The Sardinian Action Party ( sc, Partidu Sardu, it, Partito Sardo d'Azione, PSd'Az or PSdA) is a Sardinian nationalist, regionalist and

separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

political party in Sardinia. While being traditionally part of the Sardinian centre-left, the party has also sided with the

centre-right coalition The centre-right coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-destra) is an alliance of political parties in Italy, active—under several forms and names—since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed his Forza Italia party. Despite ...

and, more recently, with the League. The PSd'Az is one of the oldest

stateless nation A stateless nation is an ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own state''Dictionary Of Public Administration'', U.C. Mandal, Sarup & Sons 2007, 505 p. and is not the majority population in any nation state. The term "stateless" impl ...

alist parties active in Europe that promotes autonomy towards the ideal of independence. As such, the party was a founding member of the

European Free Alliance The European Free Alliance (EFA) is a European political party that consists of various regionalist, separatist and ethnic minority political parties in Europe. Member parties advocate either for full political independence and sovereignty, ...

in 1984, but was expelled in 2020 because of its alliance with the League. Christian Solinas, who has led the party since 2015, was elected senator in the 2018 general election and

President of Sardinia This is the list of presidents of Sardinia since 1949. ;Elected by the Regional Council (1949–1994) ;Directly-elected presidents (since 1994) {{DEFAULTSORT:Presidents of Sardinia * Politics of Sardinia Government of Sardinia S ...

in the 2019 regional election, the first Sardist to do so since

Mario Melis is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his crea ...

in 1984–1989.

History

The party was founded in April 1921, but soon banned under fascism, and was re-organized after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Emilio Lussu Emilio Lussu (4 December 1890 – 5 March 1975) was an Italian soldier, politician, anti-fascist and writer. Biography The soldier Lussu was born in Armungia, province of Cagliari (Sardinia) and graduated with a degree in law in 1914. Lussu mar ...

, secretary for

Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

of the Action Party during the war, and other

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

s from the

Sassari brigade Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...

and anti-fascists, a social-democratic group of the

Italian resistance movement The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Socia ...

. Lussu left the party in 1948 to found the short-lived

Sardinian Socialist Action Party The Sardinian Socialist Action Party ( it, Partito Sardo d'Azione Socialista, PSd'AzS) was a regionalist social-democratic political party active in Sardinia. History The party was founded in 1948 by a split from the Sardinian Action Party led ...

(PSd'AzS), which joined the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892 ...

in 1949, along with many other PSd'Az members. Consequently, the PSd'Az started to cooperate with

Christian Democracy 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 ...

and was quite a stable until the 1980s. The PSd'Az and the PSd'AzS won 10.5% and 6.6% respectively in the first regional election in 1949. After a decline in term of votes in the 1960s and 1970s, the party re-gained strength in the 1980s (13.8% in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

and 12.4% in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

). Following these results, Sardist

was

between 1984 and 1989 at the head of a five-party coalition composed also by the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...

, the Italian Socialist Party, the

Italian Democratic Socialist Party The Italian Democratic Socialist Party (, PSDI), also known as Italian Social Democratic Party, was a minor social-democratic political party in Italy. The longest serving partner in government for Christian Democracy, the PSDI had been an imp ...

and the

Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party ( it, Partito Repubblicano Italiano, PRI) is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Italy. Founded in 1895, the PRI is the oldest political party still active in Italy. The PRI has old roots and a long hist ...

. This was the highest point in party history: the PSd'Az was represented in the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitio ...

from 1983 to 1994, and Melis was a

MEP MEP may refer to: Organisations and politics * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka * Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...

for the Rainbow Group from 1989 to 1994. The party was affiliated to The Olive Tree during the

1996 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1996. * 1995–1996 Azerbaijani parliamentary election * 1996 Beninese presidential election * 1996 Comorian presidential election * 1996 New Zealand general election * 1996 Nicaraguan general election ...

. However, the party congress rejected a continuation of the alliance ahead the 2001 general election. In the

2004 Sardinian regional election The Sardinian regional election of 2004 took place on 12–13 June 2004. The center-left businessman Renato Soru was elected President of the Region defeating Mauro Pili, who won the 1999 election but served as President just for two years betwee ...

the PSd'Az won 3.9% of the vote and 2 regional councillors. In the 2006 general election leader

Giacomo Sanna Giacomo is an Italian name. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob. People * Giacomo (name), including a list of people with the name Other uses * Giacomo (horse) Giacomo (foaled February 16, 2002 in Kentucky) is a champion American ...

, due to an electoral pact named Pact for the Autonomies, was a candidate of the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

(LN) for 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 Lombardy, but failed to get elected. The party ran by itself in the 2008 general election, winning a mere 1.5% in the Region. In the 2009 regional election the PSd'Az joined the

, provoking the split of the party's left that formed the

Red Moors Red Moors ( it, Rossomori, RM) is a regionalist (separatist), social-democratic political party in Sardinia. The party was founded in 2009 as a left-wing split from the Sardinian Action Party (Psd'Az), after the Psd'Az had signed an electoral p ...

. Cappellacci won and the PSd'Az won 4.3% of the vote (having its strongholds in the traditionally left-wing Provinces of Nuoro and Carbonia-Iglesias, where it gained 7.5 and 7.1%, respectively) and four regional councillors plus one (Giacomo Sanna) elected in Cappellacci's regional list. The Red Moors won 2.5% and one councillor. In the 2010 provincial elections the party was strongest in

Nuoro Nuoro ( or less correctly ; sc, Nùgoro ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy, situated on the slopes of the Monte Ortobene. It is the capital of the province of Nuoro. With a population of 36,347 (2011), i ...

(12.8%),

Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...

