Forza Italia
Encyclopedia
Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative
, Christian democratic
, and liberal
political party in Italy, with a large social democratic
minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi
, four times Prime Minister of Italy
.
The party was founded in December 1993 and won its first election
soon afterwards in March 1994. It was the main member of the Pole of Freedoms
and the House of Freedoms
coalitions, and is considered (by both insiders and outsiders) to have been very different from the other Italian political parties.
In November 2008 the National Council of the party, presided by Alfredo Biondi
, officially ruled on the dissolution of Forza Italia into The People of Freedom
, Berlusconi's new political vehicle, whose official took place in early 2009.
, a successful businessman and owner of four of the main private television station
s in Italy, along with Antonio Martino
, Mario Valducci, Antonio Tajani
, Marcello Dell'Utri
, Cesare Previti
and Giuliano Urbani.
Italy was shaken by a series of corruption scandals known as Tangentopoli
and the subsequent police investigation, called Mani pulite
. This led to the disappearance of the five parties which governed Italy from 1947: DC
, PSI
, PSDI
, PLI
and PRI
(they formed a successful five-party coalition called Pentapartito from 1983 to 1991, and then governed without PRI from 1991 to 1994) and to the end of the so-called First Republic.
Forza Italia's aim was to attract moderate voters who were "disoriented, political orphans and who risked being unrepresented" (as Berlusconi described them), especially if the ex-Communist
Democratic Party of the Left
was to win the next election and enter in government for the first time since 1947.
as the head of a political coalition
called Pole of Freedoms
, composed of Lega Nord, National Alliance
, Christian Democratic Centre and Union of the Centre.
Silvio Berlusconi was sworn in in May 1994 as prime minister of Italy in a government
in which the most important cabinet posts were held by fellow FI members: Antonio Martino was foreign minister, Cesare Previti defence minister, Alfredo Biondi
justice minister and Giulio Tremonti
(at the time an independent member of Parliament) finance minister.
The government had a short life and fell in December, when Lega Nord left the coalition, after disagreements over pension reform and the first avviso di garanzia (preliminary notice of an investigation) for Berlusconi, passed by Milan prosecutors. Forza Italia's leader was replaced as prime minister by Lamberto Dini, an independent politician who had been the administration's treasury minister. No members of Forza Italia joined the new government and the party leader was relegated to opposition.
and began what Berlusconi called "the crossing of the desert", something that could have been proven fatal for a young and unstructured party such as Forza Italia. Between 1996 and 1998, the party started to strengthen its organization, under Claudio Scajola
, a former Christian Democrat
who was national coordinator of the party from 1996 to 2001.
In 1999 Forza Italia gained full membership of the European People's Party
, of which Antonio Tajani
, party leader in the European Parliament
, was Vice President. In the same year, it scored very well (25.2%) in the 1999 European Parliament election
.
In 2000 regional elections the Pole of Freedoms, with the support of Lega Nord, won in 8 regions (the most popolous ones, except Campania
) out of 15 and Forza Italia's members were elected President of Region in Piedmont
(Enzo Ghigo, confirmed), Lombardy
(Roberto Formigoni
, confirmed), Veneto
(Giancarlo Galan
, confirmed), Liguria
(Sandro Biasotti, newly elected), Puglia (Raffaele Fitto
, newly elected) and Calabria
(Giuseppe Chiaravalloti, newly elected).
The party regained power in the 2001 elections
(29.4% along with Giorgio La Malfa
's tiny Italian Republican Party
), in a new coalition called House of Freedoms
and composed mainly of National Alliance, Lega Nord, Christian Democratic Centre and United Christian Democrats
(the last two parties merged in 2002 forming the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, UDC).
in Italian Republican history. Again all ministerial key-posts were given to Forza Italia members: interior (Claudio Scajola
2001–2002, Giuseppe Pisanu
2002–2006), defence (Antonio Martino
2001–2006), finance (Giulio Tremonti
, 2001–2004 and 2005–2006), industry (Antonio Marzano 2001–2005, Claudio Scajola 2005–2006) and foreign affairs (Franco Frattini, 2002–2004). Anyway Gianfranco Fini
, National Alliance
's leader, was appointed vice-president of the government and foreign minister from 2004 to 2006, while Roberto Castelli
, senior figure of Lega Nord was justice minister from 2001 to 2006.
