Liberal Democrats (Italy)
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The Liberal Democrats (, LD), whose complete name is Liberal Democrats for Renewal (''Liberal Democratici per il Rinnovamento''), is a
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
and
centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
political party in Italy This is a list of political parties in Italy since Italian unification in 1861. Throughout history, numerous political parties have been operating in Italy. Since World War II no party has ever gained enough support to govern alone; thus, partie ...
. The party, whose current leader is
Italo Tanoni Italo Tanoni (born 9 August 1944 in Recanati) is an Italian politician. Biography Italo Tanoni has been the head of the particular secretariate of the Christian Democratic Undersecretary and Minister Franco Foschi Franco Foschi (28 June 1 ...
, traces its roots in
Italian Renewal Italian Renewal (, RI) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy. The party was a member of The Olive Tree and centre-left coalition, while also affiliated to the European People's Party from 1998 to 2004. History Originally the D ...
, which was folded into
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy (, DL), commonly known simply as The Daisy (''La Margherita''), was a Centrism, centrist List of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy. The party was formed from the merger of three parties with ...
in 2002. Italian Renewal's and the Liberal Democrats' leader was
Lamberto Dini Lamberto Dini (; born 1 March 1931) is an Italian politician and economist. He was the Director General of Bank of Italy from 1979 to 1994, Italian Minister of the Treasury, Minister of Treasury from 1994 to 1996, the 51st Prime Minister of Ital ...
, who had previously served as Director-General of the
Bank of Italy The Bank of Italy (Italian language, Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', , informally referred to as ''Bankitalia'') is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Italy within the Eurosystem. It was the Italian central bank from ...
(1979–1994) under
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician, statesman and banker who was the President of Italy from 1999 to 2006 and the Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994. A World War II veteran, C ...
,
Minister of the Treasury A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
(1994–1995) under
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...
,
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
(1995–1996) and
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
(1996–2001) under
Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...
,
Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema (; born 20 April 1949) is an Italian politician and journalist who was the 53rd prime minister of Italy from 1998 to 2000. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2008. D'Alema ...
and
Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato (; born 13 May 1938) is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001. Upon Arnaldo Forlani's death in July 2023, Amato became the country's earliest-servin ...
. In the run-up of the foundation of the Democratic Party in 2007, Dini and his group quit and formed the Liberal Democrats, which would temporarily join
The People of Freedom The People of Freedom (, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL launched by Silvio Berlusconi as an electoral list, including and National Alliance, on 27 February for the 2008 Italian general election. The list was later t ...
. In 2008 Dini stayed in that party, partying ways from his Liberal Democrats, who continued to be active as an autonomous party.


