2006 Italian general election (Federalism All The Way)

General elections were held in Italy on 28 June 2006 to renew 512 members of the Chamber of Deputies. It was held after the approval of constitutional reforms proposed by the Berlusconi II ministry through a confirmative referendum held previously on 17 March. These greatly modified the parliament, regional powers and gave more authority to the President of the Council of Ministers which now had the power to dissolve the parliament, effectively sidelining the head of state. This created controversy as Berlusconi previously labeled President Ciampi as "leftist and biased".

Initial results showed the House of Freedoms leading the adversary Union in the Chamber of Deputies, however the indications became too early to call when the results initially tied, then progressed with an increasing center-right number of assigned seats won. Several radical left politicians contested the result such as Oliviero Diliberto, stating that Berlusconi bribed electoral officers.

On 30 June 2006, the Supreme Court of Cassation assigned the victory to Berlusconi, and this event damaged the communists and strenghtened the House of Freedoms position.