P317 CEEFAX 317 Tue 12 Jun 21:14/35 1/4 O EURO-ELECTIONS June 1984 ITALY How the Italians voted in 1979 % Christian Democ 36.5 Communists 29.6 Socialists 11.0 Radicals 7.3 Social Movement 5.4 Republicans 3.0 Others 2.9P317 CEEFAX 317 Tue 12 Jun 21:14/14 2/4 OO EURO-ELECTIONS June 1984 ITALY Turn out at 1979 Euro-election: 85.5 per cent (Electorate: 42.2m). Parties in national govjtnmjnt: Christian Democrats, Socialists, Social Democrats, Republicans, Liberals. European election voting system: There is a legal obligation to vote from the age of 18. Italy uses a variant of the list system in which candidates are chosen bz the party and in a certain order, but the elector can vote for one or more in a different order. $ National profile continuesP317 CEEFAX 317 Tue 12 Jun 21:13/50 3/4 OO EURO-ELJCTJONS June 1984 ITALY Numbjt of seats in European parliament: Eighty-one, consisting of: * 30 Christian Democrats * 24 Communists and Allies * 14 Socialists * 5 Liberals and Democrats * 4 Group for Technical Coordination * 4 Independents $ BBC correspondent's view in a momentP317 CEEFAX 317 Tue 12 Jun 21:13/15 4/4 O A view by the BBC's Rome Correspondent Widespread absenteeism is feared on polling day - Euro-MPs are held in even lower esteem than the domestic variety. But for the political parties, the European elections are important as a ri-run of national elections. Opinion polls suggest that both the Christian Democrats and Communists will each lose about four per cent of the vote, despite statements by the CDt that the Communists will for the first time since the war outstrip them. - Derek Wilson -