The government's popularity kept declining steadily year after year. Regional elections in April 2005 were a serious blow for the party, which however remained strong in the northern regions, such as Lombardy
and Veneto
, and somewhere in the South, where Sicily
is a stronghold. After this disappointing electoral performance the cabinet was reshuffled, due to the insistence of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats's leaders, and Berlusconi formed his third cabinet
.
During his five years in office, Berlusconi government passed a series of reforms: a pension system reform, a labour market reform, a judiciary reform and a constitutional reform – the latter rejected by a referendum in June 2006. In foreign policy he shifted the country's position to more closeness to the United States
, while in economic policy he was not able to deliver the tax cuts he had openly promised throughout all 2001 electoral campaign.
In the 2006 general election
the party was present with a slightly different logo, with the words "Berlusconi President" (Berlusconi Presidente). It was the only party to use the word "President" in its logo. In the election for the Chamber of Deputies
, FI scored 23.7% and 137 seats, in those for the Senate
24.0%, without counting Trentino-Alto Adige, whose seats were contested on first-past-the-post
basis and which is a left-wing stronghold, due to its alliance with the autonomist South Tyrolean People's Party
).
On 31 July 2007 Berlusconi's protegee and possible successor Michela Vittoria Brambilla
registered the name and the logo of the "Freedom Party" (Partito della Libertà) apparently with Berlusconi's backing. On 18 November, after Forza Italia claimed to have collected the signatures of more than 7 million Italians (including Umberto Bossi
) against the Romano Prodi's second government
in order to ask the President of the Republic
Giorgio Napolitano
to call a fresh election, Berlusconi announced that Forza Italia would have soon merged or transformed into The People of Freedom
(PdL) party.
After the sudden fall of Prodi II Cabinet
on 24 January 2008, the break-up of The Union
coalition and the subsequent political crisis paving the way towards a new general election, Berlusconi hinted on 25 January that Forza Italia would have probably contested its last election and the new party would have been officially founded only after that election. In an atmosphere of reconciliation with Gianfranco Fini
, Berlusconi also stated that the new party could have seen the participation of other parties. Finally, on 8 February, Berlusconi and Fini agreed to form a joint list under the banner of the "The People of Freedom", allied with Lega Nord. In the 2008 general election
the PdL won 37.4% and a majority in both chambers, thanks to the alliance with Lega Nord (8.3%). Soon after the election Berlusconi formed his fourth government
.
On 21 November 2008 the National Council of the party, presided over by Alfredo Biondi
and attended by Berlusconi himself, officially decided the dissolution of Forza Italia into The People of Freedom
, whose official foundation took place on 27 March 2009.
party, formed mainly by ex-Christian Democrats
, ex-Liberals
and ex-Socialists
. The ideology of the party ranged from libertarianism
to social democracy
(often referred to as "liberal socialism" in Italy), including elements of the Catholic social teaching
and the social market economy
. The party was a member of the European People's Party
(EPP) and presented itself as the party of renewal and modernization. The core values of Forza Italia were "freedom" and the "centrality of the individual
". From a comparative perspective the ideology of Forza Italia has been characterized as both "liberal conservative", "national conservative" and "liberal".
Alessandro Campi wrote that "the political culture of Forza Italia – a curious and, on many respects, untold mixture of "liberalism" and "democratic populism
" – deserves to be described as an "anti-ideologic ideology", [...] as a synthesis or fusion of very diverse political families and traditions (from liberal catholicism
to social conservatism
, from reformist socialism
to economic liberalism
), kept together by the mobilizing appeal to "freedom"". Chiara Moroni, who explains Forza Italia's ideology as a mixture of liberal
, christian-democratic
and social-democratic
values (united in the concept of "popular liberalism" in party documents), wrote that "Berlusconi offered to voters liberal values through a populist style" and that "Forza Italia has made the liberal political ideal popular" among voters, so that "it was spread and shared by broad and heterogenous sectors of the Italian population".
