 6 Italian Republican Party 5 Decrease 1
Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity 24 Increase 24
Mixed 4 Mixed 11 Increase 7
Südtiroler Volkspartei 3 Südtiroler Volkspartei 3 Steady
Union Valdôtaine 1 Union Valdôtaine 1 Steady
Independent–Non inscrits 7 Increase 7
Total seats 630 Total seats 630 Steady

    Senate of the Republic

    Presidents of the Senate: Cesare Merzagora (1963–1967) and Ennio Zelioli-Lanzini (1967–1968)
    Parliamentary groups in the Senate of the Republic
    Initial composition[21]
    (16 May 1963)    		 Final composition[21]
    (4 June 1968)
    Parliamentary group Seats Parliamentary group Seats Change
    Christian Democracy 133 Christian Democracy 129 Decrease 3
    Italian Communist Party 84 Italian Communist Party 84 Steady
    Italian Socialist Party 44 Unified Socialist Party 43 Decrease 15
    Italian Democratic Socialist Party 14
    Italian Liberal Party 18 Italian Liberal Party 18 Steady
    Italian Social Movement 15 Italian Social Movement 14 Decrease 1
    Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity 10 Increase 10
    Mixed 7 Mixed 16 Increase 9
    Italian Democratic Party of Monarchist Unity 2 Italian Democratic Party of Monarchist Unity 2 Steady
    Südtiroler Volkspartei 2 Südtiroler Volkspartei 2 Steady
    Union Valdôtaine 1 Union Valdôtaine 1 Steady
    Social Christian Sicilian Union 1 Social Christian Sicilian Union 1 Steady
    Independents – Non inscrits 3 Independents – Non inscrits 12 Increase 9
    Total seats 315 Total seats 315 Steady

    Senators for Life

    Senator Motivation Appointed by From Till
    Umberto Zanotti Bianco Merits in the artistic and social field President Luigi Einaudi Previous legislature 28 August 1963 (deceased)
    Giuseppe Paratore Merits in the social field President Giovanni Gronchi Previous legislature 26 February 1967 (deceased)
    Giovanni Gronchi Former President of Italy ex officio Previous legislature Next legislature
    Cesare Merzagora Merits in the social field President Antonio Segni Previous legislature Next legislature
    Ferruccio Parri Merits in the social field President Antonio Segni Previous legislature Next legislature
    Meuccio Ruini Merits in the social and scientific field President Antonio Segni Previous legislature Next legislature
    Antonio Segni Former President of Italy ex officio 6 December 1964 Next legislature
    Vittorio Valletta Merits in the social field President Giuseppe Saragat 28 November 1966 10 August 1967 (deceased)
    Eugenio Montale Merits in the literary field President Giuseppe Saragat 13 June 1967 Next legislature
    Giovanni Leone Merits in the social field President Giuseppe Saragat 27 August 1967 Next legislature

    References

    1. ↑ "Camera dei Deputati – 4ª Legislatura". www.storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 6 February 2021.
    2. ↑ "Senato della Repubblica – 4ª Legislatura". www.senato.it (in Italian). Retrieved 6 February 2021.
    3. ↑ Elezioni del 1963, Ministero dell'Interno
    4. ↑ I Governo Leone, camera.it
    5. ↑ I Governo Moro, governo.it
    6. ↑ Sabattini, Gianfranco (28 November 2011). "Cinquant'anni fa nasceva il centrosinistra poi arrivarono i 'nani' della politica". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
    7. ↑ Legge "Ponte" n. 765/1967 del 6 agosto 1967 (GU n. 218 del 31-8-1967), Studio Tecnico Pagliai
    8. ↑ "Il centrosinistra e le riforme degli anni '60". 22 January 2018.
    9. ↑ "Il centro-sinistra e i governi Moro – Istituto Luigi Sturzo". old.sturzo.it.
    10. ↑ La svolta di Aldo Moro: i governi di centrosinistra, Il Giornale
    11. ↑ Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II Volume 4 edited by Peter Flora.
    12. ↑ Indro Montanelli, Storia d'Italia Vol. 10, RCS Quotidiani, Milan, 2004, page 379-380.
    13. ↑ Gianni Flamini, L'Italia dei colpi di Stato, Newton Compton Editori, Rome, page 82.
    14. ↑ Sergio Romano, Cesare Merzagora: uno statista contro I partiti, in: Corriere della Sera, 14 marzo 2005.
    15. ↑ Governo Moro II, governo.it
    16. ↑ Segni, uomo solo tra sciabole e golpisti, Il Fatto Quotidiano
    17. ↑ Tempers Flare as Italian Parliament Fails to Elect New President, Retrospective Blog
    18. ↑ I Presidenti – Giuseppe Saragat, Camera dei Deputati
    19. ↑ Elezioni del 1968, Ministero dell'Interno
    20. 1 2 "IV Legislatura della Repubblica italiana / Legislature / Camera dei deputati – Portale storico". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 7 February 2021.
    21. 1 2 "senato.it – Composizione dei gruppi parlamentari nella IV Legislatura". www.senato.it (in Italian). Retrieved 7 February 2021.
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