Italian general election, 1892

Italian general election, 1892

6–13 November 1892

All 508 seats to the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy   Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Giovanni Giolitti Antonio Starabba di Rudinì Felice Cavallotti Party Historical Left Historical Right The Extreme Seats won 323 93 56 Seat change 78 45 14 Percentage 63.5% 18.3% 11.0% Swing 15.4% 8.9% 2.7%

Prime Minister before election Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì Historical Right Elected Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti Historical Left

General elections were held in Italy on 6 November 1892, with a second round of voting on 13 November.^[1] The "ministerial" left-wing bloc emerged as the largest in Parliament, winning 323 of the 508 seats.^[2] The electoral system reverted to the pre-1882 method of using single-member constituencies with second round run-offs.^[3]

Historical background

Giovanni Giolitti's first term as Prime Minister (1892–1893) was marked by misfortune and misgovernment. The building crisis and the commercial rupture with France had impaired the situation of the state banks, of which one, the Banca Romana, had been further undermined by misadministration. The Banca Romana had loaned large sums to property developers but was left with huge liabilities when the real estate bubble collapsed in 1887.^[4] Then Prime Minister Francesco Crispi and his Treasury Minister Giolitti knew of the 1889 government inspection report, but feared that publicity might undermine public confidence and suppressed the report.^[5]

The Bank Act of August 1893 liquidated the Banca Romana and reformed the whole system of note issue, restricting the privilege to the new Banca d'Italia – mandated to liquidate the Banca Romana – and to the Banco di Napoli and the Banco di Sicilia, and providing for stricter state control.^[5][6] The new law failed to effect an improvement. Moreover, he irritated public opinion by raising to senatorial rank the governor of the Banca Romana, Bernardo Tanlongo, whose irregular practices had become a byword, which would have given him immunity from prosecution.^[7] The senate declined to admit Tanlongo, whom Giolitti, in consequence of an intervention in parliament upon the condition of the Banca Romana, was obliged to arrest and prosecute. During the prosecution Giolitti abused his position as premier to abstract documents bearing on the case.

Simultaneously a parliamentary commission of inquiry investigated the condition of the state banks. Its report, though acquitting Giolitti of personal dishonesty, proved disastrous to his political position, and the ensuing Banca Romana scandal obliged him to resign.^[8] His fall left the finances of the state disorganized, the pensions fund depleted, diplomatic relations with France strained in consequence of the massacre of Italian workmen at Aigues-Mortes, and a state of revolt in the Lunigiana and by the Fasci Siciliani in Sicily, which he had proved impotent to suppress. Despite the heavy pressure from the King, the army and conservative circles in Rome, Giolitti neither treated strikes – which were not illegal – as a crime, nor dissolved the Fasci, nor authorised the use of firearms against popular demonstrations.^[9] His policy was “to allow these economic struggles to resolve themselves through amelioration of the condition of the workers” and not to interfere in the process.^[10]

Parties and leaders

Results

← Summary of November 1892 Chamber of Deputies election results →

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	Historical Left			323	−78
	Historical Right			93	+45
	The Extreme			56	+14
	Others			36	+19
Invalid/blank votes		37,901	–	–	–
Total		1,693,298	100	508	±0
Registered voters/turnout		2,934,445	55.9	–	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

References

Elections and referendums in Italy
General elections	1861 1865 1867 1870 1874 1876 1880 1882 1886 1890 1892 1895 1897 1900 1904 1909 1913 1919 1921 1924 1929 1934 1946 1948 1953 1958 1963 1968 1972 1976 1979 1983 1987 1992 1994 1996 2001 2006 2008 2013 next
European elections	1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014
Regional elections	1947 1949 1951 1953 1954 1955 1957 1959 1961 1963 1964 1965 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1981 1983 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Local elections	1946 1951 1956 1960 1964 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Referendums	1946 1974 1978 1981 1985 1987 1989 1990 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2000 2001 2003 2005 2006 2009 2011 2016 (Apr) 2016 (Dec)
See also: Elections in Abruzzo Aosta Valley Apulia Basilicata Calabria Campania Emilia-Romagna Friuli-Venezia Giulia Lazio Liguria Lombardy Marche Molise Piedmont Sardinia Sicily Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Tuscany Umbria Veneto