In fact the electoral base of Forza Italia was highly heterogeneous and the ideological differences among its voters are explained also by its different regional constituencies: while voters from the North tended to support the original libertarian
line of the party, voters from the South tended to be more statist
. Both its Northern strongholds (Lombardy
, Veneto
) and its Southern strongholds (Sicily
, Apulia
) were once dominated by the Christian Democracy party, but, while in the South most leading members of Forza Italia are former Christian Democrats, the party was highly influenced also by liberals in the North.
Forza Italia claimed to be a fresh-new party, with no ties with the last governments of the so-called First Republic, and at the same time to be the heir of the best political traditions of Italy: Christian Democrat
Alcide De Gasperi
, Social Democrat
Giuseppe Saragat
, Liberal
Luigi Einaudi
and Republican
Ugo La Malfa
were considered as party icons.
The "Secular Creed", that was also the preable to the party's constitution, described the party in this way:
Forza Italia thus presented itself as a bridge between Catholics and non-Catholics, who have been previously divided in the political system of the First Republic, and "the union of three political-cultural areas: that of liberal and popular Catholicism, that of secular, liberal and republican humanism and that of liberal socialism". In a speech during a party congress in 1998, Berlusconi himself proclaimed: "our liberal vision of the State is perfectly in agreement with the Catholic social teaching".
The "Secular Creed" of the party explains that FI was a party that primarily underlined freedom and the centrality of the individual, which are basic principles of both liberalism
and the Catholic social teaching, often connected in party official documents:
In 2008 Berlusconi stated that:
Sandro Bondi
, a leading member of the party, wrote:
The party included also non-Catholic
members, but they were a minority, and it was less secular in its policies than German
Christian Democratic Union
(in which there are also prominent Jews). The party usually gave to its members freedom of conscience on moral issues (and hence a free vote
), as in the case of the referendum on stem-cell research
, but leading members of the party, including Silvio Berlusconi
, Giulio Tremonti
and Marcello Pera
(who is himself non-Catholic, although friend of Pope Benedict XVI), spoke in favour of "abstention" (as asked by the Catholic Church, in order to not surpass the 50% of turnout needed for making the referendum legally binding). While Pera campaigned hard for the success of the boycott alongside with most FI members, both Berlusconi and Tremonti explicitly said that "abstention" was their personal opinion, not the official one of the party.
Most members of the party were former Christian Democrats
(DC): Giuseppe Pisanu
(former member of the leftist faction of DC and Minister of Interior), Roberto Formigoni
(President of Lombardy
), Claudio Scajola
(former Minister of the Interior and of Industry), Enrico La Loggia, Renato Schifani
, Guido Crosetto, Raffaele Fitto
, Giuseppe Gargani
, Alfredo Antoniozzi
, Giorgio Carollo
, Giuseppe Castiglione
, Francesco Giro, Luigi Grillo, Maurizio Lupi, Mario Mantovani
, Mario Mauro
, Osvaldo Napoli, Antonio Palmieri, Angelo Sanza, Riccardo Ventre
and Marcello Vernola
are only some remarkable examples.
Several members were former Socialists
(PSI), as Giulio Tremonti
(Vice President of the party and former Minister of Economy), Franco Frattini (Vice President of the European Commission
), Fabrizio Cicchitto
(national deputy-coordinator of the party), Renato Brunetta
, Francesco Musotto
, Amalia Sartori
, Paolo Guzzanti
and Margherita Boniver
. Berlusconi himself was a close friend of Bettino Craxi
, leader of PSI, in spite of his Christian Democratic and Liberal background (he was a DC's activist in occasion of the 1948 general election
).
Many were former Liberals
(PLI), Republicans
(PRI) and Social Democrats
(PSDI): Alfredo Biondi
(President of Forza Italia's National Council) and Raffaele Costa
, both former PLI leaders, and former PSDI leader Carlo Vizzini
were later MPs for Forza Italia. Also Antonio Martino
and Giancarlo Galan
were formers Liberals, Jas Gawronski
was a leading Republican, while Marcello Pera
has a Socialist and Radical background.
