# 1995 Venetian regional election

The Venetian regional election of 1995 took place on 23 April 1995.
For the first time the President of the Region was directly elected by the people, although the election was not yet binding and the President-elect could have been replaced during the term.
Giancarlo Galan (Forza Italia) was elected President of the Region over the centre-left candidate Ettore Bentsik (Italian People's Party), despite the presence of a third candidate, Alberto Lembo (Northern League).
Among party lists, the joint list formed by Forza Italia and the People's Pole (the right wing of the People's Party replaced Christian Democracy, which was disbanded in 1994, as the largest political force in the Region. Liga Veneta came second, while the Democratic Party of the Left, heir of the Italian Communist Party, had its best result ever in a regional election.

## Electoral system

Regional elections in Veneto were ruled by the "Tatarella law" (approved in 1995), which provided for a mixed electoral system: four fifths of the regional councilors were elected in provincial constituencies by proportional representation, using the largest remainder method with a droop quota and open lists, while the residual votes and the unassigned seats were grouped into a "single regional constituency", where the whole ratios and the highest remainders were divided with the Hare method among the provincial party lists; one fifth of the council seats instead was reserved for regional lists and assigned with a majoritarian system: the leader of the regional list that scored the highest number of votes was elected to the presidency of the Region while the other candidates were elected regional councilors.
A threshold of 3% had been established for the provincial lists, which, however, could still have entered the regional council if the regional list to which they were connected had scored at least 5% of valid votes.
The panachage was also allowed: the voter can indicate a candidate for the presidency but prefer a provincial list connected to another candidate.

## Parties and candidates

| Political party or alliance | Political party or alliance | Constituent lists | Constituent lists | Previous result | Previous result | Candidate |
| Political party or alliance | Political party or alliance | Constituent lists | Constituent lists | Votes (%) | Seats | Candidate |
| | Centre-left coalition | | Italian People's Party | 42.4 | 27 | Ettore Bentsik |
| | Centre-left coalition | | Democratic Party of the Left | 15.6 | 10 | Ettore Bentsik |
| | Centre-left coalition | | Federation of the Greens | 7.1 | 4 | Ettore Bentsik |
| | Centre-left coalition | | Italian Republican Party – Labour Federation | 2.6 | 1 | Ettore Bentsik |
| | Centre-left coalition | | Pact of Democrats | — | — | Ettore Bentsik |
| | Northern League | Northern League | Northern League | 5.9 | 3 | Alberto Lembo |
| | Centre-right coalition | | National Alliance | 2.7 | 1 | Giancarlo Galan |
| | Centre-right coalition | | Forza Italia | — | — | Giancarlo Galan |
| | Centre-right coalition | | Christian Democratic Centre | — | — | Giancarlo Galan |
| | Pannella List | Pannella List | Pannella List | 1.1 | 1 | Emilio Vesce |
| | Communist Refoundation Party | Communist Refoundation Party | Communist Refoundation Party | — | — | Paolo Cacciari |
| | New Italy–Venetian Autonomy | New Italy–Venetian Autonomy | New Italy–Venetian Autonomy | — | — | Giorgio Panto |

## Results

23 April 1995 Venetian regional election results :
| Candidates | Candidates | Votes | % | Seats | Parties | Parties | Votes | % | Seat |
| | Giancarlo Galan | 1,117,377 | 38.22 | 12 |
| | Giancarlo Galan | 1,117,377 | 38.22 | 12 | | Forza Italia – The People's Pole | 606,977 | 23.97 | 15 |
| | Giancarlo Galan | 1,117,377 | 38.22 | 12 | | National Alliance | 271,835 | 10.73 | 6 |
| | Giancarlo Galan | 1,117,377 | 38.22 | 12 | | Christian Democratic Centre | 90,285 | 3.56 | 3 |
| | Giancarlo Galan | 1,117,377 | 38.22 | 12 | Total | Total | 969,097 | 38.27 | 24 |
| | Ettore Bentsik | 945,753 | 32.35 | – |
| | Ettore Bentsik | 945,753 | 32.35 | – | | Democratic Party of the Left | 416,799 | 16.46 | 9 |
| | Ettore Bentsik | 945,753 | 32.35 | – | | Italian People's Party | 271,423 | 10.72 | 5 |
| | Ettore Bentsik | 945,753 | 32.35 | – | | Pact of Democrats | 109,778 | 4.33 | 2 |
| | Ettore Bentsik | 945,753 | 32.35 | – | | Federation of the Greens | 102,156 | 4.03 | 2 |
| | Ettore Bentsik | 945,753 | 32.35 | – | | Italian Republican Party – Labour Federation | 11,686 | 0.46 | – |
| | Ettore Bentsik | 945,753 | 32.35 | – | Total | Total | 911,842 | 36.01 | 18 |
| | Alberto Lembo | 512,578 | 17.46 | – | | Northern League – Venetian League | 422,410 | 16.68 | 9 |
| | Paolo Cacciari | 200,649 | 6.86 | – | | Communist Refoundation Party | 126,594 | 5.00 | 2 |
| | Giorgio Panto | 108,072 | 3.70 | – | | New Italy–Venetian Autonomy | 73,342 | 2.90 | – |
| | Emilio Vesce | 41,142 | 1.41 | – | | Pannella List | 29,254 | 1.16 | – |
| Total candidates | Total candidates | 2,925,971 | 100.00 | 12 | Total parties | Total parties | 2,532,539 | 100.00 | 53 |
| Source: Ministry of the Interior ||||||||||

## Aftermath

After the election, Giancarlo Galan formed his first government, while Amalia Sartori (Forza Italia) was elected President of the Regional Council.
First Galan government :
| Office | Name | Party |
| President | Giancarlo Galan | FI |
| Vice President | Bruno Canella | AN |
| Minister of Economy and Development | Floriano Pra | FI |
| Minister of Budget and Finances | Fabio Gava | FI |
| Minister of Health | Iles Braghetto | CDU |
| Minister of Social Affairs | Raffaele Zanon | AN |
| Minister of Agriculture | Sergio Berlato (until 19 July 1999) Luca Bellotti (since 16 September 1999) | AN |
| Minister of Transports | Raffaele Bazzoni | FI |
| Minister of Environment | Massimo Giorgetti | AN |
| Minister of Tourism and Productive Activities | Pierluigi Bolla (until 14 December 1999) | FI |
| Minister of Labour and Sports | Cesare Campa | FI |
| Minister of Local Affairs and Cities | Franco Bozzolin | CCD |
| Minister of Territorial Affairs | Gaetano Fontana | CDU |
| Minister of the Treasury, Parks and European Affairs | Francesco Piccolo (since 23 September 1998) | CDU |
Source: Veneto Region