Chamber:
	Camera dei Deputati
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	13 May 2001
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in the Chamber of Deputies on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	On 8 March 2001, President Ciampi dissolved the Parliament, which was only the fifth since World War II to complete its full five-year term. In an unexpected reversal of his previous intention not to be a candidate in the elections, outgoing Prime Minister Giuliano Amato announced that he would stand for election to the Senate in his home town of Grosseto in Tuscany. The candidature of Mr Berlusconi, the leader of the right-wing coalition the House of Freedoms, reported to be one of the world's richest men, stoked controversy over the undue political advantage his dominant position in Italy's communications industry gave him. Studies before the election revealed that his networks gave him considerably more attention than they did to Olive Tree leader Francesco Rutelli. There was criticism in Europe, during the electoral campaign, over the media magnate's vast business interests and the numerous criminal charges brought against him, including tax fraud, bribery and illegal party funding, which he denied. His alliance with far-right political parties, notably the anti-immigration Northern League, also caused concern elsewhere in the European Union, which had imposed controversial sanctions against Austria in 2000, after that country had taken its far-right Freedom Party into the government. In a "contract" with the Italian people, Berlusconi had promised the week before the elections to implement four of his five chief goals within his five-year term in office. The goals were enacting a large tax cut, changing the policing of urban centres, increasing minimum pensions, cutting unemployment by 50 per cent and initiating a large public works programme. After an impassioned campaign filled with bitter rhetoric from both sides, the crowds at polling stations were so thick that police were called to calm frustrated voters, after voters waited in long lines past midnight. Authorities blamed complex ballots and a reduction in the number of polling places in an effort to save money. Voting was officially prolonged for an hour on the polling day by order of the outgoing Interior Minister, but even this measure was not enough to enable everyone who turned up at polling stations to cast a valid ballot. The results showed that most voters did not care that Mr Berlusconi still faced trial. His coalition, the House of Freedoms, won 366 seats in the House of Representatives and 177 in the Senate, while the outgoing Olive Tree coalition obtained 242 and 125, respectively. Outgoing Prime Minister Amato was elected to the Senate. On 30 May 2001, the new Parliament met for the first time. Mr Pier Ferdinando Casini, the leader of the Christian Democratic Centre, was elected Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, while the Senate chose Mr Marcello Pera, from the Forza Italia party, as its Speaker. On 11 June 2001, Mr Silvio Berlusconi was sworn in as Prime Minister.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (13 May 2001): Elections results
Voters	81.2%
Valid votes	33 818 743

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Proportional	Majority
House of Freedoms	366	84	282
Olive Tree	242	60	182
Refounded Communists	11	11	0
Olive Tree - SVP	8	0	8
Others	1	0	1

Comments:
	Freedom Alliance includes Forza italiana, National Alliance, Northern League and other groups. Olive Tree includes Democrats of the Left (DS), Party of Italian Communists (Pdci) and others groups. SVP: South Tyrolese People's Party

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	568
Women:	62
Percent of women:	9.84