Even some former Communists
were leading members of the party, such as national party coordinator Sandro Bondi
and Fernando Adornato.
s and progressives), economic (between social-democrats and some Christian-democrats on one side and liberals on the other one) and institutional issues.
Regarding the latter issue, generally speaking, northern party members were staunch proposers of political
, fiscal federalism
and autonomy
for the Regions (in some parts of Veneto
and Lombardy
, it was sometimes difficult to distinguish a member of FI from a leghista), while those coming from the South were more cold on the issue. Also some former Liberals
, due to their role of unifiers of Italy in the XIX Century, were more centralist.
A scheme of the internal factions within Forza Italia could be this:
Christian democrats and liberal-centrists were undoubtedly the strongest factions within the party, but all four were mainstream for a special issue: for example liberals and liberal-centrists were highly influential over economic policy, Christian democrats led the party over ethical issues (although there was a substantial minority promoting a more progressive outlook), while social democrats had their say in defining the party's policy over labour market reform and, moreover, it is thanks to this group (and to those around Tremonti, he himself a former Socialist) that constitutional reform was at the top of Forza Italia's political agenda. It is difficult to say to what faction Berlusconi was closer, what is sure is that his political record was a synthesis of all the political tendencies within the party.
), two Vice-Presidents (Giulio Tremonti
and Roberto Formigoni
), a Presidential Committee (presided by Claudio Scajola
) and a National Council (presided by Alfredo Biondi
).
As the President is the leader of the party, a national coordinator was in charge of internal organization and day-to-day political activity, similarly to the secretary-general in many European parties. Moreover the party had thematic departments and regional, provincial or metropolitan coordination boards plus a lot of affiliate clubs (Club Azzurro) all over Italy.
It has been claimed that Forza Italia had no internal democracy because there was no way of changing the leader of the party from below (although the party's constitution makes it possible). Key posts in the party structure were appointed by Berlusconi or by his delegates. Forza Italia's organization was based on the idea of a "party of the elected people", giving more importance to the whole electorate than to party's members.
Party national-level conventions did not have normally elections to choose the party leadership (although the National Congress elected some members of the National Council), and they seemed to be more like events arranged for propaganda purposes. However, Berlusconi was highly popular among his party fellows, and it was unlikely he could be overthrown if such an election were to occur.
Within the party there was a long debate over organization. The original idea was the so-called "light party" (partito leggero), intended to be different from Italian traditional, bureaucratic and self-referential, party machines. This was the line of the early founders of the party, notably Marcello Dell'Utri
and Antonio Martino
. However Claudio Scajola
and most former Christian Democrats
supported a more capillary-based organization, in order to make participate as much people as possible, and a more collegial, participative and democratic decision-making process.
The party was heavily dependent on Berlusconi's image. The party's anthem was sung in karaoke fashion at American-style conventions. There was nominally no internal opposition (although some critical voices raised up, such as those of Senators Paolo Guzzanti and Raffaele Iannuzzi). The party used TV advertising extensively, although this has been slightly restricted since 2000 by a law passed by the then centre-left majority.
Liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism also known as progressive conservatism is a variant of political conservatism which incorporates liberal elements. As "conservatism" and "liberalism" have had different meanings over time and across countries, the term "liberal conservatism" has been used in quite different...
, Christian democratic
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
, and liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
political party in Italy, with a large social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
, four times Prime Minister of Italy
Prime minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
.
The party was founded in December 1993 and won its first election
Italian general election, 1994
An early national general election was held in Italy on March 27, 1994 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right alliance won handily the election for the Chamber and only narrowly lost that for the Senate....
soon afterwards in March 1994. It was the main member of the Pole of Freedoms
Pole of Freedoms
The Pole of Freedoms was a centre-right electoral alliance in Italy, launched at the 1994 general election by Silvio Berlusconi.The alliance was composed primarily of Forza Italia and the Lega Nord, but also included Christian Democratic Centre and the Union of the Centre...
and the House of Freedoms
House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms , was a major Italian centre-right political and electoral alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi. It was initially composed of several political parties:*Forza Italia *National Alliance...
coalitions, and is considered (by both insiders and outsiders) to have been very different from the other Italian political parties.
