The Union of the Centre ( it, Unione di Centro, UdC), whose complete name is "Union of Christian and Centre Democrats" (''Unione dei Democratici Cristiani e Democratici di Centro'', UDC), is a

Christian-democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Lorenzo Cesa is the party's current secretary; Pier Ferdinando Casini was for years the most recognisable figure and ''de facto'' leader of the party, before eventually distancing from it in 2016. The UdC is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and the

Centrist Democrat International The Centrist Democrat International ( es, Internacional Demócrata de Centro) is a Christian-democratic political international. Until 2001, it was known as the Christian Democrat International (CDI); before 1999, it was known as the Christian D ...

(CDI), of which Casini was president from 2004 to 2015. The party was formed as "Union of Christian and Centre Democrats" in December 2002 upon the merger of the

Christian Democratic Centre The Christian Democratic Centre ( it, Centro Cristiano Democratico, CCD) was a Christian-democratic political party in Italy from 1994 to 2002. Formed from a right-wing split from Christian Democracy, the party joined the centre-right coalition, a ...

(CCD), the

United Christian Democrats The United Christian Democrats ( it, Cristiani Democratici Uniti, CDU) was a minor Christian democratic political party in Italy. The CDU was a member of the European People's Party from 1995 until 2002. History The party was started in 1995 by s ...

(CDU) and

European Democracy European Democracy ( it, Democrazia Europea, DE) was a minor Christian-democratic, centrist political party in Italy. History European Democracy was founded in 2001 by Sergio D'Antoni (former leader of the Italian Confederation of Workers' Tra ...

(DE). In 2008 the party was the driving force behind the "Union of the Centre" (UdC), an alliance comprising, among others,

The Rose for Italy The Rose for Italy (''La Rosa per l'Italia''), also known as White Rose (''Rosa Bianca'') and Popular Civic Federative Movement (''Movimento Federativo Civico Popolare''), was a Christian-democratic political party in Italy. History On 30 Janua ...

of Bruno Tabacci and

Savino Pezzotta Savino Pezzotta (born 25 December 1943) is an Italian politician and trade unionist. Trade unionist Pezzotta was a textile worker since 1959. In 1963, he joined the Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions (CISL) and later became a trade un ...

, the Populars of Ciriaco De Mita and the Liberal Clubs of

Ferdinando Adornato Ferdinando Adornato (born 11 May 1954) is an Italian politician and journalist. Biography On 8 June 1994, he founded and led the group ''Area'', "an area of programmatic comparison ... inspired liberal, Christian and environmentalist ... elemen ...

. Since then, the party's official name was neglected in favour of the alliance's and, since most of the UdC member parties have joined the UDC too, the UDC and the UdC started to overlap almost completely to the point that they are now indistinguishable. The CCD was an early ally of

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...

's Forza Italia in 1994 and was part of the centre-right

Pole Pole may refer to: Astronomy *Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets *Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...

/ House of Freedoms since its establishment. Consequently, the UDC was consistently part of the centre-right until 2006. Later, it was affiliated neither to the centre-right nor the centre-left at the national level. Despite this, the party continued to take part in several regional, provincial and municipal governments with the old and the new Forza Italia, while forming alliances also with the centre-left Democratic Party in some regions and cities. In the 2013 general election the UdC was part of With Monti for Italy, the coalition formed around Mario Monti's Civic Choice, and obtained a mere 1.8% of the vote, down from 5.6% in 2008 and 6.8% in 2006. In December 2014 the party, which sat in Enrico Letta's

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

and Matteo Renzi's

(2013–2016), formed Popular Area with Angelino Alfano's New Centre-Right. In December 2016 the UdC left the alliance, did not join Paolo Gentiloni's

and suffered the final split by Casini and his followers. The party has since returned into the centre-right coalition's fold and took part to the 2018 general election within a joint list named Us with Italy. After the election, the UdC has become a sort of associate party of Forza Italia, being part of the latter's group in the Senate.

