First Berlusconi government

The first Berlusconi government was the 51st government of the Italian Republic.

First Berlusconi government
51st Cabinet of Italy
Date formed	10 May 1994 (1994-05-10)
Date dissolved	17 January 1995 (1995-01-17) (253 days)
People and organisations
Head of state	Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Head of government	Silvio Berlusconi
Deputy head of government	Roberto Maroni Giuseppe Tatarella
No. of ministers	26 (incl. Prime Minister)
Member parties	FI, MSI, LN, CCD, UdC, FLD
Status in legislature	Centre-right coalition
Opposition parties	PDS, PPI, PRC, PS, FdV, AD, PSI, LR
History
Election	1994 election
Legislature term	XII Legislature (1994–1996)
Predecessor	Ciampi government
Successor	Dini government

It was the first right-wing and non-Christian Democrats government since World War II.^[1]

Berlusconi resigned on 22 December 1994.

History

In order to win the March 1994 general election Berlusconi formed two electoral alliances: Pole of Freedoms with the Northern League in northern Italian districts, and another, the Pole of Good Government, with the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement in central and southern regions. He did not ally with the latter in the North because the League disliked them. As a result, Forza Italia was allied with two parties that were not allied with each other.

Berlusconi launched a massive campaign of electoral advertisements on his three TV networks. He subsequently won the elections, with Forza Italia garnering 21% of the popular vote, the highest percentage of any single party.^[2] One of the most significant promises that he made in order to secure victory was that his government would create "one million more jobs". He was appointed prime minister in 1994, but his term in office was short because of the inherent contradictions in his coalition: the League, a regional party with a strong electoral base in northern Italy, was at that time fluctuating between federalist and separatist positions, and the Italian Social Movement was a nationalist party that had yet to renounce neo-fascism at the time. In December 1994, following the communication of a new investigation from Milan magistrates that was leaked to the press, Umberto Bossi, leader of the Northern League, left the coalition claiming that the electoral pact had not been respected, forcing Berlusconi to resign from office and shifting the majority's weight to the centre-left side. The Northern League also resented the fact that many of its MPs had switched to Forza Italia, allegedly lured by promises of more prestigious portfolios. In 1998 various articles attacking Berlusconi were published by Northern League's official newspaper (La Padania), with titles such as ""Fininvest (Berlusconi's principal company) was founded by Cosa Nostra".

Berlusconi remained prime minister for a little over a month until his replacement by a technocratic government headed by Lamberto Dini. Dini had been a key minister in the Berlusconi government, and Berlusconi said the only way he would support a technocratic government would be if Dini headed it. In the end, however, Dini was only supported by most opposition parties and by the League but not by the centre-right coalition.

Investiture vote

Official photo of the Berlusconi's government after the oath at the Quirinal Palace

18–20 May 1994 Investiture votes for the first Berlusconi government
House of Parliament	Vote	Parties	Votes
Senate of the Republic	Y Yes	LN, MSI, FI, CCD, Others	159 / 314
	N No	PDS, PPI, PRC, FdV-LR, PSI, SVP	153 / 314
	Abstention	Others	2 / 314
Chamber of Deputies	Y Yes	LN, FI, MSI, CCD	366 / 611
	N No	PDS, PRC, PPI (33), AD, PSI, PS, SVP-UV, Others	245 / 611
	Abstention	None	0 / 611

Party breakdown

• Forza Italia (FI): Prime minister, 8 ministers and 12 undersecretaries^[3]
• Italian Social Movement (MSI): 5 ministers and 12 undersecretaries
• Northern League (LN): 5 ministers and 9 undersecretaries
• Christian Democratic Centre (CCD): 2 ministers and 1 undersecretary
• Union of the Centre (UdC): 2 ministers
• Liberal Democratic Foundation (FLD): 1 minister and 1 undersecretary
• Independents: 2 ministers and 1 undersecretary

