Italian general election, 2001

Campaign

For this election Berlusconi again ran as leader of the centre-right coalition the House of Freedoms (Italian: La Casa delle Libertà), which included the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, the Northern League, the National Alliance and other parties.

On the television interviews programme Porta a Porta, during the last days of the electoral campaign, Berlusconi created a powerful impression on the public by undertaking to sign a so-called Contratto con gli Italiani (English: Contract with the Italians), an idea copied outright by his advisor Luigi Crespi from the Newt Gingrich's Contract with America introduced six weeks before the 1994 US Congressional election,^[1] which was widely considered to be a creative masterstroke in his 2001 campaign bid for prime ministership. In this solemn agreement, Berlusconi claimed his commitment on improving several aspects of the Italian economy and life. Firstly, he undertook to simplify the complex tax system by introducing just two tax rates (33% for those earning over 100,000 euros, and 23% for anyone earning less than that figure: anyone earning less than 11,000 euros a year would not be taxed); secondly, he promised to halve the unemployment rate; thirdly, he undertook to finance and develop a massive new public works programme. Fourthly, he promised to raise the minimum monthly pension rate to 516 euros; and fifthly, he would suppress the crime wave by introducing police officers to patrol all local zones and areas in Italy's major cities.^[2] Berlusconi undertook to refrain from putting himself up for re-election in 2006 if he failed to honour at least four of these five promises.

Main coalitions' leaders

Coalition		Portrait	Name	Most recent position
	House of Freedoms		Silvio Berlusconi	Prime Minister of Italy (1994–1995) President of Forza Italia (1994–incumbent)
	The Olive Tree		Francesco Rutelli	Mayor of Rome (1993–2001) Leader of the Olive Tree (2000–incumbent)
	Communist Refoundation Party		Fausto Bertinotti	Secretary of the Communist Refoundation Party (1993–incumbent)
	Italy of Values		Antonio Di Pietro	President of Italy of Values (1998–incumbent)
	European Democracy		Sergio D'Antoni	General Secretary of CISL (1991–2000)
	Bonino List		Emma Bonino	European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection (1995–1999)

Overall results

← Summary of the 13 May 2001 Chamber of Deputies election results →

Coalition		Party		Proportional			First-past-the-post			Total seats	+/–
				Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	House of Freedoms		Forza Italia (FI)	10,923,431	29.43	62	16,915,513	45.57	132	194[3]	+71
			National Alliance (AN)	4,463,205	12.02	24			75	99	+6
			Northern League (LN)	1,464,301	3.94	0			30	30	−29
			White Flower (CCD–CDU)	1,194,040	3.22	0			40	40	+10
			New Italian Socialist Party (NPSI)	353,269	0.95	0			3	3	New
			Sardinian Reformers (RS)	N/A	N/A	0			1	1	+1
			New Sicily (NS)	N/A	N/A	0			1	1	New
		Total seats				86			282	368	–
	The Olive Tree		Democrats of the Left (DS)	6,151,154	16.57	31	16,019,388	43.15	105	136	−36
			The Daisy (DL)	5,391,827	14.52	27			56	83	−12
			The Sunflower (FdV–SDI)	805,340	2.17	0			17	17	–
			Party of Italian Communists (PdCI)	620,859	1.67	0			10	10	New
			South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP)	200,059	0.54	0			3	3	±0
			With Illy for Trieste	78,284	0.21	0			1	1	New
		Total seats				58			192	250	–
	Communist Refoundation Party (PRC)			1,868,659	5.03	11	N/A	N/A	0	11	−24
	Aosta Valley (VdA)			N/A	N/A	0	25,577	0.07	1	1	±0
Total										630	–

Proportional

In 2001 the proportional list exhausted before all the deputies - which the winning party was entitled to - were declared elected.^[4]

First-past-the-post