In November 2008 the National Council of the party, presided by Alfredo Biondi
Alfredo Biondi
Alfredo Biondi is an Italian politician and lawyer. In 1994 he served as Minister of Justice of the Italian Republic during the first cabinet chaired by Silvio Berlusconi.-Biography:...
, officially ruled on the dissolution of Forza Italia into The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....
, Berlusconi's new political vehicle, whose official took place in early 2009.
Foundation (1993–1994)
Forza Italia was formed in 1993 by Silvio BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
, a successful businessman and owner of four of the main private television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
s in Italy, along with Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...
, Mario Valducci, Antonio Tajani
Antonio Tajani
Antonio Tajani is an Italian politician. He is the current European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship and has also been one of the five Vice-President of the European Commission since May 2008....
, Marcello Dell'Utri
Marcello Dell'Utri
Marcello Dell'Utri is an influential Italian politician and senior advisor to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi...
, Cesare Previti
Cesare Previti
Cesare Previti is a former Italian politician.-Biography:Born in Reggio Calabria, he grew up in Rome, where he started practicing law. In 1971 he became acquainted with Silvio Berlusconi, the construction magnate, later to be media mogul and Prime Minister of Italy...
and Giuliano Urbani.
Italy was shaken by a series of corruption scandals known as Tangentopoli
Tangentopoli
Tangentopoli is a term which was coined to describe pervasive corruption in the Italian political system exposed in the 1992-6 Mani Pulite investigations, as well as the resulting scandal, which led to the collapse of the hitherto dominant Christian Democracy party and its allies.-Popular distrust...
and the subsequent police investigation, called Mani pulite
Mani pulite
Mani pulite was a nationwide Italian judicial investigation into political corruption held in the 1990s. Mani pulite led to the demise of the so-called First Republic, resulting in the disappearance of many parties. Some politicians and industry leaders committed suicide after their crimes were...
. This led to the disappearance of the five parties which governed Italy from 1947: DC
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
, PSI
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
, PSDI
Italian Democratic Socialist Party
The Italian Democratic Socialist Party is a minor social-democratic political party in Italy. Mimmo Magistro is the party leader. The PSDI, before the 1990s decline in votes and members, had been an important force in Italian politics, being the longest serving partner in government for Christian...
, PLI
Italian Liberal Party
The Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution...
and PRI
Italian Republican Party
The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini...
(they formed a successful five-party coalition called Pentapartito from 1983 to 1991, and then governed without PRI from 1991 to 1994) and to the end of the so-called First Republic.
Forza Italia's aim was to attract moderate voters who were "disoriented, political orphans and who risked being unrepresented" (as Berlusconi described them), especially if the ex-Communist
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party 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 . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
Democratic Party of the Left
Democratic Party of the Left
The Democratic Party of the Left was a post-communist, democratic socialist political party in Italy.-History:...
was to win the next election and enter in government for the first time since 1947.
A short stint in power (1994–1995)
A few months after its creation, Forza Italia came to national power after the 1994 electionsItalian general election, 1994
An early national general election was held in Italy on March 27, 1994 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right alliance won handily the election for the Chamber and only narrowly lost that for the Senate....
as the head of a political coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
called Pole of Freedoms
Pole of Freedoms
The Pole of Freedoms was a centre-right electoral alliance in Italy, launched at the 1994 general election by Silvio Berlusconi.The alliance was composed primarily of Forza Italia and the Lega Nord, but also included Christian Democratic Centre and the Union of the Centre...
, composed of Lega Nord, National Alliance
National Alliance (Italy)
National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
, Christian Democratic Centre and Union of the Centre.
