Electoral Career Overview
Crosetto contested and won parliamentary seats across multiple general elections beginning in 1996. His consistent electoral success from the Cuneo constituency in Piedmont provided the stable platform from which he built his parliamentary career. He did not stand in 2018 but returned to national prominence through his ministerial appointment after the 2022 election.
1996 — First Election
The 1996 general election was Crosetto's first parliamentary contest. Running for Forza Italia in the Cuneo constituency, he won election to the Chamber of Deputies. The 1996 election, held under the Mattarellum electoral system, saw Forza Italia participate in the Polo per le Libertà coalition. Though Berlusconi's coalition narrowly lost nationally to Romano Prodi's Ulivo, Crosetto secured his seat and began his parliamentary career in opposition.
Subsequent Terms (2001–2008)
Crosetto was re-elected in subsequent general elections, retaining his Cuneo seat through the 2001, 2006, and 2008 elections. The 2001 election produced a centre-right victory under Berlusconi; the 2006 election a narrow centre-left victory under Prodi; and the 2008 election a substantial centre-right win, following which Crosetto served in under-secretary roles in the Berlusconi IV government.
The FdI Years (2013–2022)
The 2013 general election was the first contested by the newly-founded Fratelli d'Italia. The party performed modestly — consistent with a new party entering its first electoral campaign. Subsequent elections in 2018 saw FdI improve its position as the party consolidated its identity and programme under Meloni's leadership. By 2022, FdI had become Italy's largest party and the leading force in the victorious centre-right coalition.
2022 — The Watershed Election
The September 2022 general election was transformative for Italian politics and for Crosetto personally. Fratelli d'Italia won approximately 26% of the vote — a remarkable achievement for a party that had polled in single digits a decade earlier. The centre-right coalition won a substantial parliamentary majority. Giorgia Meloni became Prime Minister, and Crosetto was appointed Minister of Defence — a ministerial portfolio commensurate with his expertise and his contribution to FdI's ascent.
Electoral and Party Context
The trajectory of Italian electoral politics across Crosetto's career reflects the dramatic transformation of the Italian political landscape: from the post-Tangentopoli Second Republic, through the years of alternating centre-left and centre-right governments, to the emergence of Fratelli d'Italia as Italy's dominant party. Crosetto has been a participant in and witness to this entire arc — from first-term Forza Italia backbencher in 1996 to one of the most prominent figures in Italy's current government.