Italian Chamber of Deputies
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| Chamber of Deputies Camera dei Deputati |
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| Leadership | |
| President of the Chamber | Gianfranco Fini, FLI since 30 April 2008 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 630 |
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| Political groups | PdL (227) PD (206) LN (59) FLI (26) UdC (36) Idv (22) Mixed group (56) |
| Elections | |
| Last election | 13–14 April 2008 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Palazzo Montecitorio, Rome | |
| Website | |
| http://english.camera.it/ | |
The Italian Chamber of Deputies (Italian: Camera dei Deputati) is a house of the bicameral Parliament of Italy (the other being The Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical functions, but do so separately. Pursuant to article 56 the Italian Constitution, the Chamber of Deputies has 630 seats, of which 618 are elected from Italian constituencies, and 12 from Italian citizens living abroad. Currently, a plurality of seats is controlled by the liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio, and a member of the Chamber of Deputies has the style of onorevole (honourable). Its current president (i.e. its speaker) is Gianfranco Fini, the leader of the Future and Freedom party.
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The Seat
The seat of the Chamber of Deputies is the Palazzo Montecitorio, where it has met since 1871, shortly after the capital of the Kingdom of Italy was moved to Rome.
The previous seat of the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy was the Palazzo Carignano in Torino (1861–1865) and the Palazzo Vecchio in Firenze (1865–1871). During the fascist regime, from 1939 to 1943, the Chamber of Deputies was abolished and replaced by the Chamber of Fasci and Corporations.
The Electoral System
Current System
The election of members to the Chamber of Deputies is by voluntary, universal, direct suffrage by all citizens of age on election day. Terms last for a total of five years, unless an early dissolution of the Chamber is called by the President of Italy as a result of parliamentary deadlock, at which point a snap election is held. Unlike the Senate, which requires members to be 40 years of age, members of the Chamber of Deputies may be elected at 25.1
Under current law, members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected through a party-list proportional system. They are eligible for the allocation of seats based on three criteria: first, they are eligible for seats if the coalition to which their party belongs has reached a minimum of 10% of total valid votes. Within the coalition, the party must also have 2% of total, valid votes to garner seats. Beside these two criteria, it is also possible to participate in the allocation of seats if a party does not belong to a coalition but still receives 4% of total, valid votes.
Article 61 of the Italian Constitution maintains that elections for the Chamber of Deputies must take place within 70 days of the dissolution of house, and that representatives must convene within 20 days of those elections.
Normal Operation of the Assembly
The Chamber is composed of all members meeting in session at the Montecitorio. The assembly also has the right to attend meetings of the Government and its ministers. If required, the Government is obligated to attend the session. Conversely, the Government has the right to be heard every time it requires.
The term of office of the House (as well as the Senate) is five years, but can be extended in two cases:
- The "prorogatio", as provided by art. 61.2 of the Constitution, states that representatives whose term has expired shall continue to exercise their functions until the first meeting of the new Chamber.
- An extension of the term, provided for by art. 60.2, can be enacted only in case of war.
Latest results
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | Change | Seats | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S. Berlusconi coalition |
17,064,314 13,629,096 |
46.81 37.39 |
+3.832 –1.02 |
344 276 |
+102 +60 |
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| W. Veltroni coalition |
13,686,501 12,092,969 |
37.54 33.17 |
+4.053 +1.97 |
246 217 |
+3 –9 |
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| Union of the Centre | 2,050,309 | 5.62 | –1.13 | 36 | –3 | |
| The Left – The Rainbow | 1,124,428 | 3.08 | –7.114 | 0 | –72 | |
| The Right–Tricolour Flame | 885,226 | 2.43 | +1.82 | 0 | — | |
| Socialist Party | 355,575 | 0.98 | –1.915 | 0 | –18 | |
| South Tyrolean People's Party | 147,666 | 0.41 | –0.07 | 2 | –2 | |
| Autonomy Liberty Democracy | —6 | — | — | 1 | ±0 | |
| Movimento Associativo Italiani all'Estero | —7 | — | — | 1 | +1 | |
| Others | 1,146,978 | 3.13 | +0.52 | — | –11 | |
| Total | 36,452,286 | 100% | 630 | |||
Presidency Office
President
Vice Presidents
- Rosy Bindi (until 7 November 2009)
- Rocco Buttiglione
- Antonio Leone
- Maurizio Lupi
Quaestors
Secretaries
- Gianpiero Bocci
- Emilia Grazia De Biasi
- Giuseppe Fallica
- Gregorio Fontana
- Donato Lamorte
- Mimmo Lucà
- Renzo Lusetti
- Lorena Milanato
See also
External links
References
- ^ http://en.camera.it/4?scheda_informazioni=3
- ^ People of Freedom was founded in late 2007, so the sum of its precursor parties – including the previously Union-affiliated Pensioners' Party – is considered for "change" statistics.
- ^ The Democratic Party was founded in 2007, so the sum of its precursor parties and Italy of Values is considered for "change" statistics.
- ^ Previous statistics sum data from coalition partners, as stated in its article.
- ^ Votes from Aosta Valley are not counted in this table because, due to present electoral law, they do not count for the national bonus and, consequently, for the designation of the new Premier.
- ^ Overseas ballots are not counted for technical reasons.
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Obelisk of Montecitorio. In the background is the Italian Chamber of Deputies
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Back side of Palazzo Montecitorio designed by architect Ernesto Basile.
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Front side of Palazzo Montecitorio.
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Another photo of the main entrance of Montecitorio with the Montecitorio column.
