Italian Parliament (1928–1939)

After passage of the Acerbo Law, and the subsequent consolidation of a two-thirds parliamentary majority by the National Fascist Party, constitutional reforms were implemented reorganizing the Chamber of Deputies. The Law on Political Representation, enacted on May 17, 1928, fundamentally altered composition of the body. Under the new method of election members would not technically be considered "deputies" as they were not delegates from distinct geographic constituencies or political parties but were instead, theoretically, representatives of the whole of the nation. Benito Mussolini acknowledged this as much by remarking that "even the label Chamber of Deputies has become something of an anachronism. It is an institution we inherited from the past and that is foreign to our mentality and to our fascist passions".[1][2]

Costanzo Ciano served as president of the Chamber of Deputies from 1934 to 1939.

On December 14, 1938, the Chamber of Deputies enacted a further constitutional reform abolishing itself in favor of a new body, the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations. "In a typically enthusiastic manner, the deputies emphasized their self-denying fervor by acclaiming also a bill drafting them for front-line service in time of war [regardless of age or physical condition]", wrote one observer. It was given royal assent and the new chamber convened the following spring.[3]

The post-1928 Chamber of Deputies was composed of 400 members. Syndicates composed of employers confederations, employees confederations (a form of trade union), and associations of citizens involved in the "liberal professions and arts" (generally including those employed as educators, artists, artisans, lawyers, accountants, and similar), were responsible for nominating a total of 800 candidates. To this list were added a further 200 candidates nominated by "public bodies" which included the Italian Olympic Committee, the Dante Alighieri Society, the Touring Club Italiano, the Royal Academy of Italy, veterans' groups, and others. From the resulting list of 1,000 candidates, the Grand Council of Fascism would select 400 who would, thereafter, be formally appointed by the King of Italy.[2]

The 400 candidates appointed by the King to the chamber would, before convening, be subject to a popular confidence test through a national referendum; a majority of votes against the new chamber would prompt its dissolution and a competitive public election for the body by geographic constituencies would be held. However, during the period of its existence under the 1928 statute, neither of the two proposed chambers were rejected in the referendums held for their approval (in 1929 and 1934).[2]

The term of the chamber was five years. Qualifications for voters were Italian citizenship and attainment of the age of 18 years (lowering the voting age to 18 was one of the original political demands of the Fasci di Combattimento).[1][2]

As of 1934, a plurality of deputies were lawyers by profession (99 of the 400 members of the chamber), with engineers, journalists, and university professors representing the second, third, and fourth largest vocational backgrounds among deputies, respectively.[2]