History

Background

In the

2001 Italian general election The 2001 Italian general election was held in Italy on 13 May 2001 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. The election was won by the centre-right coalition House of Freedoms led by Silvio Berlusconi, defeati ...

the

(CCD), led by Pier Ferdinando Casini, and the

(CDU), a 1995 split from the Italian People's Party (PPI) led by Rocco Buttiglione were part of the winning centre-right House of Freedoms coalition, but their joint list won a mere 3.2% of the vote (−2.6pp from 1996). In the event, the two parties suffered the competition of

(DE), led by Sergio D'Antoni and formed largely by further splinters from the PPI, which obtained 2.4% of the vote. After the election, Casini was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies and was replaced by Marco Follini as secretary of the CCD. Soon after,

appointed

Carlo Giovanardi Carlo Amedeo Giovanardi (born 15 January 1950, in Modena) is an Italian politician, former member of the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate, and leader of the social conservatism, socially conservative wing of the New Centre-Right party. ...

(CCD) and Buttiglione (CDU) as ministers in his second government. A few months later, the CCD and the CDU jointly scored 19.7% of the vote in a regional election (+0.7pp from the previous regional election) in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, which was a stronghold for both parties, and

Sicilian Regional Assembly The Sicilian Regional Assembly is the legislative body of Sicily. While it has a long history as an autonomous entity, the modern Region of Sicily was established by Royal Decree on 15 May 1946, before the Italian Republic. The Regional Assembly ...

Foundation and early years

On 6 December 2002 the CCD, the CDU and DE were merged into the "Union of Christian and Centre Democrats" (UDC). During the party's first congress, Follini was elected secretary, D'Antoni deputy secretary and Buttiglione president. At 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 UDC won 5.9% of the vote and five MEPs. Consequently, the party successfully lobbied for Follini's appointment as Deputy Prime Minister in Berlusconi's government with the goal of strengthening and balancing the coalition, while diminishing the influence of Lega Nord. At the 2005 regional elections the UDC and the House of Freedoms faced a severe defeat by winning only 2 regions out of 14. Follini asked Berlusconi to resign and form a new government. In the new executive, Buttiglione became minister of Culture, while Follini stepped down from his previous post in order to concentrate on the party. On 15 October 2005 Follini suddenly resigned from his position as party secretary and was replaced on 27 October by Lorenzo Cesa, an ally of Casini. The party took part to the 2006 general election with a new logo, characterised by the inclusion of the name of Casini, who also headed party electoral lists in most constituencies. Despite the defeat of the House of Freedoms, the UDC improved its electoral performance by gaining 6.8% of the vote. In the following Sicilian regional election Cuffaro was re-elected President, but the UDC's share of the vote was reduced to 13.0%, due to two factors: the presence of president's list named after Cuffaro (which obtained 5.7% and elected mostly UdC members) and the strong showing of the MpA (12.5%).

Transition and splits

In October 2006 Follini, a harsh critic of Berlusconi, finally left the party to form a new grouping, called Middle Italy, which was eventually merged into the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) upon its foundation in October 2007. This was the fourth split suffered by the UDC in two years after three much bigger splits: the first led by Sergio D'Antoni, who joined

The Daisy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

(DL) in 2004; the second by Gianfranco Rotondi, who launched the

Christian Democracy for the Autonomies Christian Democracy for the Autonomies ( it, Democrazia Cristiana per le Autonomie, DCA) was a minor Christian-democratic political party in Italy. History DCA was founded on 25 October 2004 by a split from the Union of Christian and Centre Dem ...

(DCA) in 2005; the third by Raffaele Lombardo, who formed the Sicilian-based Movement for Autonomy (MpA) later that year. After the departure of Follini, however, Casini became highly critical of Berlusconi too and further distanced the UDC from him. A fifth major split happened at the end of January 2008 when Bruno Tabacci and

Mario Baccini Mario Baccini (born 14 December 1957 in Rome) is an Italian politician, former member of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats and promoter of the White Rose. Biography He started his political activity as town councilor in Rome, for th ...

left the party because Casini seemed eager to re-join Berlusconi for the upcoming election, after that the

Prodi II Cabinet The second Prodi government was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days. The 59th cabinet of the Italian Republic, it was the only cabinet of the XV Legislature ...

had not passed through a vote of confidence. Shortly afterwards, when Casini refused to merge his party into Berlusconi's then-new political movement,

The People of Freedom The People of Freedom ( it, Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL, launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including Forza Italia a ...