Silvio Berlusconi was sworn in in May 1994 as prime minister of Italy in a government
Berlusconi I Cabinet
The Berlusconi I Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 10 May 1994 to January 17, 1995.It was composed of 26 ministers and 38 under-secretaries, for a total of 64 members.Composition of the government:...
in which the most important cabinet posts were held by fellow FI members: Antonio Martino was foreign minister, Cesare Previti defence minister, Alfredo Biondi
Alfredo Biondi
Alfredo Biondi is an Italian politician and lawyer. In 1994 he served as Minister of Justice of the Italian Republic during the first cabinet chaired by Silvio Berlusconi.-Biography:...
justice minister and Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti is an Italian politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011....
(at the time an independent member of Parliament) finance minister.
The government had a short life and fell in December, when Lega Nord left the coalition, after disagreements over pension reform and the first avviso di garanzia (preliminary notice of an investigation) for Berlusconi, passed by Milan prosecutors. Forza Italia's leader was replaced as prime minister by Lamberto Dini, an independent politician who had been the administration's treasury minister. No members of Forza Italia joined the new government and the party leader was relegated to opposition.
Five years of opposition (1996–2001)
In 1996 the Pole of Freedoms finally lost the electionsItalian general election, 1996
An early national general election was held in Italy on 21 April, 1996 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic...
and began what Berlusconi called "the crossing of the desert", something that could have been proven fatal for a young and unstructured party such as Forza Italia. Between 1996 and 1998, the party started to strengthen its organization, under Claudio Scajola
Claudio Scajola
Claudio Scajola is an Italian politician.-Career:A long-time Christian Democrat, he was mayor of Imperia in the Eighties, as his father and his brother had been. When Christian Democracy disbanded, he joined Forza Italia in 1995. He was then elected deputy in 1996 and was national coordinator of...
, a former Christian Democrat
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
who was national coordinator of the party from 1996 to 2001.
In 1999 Forza Italia gained full membership of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
, of which Antonio Tajani
Antonio Tajani
Antonio Tajani is an Italian politician. He is the current European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship and has also been one of the five Vice-President of the European Commission since May 2008....
, party leader in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, was Vice President. In the same year, it scored very well (25.2%) in the 1999 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 1999 (Italy)
The European Parliament election of 1999 in Italy was the election of the delegation from Italy to the European Parliament in 1999.-References:...
.
In 2000 regional elections the Pole of Freedoms, with the support of Lega Nord, won in 8 regions (the most popolous ones, except Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
) out of 15 and Forza Italia's members were elected President of Region in Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
(Enzo Ghigo, confirmed), Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
(Roberto Formigoni
Roberto Formigoni
Roberto Formigoni is an Italian politician, and the current President of Lombardy Region, Italy.-Life and career:Graduated in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Milan, he studied political economy at the Sorbonne, in Paris....
, confirmed), Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
(Giancarlo Galan
Giancarlo Galan
Giancarlo Galan is an Italian politician.After having been a Liberal activist in the Seventies and the Eighties, he was not active in politics until he joined Forza Italia since its foundation in 1994. In the same year he was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies.In 1995 he ran successfully...
, confirmed), Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
(Sandro Biasotti, newly elected), Puglia (Raffaele Fitto
Raffaele Fitto
Raffaele Fitto is an Italian politician, current Minister for Regional Business in Berlusconi IV Cabinet.-Biography:Raffaele Fitto was born in Maglie, Province of Lecce. His father, Salvatore Fitto, who was an exponent of the Christian Democracy and President of Apulia from 1985, died in...
, newly elected) and Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
(Giuseppe Chiaravalloti, newly elected).
The party regained power in the 2001 elections
Italian general election, 2001
A national general election was held in Italy on May 13, 2001 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. The 14th Parliament of the Italian republic was chosen....
(29.4% along with Giorgio La Malfa
Giorgio La Malfa
Giorgio La Malfa is an Italian politician.-Biography:La Malfa was born in Milan, the son of Ugo La Malfa, a long-time Italian political leader and minister....
's tiny Italian Republican Party
Italian Republican Party
The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini...
