held 13-14 April 2008 (next
to be held in April 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - S. BERLUSCONI coalition 174 (PdL 147, LN 25, MpA 2), W.
VELTRONI coalition 132 (PD 118, IdV 3), UdC 3, other 6; Chamber of
Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - S.
BERLUSCONI coalition 344 (PdL 276, LN 60, MpA 8), W. VELTRONI
coalition 246 (PD 217, IdV 29), UdC 36, other 4

Judicial branch:

Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15 judges:
one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by
parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative
Supreme Courts)

Political parties and leaders:

Silvio BERLUSCONI coalition: People of Freedom or PdL [Silvio
BERLUSCONI]; Lega Nord or LN [Umberto BOSSI]; Movement for Autonomy
or MpA [Raffaele LOMBARDO]
Walter VELTRONI coalition: Democratic Party or PD [Walter VELTRONI];
Italy of Values or IdV [Antonio DI PIETRO]
other non-allied parties: Union of the Centre or UdC [Savino
PEZZOTTA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

manufacturers and merchants associations - Confcommercio;
Confindustria; organized farm groups - Confcoltivatori;
Confagricoltura; Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union
confederations - Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL
[Guglielmo EPIFANI] which is left wing; Confederazione Italiana dei
Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Raffaele BONANNO], which is Roman
Catholic centrist; Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Luigi
ANGELETTI] which is lay centrist)

International organization participation:

ADB (nonregional members), AfDB (nonregional members), Arctic
Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS
(observer), CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO,
G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU,
ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest),
NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA,
Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council
(temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina,
UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Giovanni CASTELLANETA
chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400
FA