(PdL), the UDC was joined by

of Tabacci, Baccini and

, as well as by two leading members of Forza Italia (FI),

and Angelo Sanza. On the other side, the UDC was left by those who wanted to continue the alliance with Berlusconi: Giovanardi and his faction (the

Liberal Populars The Liberal Populars (''Popolari Liberali'') were a short-lived Christian-democratic political party in Italy (2008–2009), which currently functions as an internal faction of Identity and Action (IdeA). History Originally a faction within the U ...

) joined the PdL, citing that the 72% of UDC voters wanted the party to do so. They were soon followed by many others.

Union of the Centre

On 28 February 2008 the UDC announced that it would contest the 2008 general election under the banner of the "Union of the Centre" (UdC), in alliance with The Rose for Italy and other smaller groups, notably including the Populars around Ciriaco De Mita, former leader of Christian Democracy (DC), the Liberal Clubs, the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

Veneto for the European People's Party Veneto for the EPP ( it, Veneto per il PPE, VPPE) was a regional Christian democratic political party based in Veneto, Italy. History VPPE was founded in 2005 as a trans-party political movement by Giorgio Carollo, both members of Forza Italia an ...

, the Democratic Populars and the

Autonomist Democrats The Autonomist Democrats (''Democratici Autonomisti'') were a social-democratic and liberal electoral list for the 2008 Sicilian regional election. Its leading members included Maurizio Ballistreri, a former regional deputy for the Italian Democra ...

. Despite having lost many votes to the PdL, the UDC was able to woo some new voters from the centre-left and gained 5.6% of the vote, 36 deputies (all UDC members but four) and three senators. Soon after the election, Baccini, one of the leaders of The Rose, surprisingly left the UdC in order to join the PdL. After the election, Casini relaunched his plan for a new "centrist" party, as an alternative to both the PdL and the PD. This is what he called the "party of the nation", open to "centrists", "Christian democrats", "liberals" and "reformers", even though he presented it as a party based on Christian values, as opposed both to the PD and the PdL, which, despite being a centre-right party, also included social-liberal factions. Casini long criticised the PdL for not being "Catholic" enough, particularly criticising Berlusconi, who once spoke of "anarchy of values" in describing the catch-all nature of the PdL, and Gianfranco Fini, who was known for his social-liberal stance on stem-cell research,

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

and right-to-die issues, and explicitly wooed the "Christian democrats of the PD" to join him. In the 2009 European Parliament election the UdC won 6.5% of the vote and five of its candidates were elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, including De Mita and

Magdi Allam Magdi Cristiano Allam ( ar, مجدي علام Majdī ʿAllām; born 22 April 1952), is an Egyptian-Italian journalist and politician, noted for his criticism of Islam and his articles on the relations between Western culture and the Islamic worl ...

. In the 2010 regional elections the UdC chose to form alliances both with the centre-right and the centre-left (or stood alone) in different regions, depending on local conditions, losing ground everywhere but in those southern regions where it was in alliance with the centre-right.

Centre-left coalitions

In December 2010 the UdC was a founding member of the New Pole for Italy (NPI), along with Future and Freedom (FLI) and the

Alliance for Italy Alliance for Italy ( it, Alleanza per l'Italia; ApI) was a centrist political party in Italy. The party, which was described in its manifesto as "democratic, liberal, popular" as opposed both to "right-wing populism" and the "social-democratic l ...

. The NPI alliance was short-lived and the three parties, which were supporters of Mario Monti's technocratic government in 2011–2013, parted ways. In 2012 the UdC suffered the split of another Sicilian-based group, Cantiere Popolare (CP), which would be a strong competitor for the party in Sicily, along with the evergreen MpA. The UdC contested the 2013 general election as part of the With Monti for Italy coalition, alongside FLI and Monti's Civic Choice (SC). The election was a huge defeat for the UdC, which obtained a mere 1.8% of the vote, eight deputies and two senators. After the election, the party joined Enrico Letta's

with Gianpiero D'Alia as minister of Public Administration (2013–2014) and Matteo Renzi's

with Gianluca Galletti as minister of the Environment (2014–2016). In February 2014, during the party's fourth congress, Cesa was narrowly re-elected secretary over D'Alia, who was then elected president. The UdC ran in the 2014 European Parliament election on a joint list with the New Centre-Right (NCD), a mainly Christian-democratic outfit emerged from a split from the PdL in its final days. The list obtained 4.4% of the vote and three MEPs, two for the NCD and one for the UdC. In December 2014 the alliance with the NCD was strengthened with the formation of the Popular Area (AP) joint parliamentary groups.

