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| 1975–77 |
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| The central government revised regional laws first developed in 1968–70. Thenceforth, Italy's 15 regions controlled most of the national or local agencies on which Italian public administration rested. By 1980 the regions were spending 18 percent of the national budget and had become the main bodies responsible for health and social services. These changes greatly altered Italian politics, allowing new parties to build bases in various regions and creating patronage networks and new groups of elites. | 1 |
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| 1975 |
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| The government extended the state insurance fund (Cassa Integrazione Guadagni), guaranteeing laid-off workers at least 80 percent of their pay for up to a year. This increase in government spending worsened economic conditions. | 2 |
| The government revised family legislation to create equality within families. The new laws abolished dowries, allowed wives to retain their maiden names, and secured for married women the right to live where they chose. The minimum age for marriage was also reduced to 18 for both sexes, and illegitimate children were granted equal status with legitimate children. | 3 |
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| 1976 |
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| The Constitutional Court ended the state's broadcasting monopoly, causing hundreds of local radio and television stations to spring up immediately. This change in broadcasting reflected the greater cultural changes Italy underwent in the 1970s; consensus was now even more difficult to achieve on issues of values and morality. | 4 |
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| July |
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| Giulio Andreotti formed a minority Christian Democratic government after the Socialists withdrew parliamentary support. During the general elections that followed, the Communists gained several important posts in the Parliament. | 5 |
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