The
Historical Right was led by the former
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia,
Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora, a long-time general who fought during the
Italian unification. On the other hand, the bloc of the
Historical Left was led by
Urbano Rattazzi, a liberal politician who was between the founders of the Italian left-wing parliamentary group. In opposition to the two main blocs there were a third party known as
The Extreme, a far-left coalition, under the leadership of
Giuseppe Mazzini, an Italian revolutionary and a key figure of the Unification. On 22 and 29 October only 504,263 men of a total population of around 23 million were entitled to vote. Right-wing candidates emerged as the largest bloc in
Parliament with around 41% of the 443 seats. They were largely aristocrats representing
rentiers from the north of the country, and held moderate political views including loyalty to the crown and low government spending; the general La Marmora was appointed prime minister by the king
Victor Emmanuel II. ==Parties and leaders==