Re-foundation

In 2016 Casini did not renew his membership to the party, which was thus deprived of its most recognisable leader. Additionally, while still being part of the government and AP, the UdC chose not to support the "yes" in the 2016 constitutional referendum and to distance from the NCD, rejecting any notion of a joint party. In the run-up of the referendum the party was also abandoned by president D'Alia. After the referendum, which saw a huge defeat of the "yes" side, the UdC left AP altogether, but, other than Casini and D'Alia, the party lost another deputy and, more important, minister Galletti. Antonio De Poli replaced D'Alia as president. In 2017 the UdC was joined by three senators from other parties. The party's new course was marked also by the return of Follini. For the

2017 Sicilian regional election The 2017 Sicilian regional election for the renewal of the Sicilian Regional Assembly and the election of the President of Sicily was held on 5 November 2017. Incumbent President Rosario Crocetta was not his party's candidate due to his low popu ...

the UdC re-joined the centre-right at the regional level. The decision led some leading former UdC members in Sicily to return into the party's fold, but was criticised by the party's deputy secretary Giuseppe De Mita, his uncle Ciriaco and Follini, who would jointly launch

Italy is Popular Italy is Popular ( it, L'Italia è Popolare, IP) is a Christian-democratic political party active in Italy. History IP was launched as a split from the Union of the Centre (UdC) in November 2017 by Giuseppe De Mita, nephew of Ciriaco De Mita, ...

, lead it into the Popular Civic List and join the centre-left coalition. In the run-up of the 2018 general election the UdC officially re-joined the centre-right coalition also at the national level, aiming at teaming up with other Christian-democratic parties, notably including the Union of Democrats for Europe (UDEUR), as well as the Italian Liberal Party (PLI) and

Energies for Italy Energies for Italy ( it, Energie per l'Italia, EpI) was a political party in Italy, launched in November 2016 and officially established on 1 April 2017. Its leader is Stefano Parisi, a former director-general of Confindustria and CEO of Fastweb ...

(EpI). Thus, the UdC joined Us with Italy (NcI), a pro-Berlusconi centrist electoral list formed by AP splinters (two groups, a Christian-democratic one led by Maurizio Lupi and a liberal one led by Enrico Costa),

Direction Italy Direction Italy ( it, Direzione Italia, DI) was a liberal-conservative political party in Italy. The party was led by Raffaele Fitto, an MEP in the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group. History The party was formed in January 2017 ...

(DI), Civic Choice (SC), Act!, CP and the MpA, with the goal of reaching 3%, required to win seats from proportional lists under a new electoral law. NcI was later joined also by IdeA, UdC's partner in the Chamber of Deputies. In the election the NcI obtained a mere 1.3% of the vote and the UdC had three senators elected from single-seat constituencies: De Poli, Paola Binetti and Antonio Saccone. Soon after the election, the party quit NcI and formed a pact with FI. In the run-up of the

2022 general election The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local ...

the UdC first formed a joint list with Coraggio Italia (CI), then it was a founding member of Us Moderates (NM), a broader joint list within the centre-right coalition, along with CI, NcI and

Italy in the Centre Italy in the Centre ( it, Italia al Centro, IaC) is a liberal-conservative political party in Italy led by Giovanni Toti. History In August 2019, Giovanni Toti left his former party Forza Italia (FI), and formed Cambiamo! (C!). In May 2021, C! ...

(IaC).

Ideology

Although it is the most vocal supporter of social conservatism in Italy (opposition to

, euthanasia,

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

LGBT adoption Same-sex adoption is the adoption of children by same-sex couples. It may take the form of a joint adoption by the couple, or of the adoption by one partner of the other's biological child (stepchild adoption). Joint adoption by same-sex coup ...

and

legality of cannabis The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. These ...

are some of its main concerns) and can be easily connected with the

Christian right The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with ...