Composition

Portrait	Office	Name	Term	Party		Undersecretaries
	Prime Minister	Silvio Berlusconi	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Forza Italia	Gianni Letta (Ind.)[a][b] Ombretta Fumagalli Carulli (CCD)[c] Luigi Grillo (FLD)[d]
	Deputy Prime Minister	Giuseppe Tatarella	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Italian Social Movement
	Deputy Prime Minister	Roberto Maroni	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Northern League
	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Antonio Martino	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Forza Italia	Livio Caputo (FI) Franco Rocchetta (LN) Vincenzo Trantino (MSI)
	Minister of the Interior	Roberto Maroni	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Northern League	Maurizio Gasparri (MSI) Marianna Li Calzi (FI) Domenico Lo Jucco (FI)
	Minister of Grace and Justice	Alfredo Biondi	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Union of the Centre	Gian Franco Anedda (MSI) Mario Borghezio (LN) Domenico Contestabile (FI)
	Minister of Budget and Economic Planning	Giancarlo Pagliarini	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Northern League	Ilario Floresta (FI) Antonio Parlato (MSI)
	Minister of Finance	Giulio Tremonti	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Liberal Democratic Foundation	Roberto Asquini (LN) Filippo Berselli (MSI) Sandro Trevisanato (FI)
	Minister of Treasury	Lamberto Dini	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Independent	Marisa Bedoni (LN) Salvatore Cicu (FI) Giovanni Mongiello (CCD) Antonio Rastrelli (MSI)
	Minister of Defense	Cesare Previti	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Forza Italia	Guido Lo Porto (MSI) Mauro Polli (LN)
	Minister of Public Education	Francesco D'Onofrio	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Christian Democratic Centre	Fortunato Aloi (MSI) Mariella Mazzetto (LN)
	Minister of Public Works	Roberto Maria Radice	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Forza Italia	Stefano Aimone Prina (LN) Domenico Nania (MSI)
	Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Resources	Adriana Poli Bortone	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Italian Social Movement	Paolo Scarpa Bonazza Buora (FI)
	Minister of Transport and Navigation	Publio Fiori	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Italian Social Movement	Sergio Cappelli (LN) Gianfranco Micciché (FI)
	Minister of Post and Telecommunications	Giuseppe Tatarella	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Italian Social Movement	Antonio Marano (LN)
	Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftsmanship	Vito Gnutti	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Northern League	Giampiero Beccaria (FI) Francesco Pontone (MSI)
	Minister of Health	Raffaele Costa	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Union of the Centre	Giulio Conti (MSI) Giuseppe Nisticò (FI)
	Minister of Foreign Trade	Giorgio Bernini	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Forza Italia
	Minister of Labour and Social Security	Clemente Mastella	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Christian Democratic Centre	Carmelo Porcu (MSI) Adriano Teso (FI)
	Minister of Cultural and Environmental Heritage	Domenico Fisichella	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Italian Social Movement
	Minister of the Environment	Altero Matteoli	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Italian Social Movement	Roberto Lasagna (FI)
	Minister of University, Scientific and Technological Research	Stefano Podestà	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Forza Italia	Giovanni Meo Zilio (LN)
	Minister of Community Policies (without portfolio)	Domenico Comino	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Northern League
	Minister of Family and Social Solidarity (without portfolio)	Antonio Guidi	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Forza Italia
	Minister of Public Function and Regional Affairs (without portfolio)	Giuliano Urbani	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Forza Italia
	Minister of Italians in the World (without portfolio)	Sergio Berlinguer	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Independent
	Minister for Parliamentary Relations (without portfolio)	Giuliano Ferrara	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Forza Italia
	Minister for Institutional Reforms (without portfolio)	Francesco Speroni	10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995		Northern League

1. Secretary of the Council of Ministers.
2. Delegated to entertainment, tourism and sport.
3. Delegated to the Civil Protection.
4. Delegated to urban areas and Rome Capital.

References

1. Montalbano, William D. (11 May 1994). "Italian Premier Forms Rightist Government". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
2. "Elezioni della Camera dei Deputati del 27 Marzo 1994" (in Italian). Italian Chamber of Deputies. Archived from the original on 12 June 2009.
3. De Giorgi, Elisabetta; Francesco Marangoni (2009). "The First Year of Berlusconi's Fourth Government: Formation, Characteristics and Activities". Bulletin of Italian Politics. 1 (1): 87–109.

• Italian Government – Berlusconi I Cabinet