The Liberal Populars (''Popolari Liberali'') were a short-lived

Christian-democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well a ...

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 ...

(2008–2009), which currently functions as an internal faction of Identity and Action (IdeA).

History

Originally a faction within 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), the PL were launched in February 2007 and named that way in October. Its leaders were Carlo Giovanardi and Emerenzio Barbieri, who wanted closer ties with

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 ...

Forza Italia (FI; ) was a centre-right liberal-conservative political party in Italy, with Christian democratic,Chiara Moroni, , Carocci, Rome 2008 liberalOreste Massari, ''I partiti politici nelle democrazie contempoiranee'', Laterza, Rome-Bari 2004 (esp ...

and the other parties of the

House of Freedoms The House of Freedoms (, CdL) was a major centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy, led by Silvio Berlusconi. History The CdL was the successor of the Pole of Freedoms/ Pole of Good Government and the Pole for Freedoms. The former ...

coalition, including

Lega Nord Lega Nord (LN; ), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing politics, right-wing, federalism, federalist, populism, populist and conservatism, conservative list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy. In the run-up to the 201 ...

. In April Giovanardi's bid to become secretary of the UDC had been supported by the 13.8% of the vote during a party congress. When, on 18 November 2007, Berlusconi proposed the formation of

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) party, Giovanardi suddenly hinted that he could leave UDC and join the new party. That finally happened on 4 February 2008, citing that the 72% of UDC voters would be interested in voting the PdL. UDC members who followed Giovanardi included

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 ...

, Tomaso Zanoletti, Luigi Compagna, Giuseppe Galati, Francesco Lucchese, Alfredo Meocci and Francesco Massi. The PL were joined also by Riccardo Conti, a former UDC member who was then in Middle Italy. In early April PL announced an alliance, within the PdL, with Gianfranco Rotondi's Christian Democracy for Autonomies. In the 2008 general election the party got two deputies and two senators elected in the PdL's lists. After the election, Giovanardi was appointed Undersecretary in the

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 ...

. On 29 March 2009 the party was merged into the PdL, during the first PdL's congress, and was converted into a faction. On 15 November 2013 the PL left the PdL in order to join the newly formed

New Centre-Right New Centre-Right (, NCD) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The party was launched on 15 November 2013 by a group of dissidents of The People of Freedom (PdL) who opposed the party's reformation as Forza Italia (2013), Forza Italia (FI) ...

(NCD) party. On 26 November 2015 the PL left the NCD. A month later the party joined Identity and Action (IdeA).

References

External links

Official website
{{New Centre-Right factions Defunct political parties in Italy Political party factions in Italy Political parties established in 2008 Catholic political parties Christian democratic parties in Italy