, the UdC is usually identified with the

political centre Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the ...

in Italy, thanks to its roots in the Christian Democracy (DC). However ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'' once described it as a right-wing, sometimes reactionary party, which "stretches a long way from the centre". Moreover, it wrote that many UDC members are "diehard corporatists who ..get most of their votes from the south, where many households depend either on welfare or on public-sector employment". Indeed, the party is stronger in the South and especially in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, where public-sector employment is widely spread. The UDC was an independent-minded and often reluctant member of the House of Freedoms coalition from 2002 to 2008. The party's leading figure, Pier Ferdinando Casini, was critical of

's leadership over the Italian centre-right and presented himself as a moderate alternative to populism, which, in his view, denoted the alliance between

(PdL) and Lega Nord. UDC's main goal, similarly to that of the Democratic Movement in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, has been to form governments beyond the left-right divide (e.g.: Monti Cabinet and

Letta Cabinet The Letta government was the 62nd government of the Italian Republic. In office from 28 April 2013 to 22 January 2014, it comprised ministers of the Democratic Party (PD), The People of Freedom (PdL), Civic Choice (SC), the Union of the Centr ...

) and, possibly, reassembling the remnants of the old DC and control Italian politics from the centre. In this respect, Casini and his followers have long tried to form the nucleus of a third force in Italian politics (e.g.: New Pole for Italy, With Monti for Italy, Popular Area). This "centrist option" has not succeeded yet: the UdC has remained a much lighter force compared to Berlusconi's parties ( Forza Italia, the PdL and finally the new Forza Italia), which have drawn most former DC voters, and Italians like confrontational politics based on alternative coalitions and many would support a two-party system, in place of the typically Italian fragmented political spectrum. Finally, several political scientists think that the return of DC is all but likely as the "political unity of Catholics" (the core idea on which DC was based) is not repeatable and it would be anti-historical to try uniting all strains of political Catholicism in a single party. Moreover, although UdC members are keen on presenting themselves as moderates, their solid social conservatism has harmed their prospects, while FI/PdL/FI has been popular also among secularised middle-class voters. Knowing that, Casini tried to open his party, through the UdC, also to non-Christian-democratic "centrists", "liberals" and "reformers", while wooing former DC members affiliated with other parties, especially the PdL and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). After Casini's exit from the party in 2016, the UdC is likely to return to its traditional Christian-democratic roots, as declared by Cesa in a speech to the party's national council. On specific issues, it is relevant to state that the UdC is one of the main supporters of nuclear energy in the Italian political arena.

Factions

At the 2007 national congress, there were basically four factions within the party. *Casiniani. Led by Pier Ferdinando Casini, Lorenzo Cesa and Rocco Buttiglione, the faction included also Mario Tassone (co-leader with Buttiglione of a sub-group composed of former members of the

(CDU), which controlled more than 15% of party delegates), Michele Vietti, Luca Volontè, Francesco D'Onofrio, Maurizio Ronconi, Francesco Bosi and Antonio De Poli, and gained the support of at least 45% of party members. *Tabaccini. This group, which had the support of the 30% of party members, was basically the left-wing of the party, including leading politicians such as Bruno Tabacci,

and Armando Dionisi, who were formerly close allies of Marco Follini. They proposed to start a co-operation with the Democratic Party (PD) or the formation of a centrist party open to figures like

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (; born 31 August 1947) is an Italian businessman, former Chairman of Ferrari, and formerly Chairman of Fiat S.p.A. and President of Confindustria and FIEG. He comes from an aristocratic family from the region of Piedmo ...

and Mario Monti. *Cuffariani. This third group consisted in the southern faction of

Salvatore Cuffaro Salvatore "Totò" Cuffaro (born 21 February 1958) is a former Italian politician and former President of Sicily. He has served an almost 5-year jail sentence for aiding Cosa Nostra.Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and was somewhat critical of the centralist-styled leadership of the party. This group, which included Calogero Mannino, Francesco Saverio Romano, Giuseppe Naro and Giuseppe Drago, held the 10% of the party delegates and supported the Casini-Cesa line, although its members had been often friendlier to Berlusconi. In September 2010 most ''Cuffariani'', led by Romano, left the UDC to form The Populars of Italy Tomorrow (PID) and support the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. *Giovanardiani. It was the group led by

and Emerenzio Barbieri, who wanted closer ties with Forza Italia and the other parties of the House of Freedoms coalition, including Lega Nord. At the congress, the bid of Giovanardi for the leadership was supported by 13.8% of delegates. Before leaving the UDC in February 2008 in order to join the PdL, Giovanardi and Barbieri organised their faction as

. The three main schisms suffered by the party between 2004 and 2006, Middle Italy (IdM), Movement for Autonomy (MpA) and

(DCA), were led by the most vocal supporters of each of the last three factions mentioned above, respectively Marco Follini, Raffaele Lombardo and Gianfranco Rotondi. By 2010 virtually all ''Giovanardiani'' and ''Cuffariani'' had left the party through the Liberal Populars and the PID.

