The Party of Independents (, PdU) was a regionalist

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

active in

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

from 1972 to 1988.

Ideology

Initially considered liberal, the party defined itself as committed to Christian values but not subscribing to any ideology. In its later period, it became a right-wing

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

party with

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

tendencies and was perceived as a vehicle of protest against "

the powers that be In idiomatic English, "the powers that be" is a phrase used to refer to those individuals or groups who collectively hold authority over a particular domain. Within this phrase, the word ''be'' is an archaic variant of ''are'' rather than a subj ...

History

The party was launched in 1972 under the name of "Electoral committee of Independents" ''(Wahlverband der Unabhängigen)'' in support of the candidacy of Hans Dietl, a member of 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 Bourb ...

for the

South Tyrolean People's Party The South Tyrolean People's Party (, SVP) is a regionalism (politics), regionalist and mostly Christian democracy, Christian-democratic list of political parties in South Tyrol, political party in South Tyrol, an Autonomous administrative divisio ...

who had been expelled from that party in 1971 for having taken a hard line over an agreement between the provincial and the national government known as ''il Pacchetto'' ("the package"). In the 1972 general election Dietl won 20.8% of the vote in the single-seat constituency of

Brixen Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...

, the largest defection from SVP so far. After the election, Dietl launched the Social Democratic Party of South Tyrol, while others formed the PdU. The PdU won 1.3% of the vote in the 1978 provincial election and 2.4% in 1983, electing Hans Lunger and Gerold Meraner respectively to the Provincial Council. Meraner later transformed the party into the

Freedom Party of South Tyrol The Freedom Party of South Tyrol (, FPS) was a regionalist national-liberal political party in South Tyrol. History It was launched in 1988 as the continuation of the Party of Independents by Gerold Meraner. In the 1988 provincial election FPS ...

, which was launched in 1988.
or http://elezionistorico.interno.it/liste.php?tp=S&dt=07/05/1972&cta=I&tpEnte=L&tpSeg=C&numEnte=406&sut1=4&sut2=6&sut3=0&descEnte=%20Regione:%20TRENTINO-ALTO%20ADIGE%20-%20Collegio:%20BRESSANONE&descArea=&codTipoSegLeader=

References

{{Authority control Defunct political parties in South Tyrol Liberal conservative parties Conservative parties in Italy Liberal parties in Italy South Tyrolean nationalism Defunct nationalist parties in Italy