The Federation of Liberals ( it, Federazione dei Liberali, FdL) was a minor

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political party in Italy This article contains a list of political parties in Italy since Italian unification in 1861. Throughout history, numerous political parties have been operating in Italy, and since World War II no party has ever gained enough support to govern ...

. The party was founded on 6 February 1994 as the legal successor of the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was a liberal and conservative political party in Italy. The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor part ...

(PLI):

Alfredo Biondi Alfredo Biondi (29 June 1928 – 24 June 2020) was an Italian politician and lawyer. In 1994 he served as Minister of Justice of the Italian Republic during the first cabinet chaired by Silvio Berlusconi. Biography Born in Pisa, Biondi was Secr ...

, incumbent president of the PLI, was elected president and Raffaello Morelli coordinator. In the 1994 general election most FdL members supported Patto Segni, while Biondi (and some of the Liberals gathered in the Union of the Centre) were elected with Forza Italia. The FdL failed to file lists for the subsequent European Parliament election. In 1995 the party was joined by the Liberal Democratic Union, whose leader Valerio Zanone was elected president, replacing Antonio Baslini. In the 1996 general election Zanone and Morelli sided the FdL with The Olive Tree and, more specifically, with Democratic Union. In the

1999 European Parliament election The 1999 European Parliament election was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and L ...

the party formed a joint list with the

Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party ( it, Partito Repubblicano Italiano, PRI) is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Italy. Founded in 1895, the PRI is the oldest political party still active in Italy. The PRI has old roots and a long hist ...

. In both cases no Liberals were elected. In the 2001 general election the FdL sided with

Democracy is Freedom Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choose gover ...

(DL). Zanone, a keen supporter of that alliance, joined DL's national board in 2002 and was elected to the Senate in the 2006 general election, while Morelli was more critical. The majority of the party sided with the latter, but the final fracture with Zanone happened only in 2005. In the meantime, in the

2004 European Parliament election The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but electe ...

the FdL had formed joint lists with the Federation of Liberal Democrats. After that, the party, which is still active and more recently took part in European Choice for the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...

, has suffered a steady decline.

Leadership

*President:

(1994), Antonio Baslini (1994–1995), Valerio Zanone (1995–2004), Raffaello Morelli (2005–c.2014) *Coordinator/Secretary: Raffello Morelli (1994–2005)

References

External links

Official websiteFormer official website
{{Historical Italian political parties Defunct political parties in Italy 1994 establishments in Italy Centrist parties in Italy Liberal parties in Italy Political parties established in 1994 Social liberal parties 2014 disestablishments in Italy Political parties disestablished in 2014