Popular support

The UDC/UdC has been historically stronger in the South and in regional elections. The electoral results of the UDC/UdC in the 10 most populated regions of Italy are shown in the table below. The score for the 2006 Sicilian regional election refers to the combined result of the UDC (13.0) and of ''L'Aquilone–Lista del Presidente'' (5.7%), the personal list of

Electoral results

Italian Parliament

European Parliament

Regional Councils

Symbols

File:Unione dei Democratici Cristiani e di Centro (logo, 2002-2006).jpg, 2002–2006 File:Unione dei Democratici Cristiani e di Centro (logo).png, 2006–2008 File:UNIONE DI CENTRO (2008).jpg, 2008 File:UNIONE DI CENTRO (2009).jpg, 2009–2013 File:Unione di Centro logo.png, 2013–present

Leadership

*Secretary: Marco Follini (2002–2005), Lorenzo Cesa (2005–2021) *Deputy Secretary: Sergio D'Antoni (2002–2004), Mario Tassone (2004–2013), Erminia Mazzoni (2005–2007),

Salvatore Cuffaro Salvatore "Totò" Cuffaro (born 21 February 1958) is a former Italian politician and former President of Sicily. He has served an almost 5-year jail sentence for aiding Cosa Nostra.Armando Dionisi (2007–2008), Michele Vietti (2007–2010), Antonio De Poli (2014–2016), Mauro Libè (2014–2016), Giuseppe De Mita (2014–2017) **Head of Political Secretariat: Lorenzo Cesa (2002–2005), Armando Dionisi (2005–2007), Antonio De Poli (2007–2014) **Spokesperson: Michele Vietti (2006–2007),

Francesco Pionati Francesco Pionati (born 15 July 1958 in Avellino), is an politics of Italy, Italian politician and journalist. Son of Giovanni Pionati, former Mayor of Avellino, he went into the RAI television on direct reporting by Ciriaco De Mita and he sta ...

(2007–2008), Antonio De Poli (2008–2014) *President: Rocco Buttiglione (2002–2014), Gianpiero D'Alia (2014–2016), Antonio De Poli (2016–present) *Administrative Secretary:

Salvatore Cherchi Salvatore Cherchi (born 15 November 1950) is an Italian politician who served as Deputy (1983–1992, 1996–2001), Senator (1992–1996), Mayor of Carbonia (2001–2010) and President of the Province of Carbonia-Iglesias The province of Carbon ...

(2002–2005), Giuseppe Naro (2005–2014), Salvatore Ruggeri (2014–present) *Organizational Secretary:

(2002–2005), Renato Grassi (2005–2006), Amedeo Ciccanti (2006–2007), Giuseppe Galati (2007), Francesco Saverio Romano (2007–2010), Antonio De Poli (2011–2014) *Party Leader in the Chamber of Deputies: Luca Volontè (2001–2008), Pier Ferdinando Casini (2008–2012), Gian Luca Galletti (2012–2013), Giampiero D'Alia (2013), Giuseppe De Mita (2013–2014), Rocco Buttiglione (2014–2018) *Party Leader in the Senate: Francesco D'Onofrio (2001–2008), Gianpiero D'Alia (2008–2013), Antonio De Poli (2013–present) *Party Leader in the

Vito Bonsignore Vito Bonsignore (born 3 July 1943 in Bronte, Catania, Sicily) is an Politics of Italy, Italian politician. Biography Bonsignore graduated in economics and commerce in Messina, he was manager of the Turin-Alessandria-Piacenza (SATAP) Autostrade pe ...

(2004–2008), Iles Braghetto (2008–2009), Carlo Casini (2009–2014), Lorenzo Cesa (2014–2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Union of Christian and Centre Democrats Centrist parties in Italy Catholic political parties Christian democratic parties in Italy Political parties established in 2002 Social conservative parties 2002 establishments in Italy