European Democracy ( it, Democrazia Europea, DE) was a minor

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 i ...

centrist 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 th ...

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 ...

History

European Democracy was founded in 2001 by Sergio D'Antoni (former leader of the

Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions The Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori (''CISL''; ''Italian Confederation of Trade Unions'') is an Italian trade union association representing various Catholic–inspired groups linked with Christian Democracy. It was founded on 30 Apr ...

Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti ( , ; 14 January 1919 – 6 May 2013) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992) and leader of the Christian Democracy ...

and

Ortensio Zecchino Ortensio Zecchino (born 20 April 1943) is an Italian academic and politician, former Minister of University and Research. Biography After teaching History of Medieval Institutions at the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples, Zecchino joi ...

, all three splitters from the Italian People's Party. Many ex-members of

Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official ...

, including Vito Gnutti (former Minister of Industry) and

Domenico Comino Domenico Comino (born 27 September 1955) is an Italian politician, who served as the minister of European affairs and state minister in the mid-1990s. Biography Comino was born in Morozzo on 27 September 1955. He is one of the former leaders of ...

(and floor leader in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon ...

). In the 2001 general election the party scored 2.3% on a stand-alone list, winning only two seats in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

. In December 2002 it was merged with the Christian Democratic Centre and 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 ...

to form the

Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 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 political party in Italy. Loren ...

(UDC). Sergio D'Antoni became vice-secretary of the new party.

Electoral results

Italian Parliament

References

{{Historical Italian political parties Political parties disestablished in 2001 Christian democratic parties in Italy Centrist parties in Italy Political parties established in 2000 Defunct Christian political parties 2000 establishments in Italy Defunct political parties in Italy 2001 disestablishments in Italy Giulio Andreotti Catholic political parties