(6.9%), Olbia-Tempio (6.7%) and

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitan ...

(6.4%). In 2013 the PSd'Az broke with Cappellacci and the centre-right, but re-joined the coalition in time for the 2014 regional election. In the election Cappellacci was defeated and the PSd'Az won 4.7% of the vote and two regional councillors. In the run-up of the 2018 general election the party formed once again an electoral pact with the Northern League, which presented itself as "League" all around the country. The alliance managed to get 10.8% of the vote and Christian Solinas, leader of the PSd'Az, was elected to the Senate, while

Guido De Martini Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland ...

, a local activist of the League, was elected to the Chamber. This marked the return of the PSd'Az to the Italian Parliament after 22 years. In August 2018 the party was suspended from the

because of its alliance with the League. In the 2019 regional election Solinas was elected

with 47.8% of the vote, while the PSd'Az won 9.9%.

Popular support

The party has failed to regain the electoral support it enjoyed upon its foundation (e.g. 36% of the popular vote in 1921 general election).Hepburn, E. (2009)
Explaining Failure: the Highs and Lows of Sardinian Nationalism
, Regional & Federal Studies, 19(4/5) The party has been mostly marginal in the Sardinan political scene since the

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period ...

period and this marginalisation has increased with the Italian establishment of a bipolar political system in the 1990s. The electoral results of the PSd'Az in regional and Chamber of Deputies elections in Sardinia since 1946 are shown in the chart below. For 1953 only the regional election's result is shown. In the general elections of 1972, 1976, 1979 and 2006 the party did not run lists for the Chamber of Deputies.

Electoral results

Regional Council of Sardinia

Italian Parliament

European Parliament

Leadership

*Secretary:

Camillo Bellieni Camillo is an Italian masculine given name, descended from Latin Camillus. Its Slavic cognate is Kamil. People with the name include: * Camillo Agrippa, Italian Renaissance fencer, architect, engineer and mathematician *Camillo Almici (1714–1 ...

(1921–1922),

Paolo Pili Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art *Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter * Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-America ...

(1922),

Luigi Oggiano is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

(1922–1923),

Salvatore Sale Salvatore may refer to: * Salvatore (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name * Salvatore (song), "Salvatore" (song), by Lana Del Rey, 2015 * Salvatore (band), a Norwegian instrumental rock band * ''Salvatore: Shoe ...

(1923–1925),

Ugo Pais Ugo is the Italian form of Hugh, a widely used name of Germanic origin. Its diminutive form is Ugolino. It is also a Nigerian Igbo first name. It may refer to: People * Vgo (stonemason), medieval stonemason * Ugo Bassi, a Roman Catholic prie ...

(1925–1926), Luigi Battista Puggioni (1926–1945),

Giovanni Battista Melis Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

(1945–1948),

Piero Soggiu Piero is an Italian language, Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Piero Angela (1928–2022), Italian television host *Piero Barucci (born 1933), Italian academic and politician *Piero del Pollaiuolo (c. 1443–1496), Italian ...

(1948–1951),

(1951–1953),

Pietro Mastino Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II C ...

(1953–1957),

(1957–1974), Michele Columbu (1974–1979),

Carlo Sanna Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) * Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Cha ...

(1979–1990), Efisio Pilleri (1990–1991),

Giorgio Ladu Giorgio may refer to: * Castel Giorgio, ''comune'' in Umbria, Italy * Giorgio (name), an Italian given name and surname * Giorgio Moroder, or Giorgio, Italian record producer ** ''Giorgio'' (album), an album by Giorgio Moroder * "Giorgio" (song), ...

(1991–1992),

Italo Ortu Italo may refer to: *Italo-, a prefix indicating a relation to Italy or Italians Film * ''Italo'' (film), a 2014 comedy film *Italo crime, a genre of crime film Music genres * Italo disco * Italo dance * Italo house People * Italo Allodi (19 ...

(1992–1994),

Giancarlo Acciaro Giancarlo is an Italian given name meaning "John Charles". It is one of the most common masculine given names in Italy and is often short for "Giovanni Carlo". Notable people with the name include: List A *Giancarlo Agazzi (1933–1995), Italia ...

(1994), Cecilia Contu (1994–1995), Lorenzo Palermo (1995–1997),

Antonio Delitala Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...

(1997–1999),

(2000–2006), Efisio Trincas (2006–2009),

Giovanni Colli Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally '' ...

(2009–2014),

Giovanni Columbu Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

(2015), Christian Solinas (2015–present) *President: unknown (1921–unknown),

Franco Meloni Franco Meloni is a former Italian racing driver. He entered eight races between 1949 and 1954, of which he drove five in a Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo ...

(unknown–2000), Lorenzo Palermo (2000–2004),

Silvano Cadoni Silvano may refer to: * Silvano (name) * Silvano (surname) * ''Silvano'' (opera), an 1895 opera by Pietro Mascagni * Da Silvano, a former Italian restaurant in Manhattan, New York City * Silvano, a 1983 fatal insomnia patient in Bologna, Italy ...

(2004–2006),

(2006–2015),

(2015–2017),

Antonio Moro Anthonis Mor, also known as Anthonis Mor van Dashorst and Antonio Moro (c. 1517 – 1577), was a Netherlandish portrait painter, much in demand by the courts of Europe. He has also been referred to as Antoon, Anthonius, Anthonis or Mor van Dashor ...

(2018–present)

Symbols

Partito Sardo d'Azione logo.png, Official logo Sardinian Action Party.png, Electoral logo

References

External links

* {{Authority control Political parties in Sardinia Social democratic parties in Italy Political parties established in 1921 European Free Alliance Sardinian nationalist parties Radical parties in Italy 1921 establishments in Italy