Toward North (, VN) is a liberal and

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

political association based in

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

, Italy. The group, which seeks to represent all the North by enlarging itself outside Veneto, is a keen proponent of federalism, fiscal reform, free market, competition, private enterprise and justice reform. Its main leader is

Massimo Cacciari Massimo Cacciari (; born 5 June 1944) is an Italian philosopher and politician who served as Mayor of Venice from 1993 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2010. Biography Born in Venice, Cacciari graduated in philosophy from the University of Padua (1967), ...

History

Background and foundation

Between 2008 and 2010

, three times mayor of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and leading figure of the centre-left in Veneto, called his Democratic Party (PD) to organize itself as a federalist party, with an autonomous northern wing.

Giancarlo Galan Giancarlo Galan (born 10 September 1956) is an Italian politician. Career Born in Padua, Galan was an activist of the Italian Liberal Party in the 1970s and the 1980s. He was not fully active in politics until he joined Forza Italia since its ...

President of Veneto President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...

from 1995 to 2010, made similar calls to

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). None of these calls were welcomed by the two main Italian parties and

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 ...

became a major electoral force at the 2008 general election. At the 2010 regional election

Liga Veneta Liga Veneta (; ; abbr. LV), whose complete name is (), is a regionalist political party active in Veneto. The LV, whose ideology combines Venetian nationalism and support for fiscal federalism, was established in 1979 under the slogan "farthe ...

–Lega Nord became the largest party in Veneto and

Luca Zaia Luca Zaia (born 27 March 1968) is an Italian politician, who has been President of Veneto since 2010, and a historical member of Lega Nord, other than being the most Progressivism in the United States, progressive member of his own party. Suppor ...

was elected President of the region. Following the rout of Rome-based parties in Veneto, a manifesto for a new liberal party representing the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

was launched on 23 July 2010 in Mogliano Veneto. The ten proponents of ''Toward North. Italy closer to Europe'' were: Massimo Cacciari (PD), Giuseppe Bortolussi (PD, 2010 candidate for President of Veneto), Achille Variati (PD, mayor of

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

), Diego Bottacin (PD, regional councillor), Maurizio Fistarol (PD, senator and former mayor of

Belluno Belluno (; ; ) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the Capital (political), capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region. W ...

), Alessio Vianello ( ApV, ex-PD, former deputy mayor of Venice), Franco Miracco (PdL, spokesman of Giancarlo Galan), Mario Bertolissi (PdL, professor of constitutional law at the

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

), Maria Gomierato ( UDC, former mayor of

Castelfranco Veneto Castelfranco Veneto () is a town and (municipality) of Veneto, northern Italy, in the province of Treviso. It is the third largest municipality in the province by population after the capital Treviso and Conegliano. It is centrally located betwe ...

), Francesco Giuliari (ApV, former deputy), Enrico Zardini (PD) and Enrico Zanetti (PD).

Enlargement to other regions

In October 2012 Vianello was elected president of VN, which started to be organized as a party. At the same time Bottacin left the PD in order to concentrate himself to the new party. Bortolussi, Bottacin, Mariangelo Foggiato ( North-East Union) and the three regional councillors of the Union of the Centre formed a cross-group alliance. In December Fistarol left the group of the PD in the Senate in order to become a full representative of VN. A third regional councillor, Andrea Causin, left the PD and joined VN soon. The party made inroads also in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, where MEP Gianluca Susta left the PD and became regional leader of VN. After having dropped the idea of becoming the regional section of

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 ...

in order to replace Alliance for Veneto, Cacciari hinted that VN may become the regional section of Future Italy (''Italia Futura''), a think-tank and would-be party led by

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (; born 31 August 1947) is an Italian businessman who is best known as the former chairman of Ferrari, Fiat S.p.A., Confindustria and Alitalia. Montezemolo descends from an aristocratic family from the region of Pied ...

. Between September 2011 and March 2012 the party formed regional wings in Piedmont ( Piedmont at the Centre, led by Gianluca Susta),

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

( Lombards Toward North), and

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

. In Lombardy VN was joined by three well-known former members of

Lega Lombarda Lega Lombarda (; abbr. LL), whose complete name is (), is a regionalism (politics), regionalist List of political parties in Italy, political party active in Lombardy. Established in 1984, it was one of the founding "national" sections of Lega ...

–Lega Nord: Alessandro Cè (a former party leader in 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 ...

and regional minister of Health),

Sergio Rossi Sergio Rossi is an Italian fashion brand that focuses on footwear. The company was founded in 1951 by Sergio Rossi. History Founded in 1951 in San Mauro Pascoli, the brand takes its name from founder Sergio Rossi, who inherited the tools ...

(a former senator), and Marisa Bedoni (a former deputy mayor of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

under Marco Formentini). A former leader and senator of Lega Nord Emilia, Pierluigi Copercini, joined the party in Emilia–Romagna.

From Future Italy to Civic Choice

In March 2012 several members of VN took part to the founding of the Venetian section of Montezemolo's Future Italy. Causin was appointed regional coordinator, along with Manfredi Ravetto and Jacopo Silva, while Vianello, Bottacin and Gomierato were appointed to the regional committee. Between November 2012 and January 2013 VN, through IF, took part to the founding of

Toward the Third Republic Toward the Third Republic (''Verso la Terza Repubblica'') was a political manifesto for a new centrism, centrist list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy launched during a convention in Rome on 17 November 2012. It aimed at form ...

(VTR) and was instrumental to the foundation of Mario Monti'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 ...

(SC). At the 2013 general election SC garnered 8.3% of the vote. Several VN leading members, notably including Causin, Zanetti and Susta, were elected to the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...

,senato.it - Composizione del Gruppo Per l'Italia
/ref> while others, like Fistarol, failed re-election.

Leadership

*Coordinator: Alessio Vianello (2010–...)

References

External links

Official websiteManifesto of Toward NorthLombards Toward North – Regional section in LombardyPiedmont at the Center – Regional section in Piedmont
{{Italian political parties Political parties in Veneto Regionalist parties in Italy Democratic Party (Italy) breakaway groups