instance_of socialist unity 
___MASK64___ , officially the Italian ___MASK14___ , is a unitary parliamentary ___MASK14___ in Europe . Located in the heart of the Mediterranean ___MASK40___ , ___MASK64___ shares open land borders with France , Switzerland , Austria , Slovenia , San Marino and Vatican City . ___MASK64___ covers an area of and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate ; due to its shape , it is often referred to in ___MASK64___ as " lo Stivale " ( the Boot ). With 61 million inhabitants , it is the fourth most populous EU member state . A parliamentary ___MASK14___ is a ___MASK14___ that operates under a parliamentary ___MASK37___ of ___MASK79___ where the executive branch ( the ___MASK79___ ) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature ( the parliament ). There are a number of variations of parliamentary republics . Most have a clear differentiation between the head of ___MASK79___ and the head of state , with the head of ___MASK79___ holding real power , much like constitutional monarchies . Some have combined the roles of head of state and head of ___MASK79___ , much like presidential systems , but with a dependency upon parliamentary power . Switzerland , officially the Swiss ___MASK93___ , is a federal ___MASK14___ in Europe . It consists of 26 cantons , and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities . The country is situated in Western - Central Europe , and is bordered by Italy to the south , France to the west , Germany to the north , and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east . Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps , the Swiss ___MASK16___ and the Jura , spanning an area of . While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory , the Swiss population of approximately ___MASK56___ million people is concentrated mostly on the plateau , where the largest cities are to be found : among them are the two global cities and economic centres Zürich and Geneva . A boot is a type of ___MASK39___ and a specific type of ___MASK91___ . Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle , while some also cover some ___MASK76___ of the lower calf . Some boots extend up the leg , sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip . Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole , even if the two are made of one piece . Traditionally made of leather or rubber , modern boots are made from a variety of materials . Boots are worn both for their functionality  protecting the foot and leg from ___MASK48___ , extreme cold , mud or hazards ( e . g ., work boots may protect wearers from chemicals or use a ___MASK62___ toe ) or providing additional ankle support for strenuous activities with added traction requirements ( e . g ., hiking )  and for reasons of style and fashion . The Mediterranean ___MASK40___ ( pronounced ) is a ___MASK40___ connected to the Atlantic Ocean , surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land : on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia , on the south by North Africa , and on the east by the Levant . The ___MASK40___ is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean , although it is usually identified as a separate body of water . A mediterranean ___MASK45___ or dry summer ___MASK45___ is the ___MASK45___ typical of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin . The lands around the Mediterranean ___MASK40___ form the largest area where this ___MASK45___ type is found , but it also is found in most of coastal California , in parts of Western and South Australia , in southwestern South Africa , sections of Central Asia , and in central Chile . Socialist Unity ( Italian : Unità Socialista , US ) was a social - democratic political ___MASK19___ in Italy which participated in the key 1948 general election , which decided the post - war direction of Italy . Socialist Unity was formed by the Italian Socialist Workers ' Party ( Partito Socialista dei Lavoratori Italiani ) , of Giuseppe Saragat and the Union of Socialists ( Unione dei Socialisti ) of former Italian Socialist Party leader Ivan Matteo Lombardo . The party ' s anti - communist ideology precluded any collaboration with the Italian Communist Party - led Popular Democratic Front in the 1948 election . Socialist Unity reached 7 . 1 % of the vote for the Italian Chamber of Deputies , gaining 33 seats . In the election for the Italian Senate , where it ran together with the Italian Republican Party , Socialist Unity won 8 seats . In the following years , the links between the members of Socialist Unity became closer and the Italian Democratic Socialist Party ( PSDI ) was founded . Vatican ___MASK20___ , officially Vatican ___MASK20___ State or the State of Vatican ___MASK20___ , is a walled enclave within ___MASK75___ of Rome . With an area of approximately 44 hectares ( 110 acres ), and a ___MASK5___ of 842 , it is the smallest State in the world by both area and ___MASK5___ , but formally it is not sovereign , sovereignty being held by the Holy See , the only entity of ___MASK38___ international law that has diplomatic relations with almost every country in the world . A political ___MASK19___ , also referred to as a political coalition , political bloc , is an agreement for cooperation between different political parties on common political agenda , often for purposes of contesting an election to mutually benefit by collectively clearing election thresholds , or otherwise benefiting from characteristics of the voting system or for government ___MASK84___ after elections . France , officially the French ___MASK14___ , is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . The European , or metropolitan , area of France extends from the Mediterranean ___MASK40___ to the English Channel and the North ___MASK40___ , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American ___MASK24___ and several island territories in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . France spans and had a total population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017 . It is a unitary semi - presidential republic with the capital in Paris , the country ' s largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban centres include Marseille , Lyon , Lille , Nice , Toulouse and Bordeaux . San Marino , officially the ___MASK14___ of San Marino , also known as the Most Serene ___MASK14___ of San Marino , is an enclaved microstate surrounded by Italy , situated on the Italian Peninsula on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains . Its size is just over , with a population of 33 , 562 . Its ___MASK90___ is the City of San Marino and its largest city is Dogana . San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe . The euro ( ___MASK35___ : €; code : EUR ) is the official currency of the eurozone , which consists of 19 of the member states of the European Union : Austria , Belgium , Cyprus , Estonia , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Ireland , Italy , Latvia , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Malta , the Netherlands , ___MASK89___ , Slovakia , Slovenia , and Spain . The currency is also officially used by the institutions of the European Union and four other European countries , as well as unilaterally by two others , and is consequently used daily by some 337 million Europeans . Outside of Europe , a number of overseas territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency . The electoral threshold is the minimum ___MASK51___ of the vote which a ___MASK69___ requires to secure any representation in a legislature . This limit can operate in various ways . For example , in party - list proportional representation systems , an election threshold requires that a party must receive a specified minimum percentage of votes ( e . g . 5 %), either nationally or within a particular district , to obtain any seats in the parliament . If there are a number of multi - member constituencies , each constituency will have a quota , i . e . a minimum percentage of the votes in that constituency to be awarded one seat . Slovenia , officially the ___MASK14___ of Slovenia ( Slovene : , abbr .: " RS "), is a nation state in southern Central Europe , located at the crossroads of main European cultural and trade routes . It is bordered by Italy to the west , Austria to the north , ___MASK29___ to the northeast , Croatia to the south and southeast , and the Adriatic ___MASK40___ to the southwest . It covers and has a population of 2 . 06 million . It is a parliamentary republic and a member of the United Nations , European Union , and NATO . The capital and largest city is Ljubljana . An ___MASK63___ is a formal decision - making process by which a ___MASK5___ chooses an individual to hold ___MASK38___ ___MASK27___ . Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since the 17th century . Elections may fill offices in the legislature , sometimes in the executive and judiciary , and for regional and local ___MASK79___ . This process is also used in many other private and business organizations , from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations .