Free Alternative (''Alternativa Libera'', AL) was a

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 ...

, originally including

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

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 ...

, and

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, autho ...

elements. The party was formed in January 2015 by splinters of the

Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian a ...

History

The party was launched in January 2015 by ten deputies who had left (or had been expelled from) the

(M5S), a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develope ...

party which had come first in the

2013 general election Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

, over disagreements with

Beppe Grillo Giuseppe Piero "Beppe" Grillo (; born 21 July 1948) is an Italian comedian, actor, blogger, and politician. He has been involved in politics since 2009 as the co-founder (together with Gianroberto Casaleggio) of the Italian Five Star Movement ...

's and

Gianroberto Casaleggio Gianroberto Casaleggio (; 14 August 1954 – 12 April 2016) was an Italian entrepreneur and political activist, born in Milan. He was co-founder and chairman of Casaleggio Associati srl, an internet and publishing company that advises on netwo ...

's leadership. According to AL's leader, Walter Rizzetto, at its foundation, the party counted also on seven senators (possibly including

Italy Work in Progress Italy Work in Progress (''Italia Lavori in Corso'', ILC) was a centre-left political party in Italy, which has been active mainly as a sub-group within the Mixed Group of the Senate. Its leaders were Fabrizio Bocchino and Francesco Campanella. IL ...

and the X Movement), but the notion was never confirmed by 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 ...

's website and other news sources. Besides Rizzetto, the other main leader of the party was Massimo Artini. In April 2015,

Gessica Rostellato Gessica Rostellato (born 23 October 1982) is an Italian politician. Born in Conselve and living in Cartura, Rostellato graduated in accounting and then worked as a labor consultant. In 2009, Rostellato joined the 5 Star Movement and, in 2013, ...

, one of the party's ten deputies, left in order to join the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

and, a few days later, was replaced by

Toni Matarrelli Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Nor ...

, a splinter from

Left Ecology Freedom Left Ecology Freedom ( it, Sinistra Ecologia Libertà, SEL) was a democratic socialist political party in Italy whose bulk was formed by former members of the Communist Refoundation Party. The party's leader was Nichi Vendola, a former President ...

, in the group. As of mid-July 2015, the party looked divided between its left-wing, led by Artini, whose members had been crescently involved in a dialogue with

Giuseppe Civati Giuseppe "Pippo" Civati (born 4 August 1975) is an Italian politician and publisher, former leader of Possible and a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 2013 to 2018. Biography Comunal and Regional experiences Very close to Romano Prodi ...

and were pondering over joining his

Possible Possibility is the condition or fact of being possible. Latin origins of the word hint at ability. Possibility may refer to: * Probability, the measure of the likelihood that an event will occur * Epistemic possibility, a topic in philosophy a ...

party, and its right-wing, led by Rizzetto, a

conservative liberal Conservative liberalism or right-liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. M. Gallagher, M. Laver and P. Mair, ''Repre ...

, who had been building bridges with

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 ...

and the

Brothers of Italy Brothers of Italy ( it, Fratelli d'Italia, FdI) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy. It is led by Giorgia Meloni, the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy and the first woman to serve in the position. Accor ...

(FdI) instead. In November 2015 the majority of the party (including six deputies: Artini, Matarrelli, Marco Baldassarre, Eleonora Bechis, Samuele Segoni and Tancredi Turco) joined forces with Possible and formed a joint sub-group within the

Mixed Group The mixed group ( it, Gruppo Misto, GM) is a parliamentary group active in both houses of the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicame ...

of the Chamber. This caused the split of four deputies (Rizzetto, Sebastiano Barbanti,

Mara Mucci Mara Mucci (born 5 July 1982) is an Italian politician. Born in Bologna, Mucci got a degree in computer science, did competitive swimming, and also was a theater actress and a photographer. In 2013 Mucci was elected deputy for the 5 Star Mov ...

and Aris Prodani). Shortly after, Matarrelli directly joined Possible. Through 2016 Rizzetto would join the Brothers of Italy, Barbanti the Democratic Party, and Mucci the

Civics and Innovators Civics and Innovators ( it, Civici e Innovatori, CI) was a centrist and liberal sub-group within the Mixed Group (previously a parliamentary group) in the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament. Its leader was Giovanni Monchiero. The ...

(a split from

Civic Choice Civic Choice ( it, Scelta Civica; SC) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy founded by Mario Monti. The party was formed in the run-up of the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Monti and continue his polit ...

), while Prodani continued to sit as an independent. In March 2017 AL was established as a full-fledged party, with Artini spokesperson and Claudio Pizzuto president. Contextually, it severed its ties with Possible (which would form a joint group with

Italian Left Italian Left ( it, Sinistra Italiana, SI) is a left-wing political party in Italy. SI was launched in November 2015 as a parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies (full name: Italian Left – Left Ecology Freedom), including Left Ecology F ...

), while strengthening the ties with the group led by

Federico Pizzarotti Federico Pizzarotti (born 7 October 1973) is an Italian politician, who served as mayor of Parma from 2012 to 2022. He was member of the Five Star Movement, and is now leader of Italia in Comune. He became the first Five Star Movement mayor in ...

, mayor of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

and M5S dissident too. In the 2017 municipal election in Parma Pizzarotti won 34.8% of the vote and his "Effect Parma" list, supported by AL and Possible, 34.6%. On 15 February 2019 it was announced that the party would merge into

Italia in Comune Italia in Comune (IiC, English: ''Italy in Common'') is a green and progressive political party in Italy. It was founded in April 2018 by mayor of Parma Federico Pizzarotti, other former members of the Five Star Movement and local non-party ind ...

, another party formed by M5S splinters, under the leadership of

Leadership

*Spokesperson: Massimo Artini (2017–2019) *President: Claudio Pizzuto (2017–2019)

References

{{Italian political parties 2015 establishments in Italy Direct democracy parties Political parties established in 2015 Defunct socialist parties in Italy Green political parties in Italy Five Star Movement breakaway groups