History

The party was founded on 18 September 2007 as a right-wing split from
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy (, DL), commonly known simply as The Daisy (''La Margherita''), was a Centrism, centrist List of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy. The party was formed from the merger of three parties with ...
(DL), in opposition to the formation of the Democratic Party (PD), of which
Lamberto Dini Lamberto Dini (; born 1 March 1931) is an Italian politician and economist. He was the Director General of Bank of Italy from 1979 to 1994, Italian Minister of the Treasury, Minister of Treasury from 1994 to 1996, the 51st Prime Minister of Ital ...
had originally been a founding member. The new party was a sort of continuation of the defunct
Italian Renewal Italian Renewal (, RI) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy. The party was a member of The Olive Tree and centre-left coalition, while also affiliated to the European People's Party from 1998 to 2004. History Originally the D ...
party, which had been merged into DL in 2002, but had continued to be active as liberal-centrist faction within it. The party was joined by three senators (
Natale D'Amico Natale may refer to: * Natale, Botswana, village in Central District of Botswana * Natale (given name), Italian given name * Natale (surname), Italian surname * Jimmy Natale The Vulture is the alias of several supervillains appearing in Amer ...
,
Giuseppe Scalera Giuseppe Scalera (born 26 January 1998) is an Italian football player who plays as a defender for Viterbese. Club career He made his professional debut in the Serie B for Bari on 17 December 2016 in a game against Avellino Avellino () is a ...
and Dini himself), a deputy (
Italo Tanoni Italo Tanoni (born 9 August 1944 in Recanati) is an Italian politician. Biography Italo Tanoni has been the head of the particular secretariate of the Christian Democratic Undersecretary and Minister Franco Foschi Franco Foschi (28 June 1 ...
), an under-secretary (
Daniela Melchiorre Daniela Melchiorre (born 12 May 1970 in Rome) is an Italian magistrate and politician. Biography Daughter of a general of the Guardia di Finanza, Daniela Melchiorre is married and mother of a daughter. She obtained the classical maturity at th ...
) and two regional councillors (
Rosario Monteleone Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the country after Buenos Aires and Cordoba. W ...
in
Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...
and
Antonio Verini Antonio Verini (30 June 1936 – 12 September 2021) was an Italian politician who served as a Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in ma ...
in
Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...
). Dini was elected party president, Tanoni coordinator and Scalera leader in the Senate, where Liberal Democrats were able to form a sub-group within the
Mixed Group The mixed group (, 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 bicameral legislature. ...
. Dini announced that the party remained a "critical member" of The Union centre-left coalition and that would "support the Democratic Party from the outside". The party also continued to support
Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...
's
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
, but distanced from it on some issues, notably foreign policy and social security reform. One of the early goals of the LD was challenging the "statist illusion which survives in the DS and DL" and what they described as the hegemony of the
far-left Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...
over the centre-left and the government. Dini's move was criticised by leftists who accused him of preparing Berlusconi's return in office. On 24 January 2008 the LD, with the notable exception of D'amico and along with
Clemente Mastella Mario Clemente Mastella (born 5 February 1947) is an Italian politician who has been the mayor of Benevento since 20 June 2016. He also served as leader of the Union of Democrats for Europe (UDEUR), a minor centrist and Christian-democratic I ...
's
Union of Democrats for Europe The Union of Democrats for Europe (, UDEUR), also known as UDEUR Populars (''Popolari UDEUR''), was a minor centrist, Christian-democratic political party in Italy. Led by Clemente Mastella, minister of Labour in Berlusconi I Cabinet (1994–19 ...
and Domenico Fisichella (a former leader of the conservative
National Alliance National Alliance may refer to: Electoral alliances *National Alliance (Egypt) (2015) * National Alliance (Ireland) (2024 onwards) * National Alliance (Pakistan) (2002-2004) *Nation Alliance (Turkey) (2018-2023) Political parties and organizations ...
who had been elected with DL in
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
), joined the opposition in voting against the government in a vote of confidence in the Senate. Consequently, Prodi resigned from Prime Minister and a snap election was called. In February the party joined
The People of Freedom The People of Freedom (, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL launched by Silvio Berlusconi as an electoral list, including and National Alliance, on 27 February for the 2008 Italian general election. The list was later t ...
(PdL), the new broad centre-right party launched by Berlusconi. This led D'Amico to switch to the PD and Monteleone to the
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats The Union of the Centre (, 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. Lorenzo Cesa is the part ...
(UDC). In the following
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
, four Liberal Democrats were elected in the lists of the PdL: Dini to the Senate, Tanoni, Scalera and Melchiorre to the Chamber of Deputies. In May Dini, who was re-elected President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate, and Scalera decided to leave the LD and join directly the PdL, while Tanoni, Melchiorre and others decided to hold on and to organise the LD as an independent centrist party allied to PdL. Melchiorre was thus elected party president, succeeding to Dini. In July Melchiorre and Tanoni formed a joint-group within the Mixed Group of the Chamber along with Francesco Nucara of the
Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party (, PRI) is a political party in Italy established in 1895, which makes it the oldest political party still active in the country. The PRI identifies with 19th-century classical radicalism, as well as Mazzinianism, a ...
. Some months later the pair started to be very critical of
Berlusconi IV Cabinet The fourth Berlusconi government was the 60th Cabinet (government), government of Politics of Italy, Italy, in office from 8 May 2008 to 16 November 2011. It was the fourth government led by Silvio Berlusconi, who then became the longest-serving ...
and joined the opposition in several key votes. In the
2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Member of the European Parliament, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent s ...
the party formed an alliance with the
Associative Movement Italians Abroad The Associative Movement of Italians Abroad () is an Italian political party representing Italians abroad. Based in Argentina and active mainly in South America, the MAIE is a centrist party. History The party emerged from the split of the libera ...
and obtained a mere 0.2% of the vote. In January 2010 the LD formed an electoral pact with the Union of the Centre (UdC), successor of the UDC. In December the party was a founding member of the centrist New Pole for Italy along with the UdC,
Future and Freedom Future and Freedom (), whose full name was Future and Freedom for Italy (''Futuro e Libertà per l'Italia'', abbreviated to FLI), was a list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy, comprising both liberal conservatism, liberal an ...
,
Alliance for Italy Alliance for Italy (; 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 left", described as "an e ...
and the
Movement for the Autonomies Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...
. However, a few months later the LD returned to support Berlusconi and Melchiorre briefly served as under-secretary of Economic Development in May 2011. In October 2012 the balance of accounts of the PdL showed that the LD had received one million of Euros of financial support from Berlusconi's party, which used to finance its satellites. In the 2013 general election the LD externally supported
Mario Monti Mario Monti (; born 19 March 1943) is an Italian politician, economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a Technocratic government (Italy), technocratic government in the wake of the European sov ...
's
Civic Choice Civic Choice (; 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 political agenda. In t ...
and, after the election, Melchiorre returned to her job as magistrate and, having consequently resigned from party president, she was replaced by Tanoni. In the 2016 constitutional referendum the party was part of the "yes" camp, that was soundly defeated, and organised a committee presided by Tiziano Treu, a former minister and senator for Italian Renewal and DL.


Leadership

*President:
Lamberto Dini Lamberto Dini (; born 1 March 1931) is an Italian politician and economist. He was the Director General of Bank of Italy from 1979 to 1994, Italian Minister of the Treasury, Minister of Treasury from 1994 to 1996, the 51st Prime Minister of Ital ...
(2007–2008),
Daniela Melchiorre Daniela Melchiorre (born 12 May 1970 in Rome) is an Italian magistrate and politician. Biography Daughter of a general of the Guardia di Finanza, Daniela Melchiorre is married and mother of a daughter. She obtained the classical maturity at th ...
(2008–2013),
Italo Tanoni Italo Tanoni (born 9 August 1944 in Recanati) is an Italian politician. Biography Italo Tanoni has been the head of the particular secretariate of the Christian Democratic Undersecretary and Minister Franco Foschi Franco Foschi (28 June 1 ...
(2013–present) **Vice President: Francesco Pifferi (2013–present) *Coordinator:
Italo Tanoni Italo Tanoni (born 9 August 1944 in Recanati) is an Italian politician. Biography Italo Tanoni has been the head of the particular secretariate of the Christian Democratic Undersecretary and Minister Franco Foschi Franco Foschi (28 June 1 ...
(2007–2013), Alessandro Campagnioli (2013–present)


References


External links


Official websiteisaidub original website
{{Political parties of Italy Centrist parties in Italy Liberal parties in Italy Political parties established in 2007 2007 establishments in Italy