History of Italy May") and the Constitutional Referendum that abolished the monarchy; De Gasperi briefly became acting Head of State as well as Prime Minister on 18 June 1946, but ceded the former role to Provisional President Enrico de Nicola ten days later. The aftermath of World War II left Italy with a destroyed economy and a divided society. Following Victor Emmanuel III's abdication, his son, the new king Umberto II, was pressured by the threat of another civil war to call a Constitutional Referendum to decide whether Italy should remain a monarchy or become a republic. On 2 June 1946, the republican
Parties in the European Council between May and December 2004 council, in accordance with the system of Qualified Majority Voting. – Transitional QMV system with 124 total votes and a qualified majority of 88 (70.97%), in use until 1 November 2004. <br> – Final EU-25 QMV system with 321 total votes and a qualified majority of 232 (72.27%). DIKO's MEP joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group in the European Parliament, but the party is not formally attached to any pan-European organization. Parties in the European Council between May and December 2004 On the 1 May 2004 ten new member states joined the European Union. This article