), in a new coalition called House of Freedoms
House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms , was a major Italian centre-right political and electoral alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi. It was initially composed of several political parties:*Forza Italia *National Alliance...
and composed mainly of National Alliance, Lega Nord, Christian Democratic Centre and United Christian Democrats
United Christian Democrats
The United Christian Democrats was a Christian democratic party in Italy.-History:It began in 1995 by a split of those members of the Italian People's Party who wanted to enter into an alliance with Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia...
(the last two parties merged in 2002 forming the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, UDC).
Five years in government (2001–2006)
In June 2001, after the huge success in May elections, Sivio Berlusconi was returned head of the Italian government, the longest-serving cabinetBerlusconi II Cabinet
The Berlusconi II Cabinet was the 57th cabinet of the Italian Republic, and the first cabinet of the XIV Legislature. It took office following the 2001 elections, and held office from 11 June 2001 until 23 April 2005, a total of 1,412 days, or 3 years, 10 months and 12 days...
in Italian Republican history. Again all ministerial key-posts were given to Forza Italia members: interior (Claudio Scajola
Claudio Scajola
Claudio Scajola is an Italian politician.-Career:A long-time Christian Democrat, he was mayor of Imperia in the Eighties, as his father and his brother had been. When Christian Democracy disbanded, he joined Forza Italia in 1995. He was then elected deputy in 1996 and was national coordinator of...
2001–2002, Giuseppe Pisanu
Giuseppe Pisanu
Giuseppe Pisanu is an Italian politician, longtime member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Christian Democracy and then for Forza Italia...
2002–2006), defence (Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...
2001–2006), finance (Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti is an Italian politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011....
, 2001–2004 and 2005–2006), industry (Antonio Marzano 2001–2005, Claudio Scajola 2005–2006) and foreign affairs (Franco Frattini, 2002–2004). Anyway Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini is an Italian politician, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, leader of the center-right Future and Freedom party, and the former leader of the conservative National Alliance and the post-fascist Italian Social Movement...
, National Alliance
National Alliance (Italy)
National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
's leader, was appointed vice-president of the government and foreign minister from 2004 to 2006, while Roberto Castelli
Roberto Castelli
Roberto Castelli is an Italian politician. He was the Minister of Justice in the third Italian government of Silvio Berlusconi, he is a Senator and one of the main representatives of Lega Nord.- Career :...
, senior figure of Lega Nord was justice minister from 2001 to 2006.
The government's popularity kept declining steadily year after year. Regional elections in April 2005 were a serious blow for the party, which however remained strong in the northern regions, such as Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
and Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, and somewhere in the South, where Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
is a stronghold. After this disappointing electoral performance the cabinet was reshuffled, due to the insistence of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats's leaders, and Berlusconi formed his third cabinet
Berlusconi III Cabinet
The Berlusconi III Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 23 April 2005 to 5 May 2006. It was the 58th cabinet of the Italian Republic, and the second cabinet of the XIV Legislature.Composition of the governemnt:...
.
During his five years in office, Berlusconi government passed a series of reforms: a pension system reform, a labour market reform, a judiciary reform and a constitutional reform – the latter rejected by a referendum in June 2006. In foreign policy he shifted the country's position to more closeness to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, while in economic policy he was not able to deliver the tax cuts he had openly promised throughout all 2001 electoral campaign.
Toward The People of Freedom (2006–2009)
Italian general election, 2006
In the Italian general election, 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006 the incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the center-right House of Freedoms, was narrowly defeated by Romano Prodi, leader of the center-left The...
the party was present with a slightly different logo, with the words "Berlusconi President" (Berlusconi Presidente). It was the only party to use the word "President" in its logo. In the election for the Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
, FI scored 23.7% and 137 seats, in those for the Senate
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
24.0%, without counting Trentino-Alto Adige, whose seats were contested on first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post
First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...
basis and which is a left-wing stronghold, due to its alliance with the autonomist South Tyrolean People's Party
South Tyrolean People's Party
The South Tyrolean People's Party is a regionalist Christian democratic political party active in the Italian province of South Tyrol.Founded in 1945, the SVP represents the German-speaking population of the province, as well as Ladin speakers. Since the first election of the Provincial Council in...
).
On 31 July 2007 Berlusconi's protegee and possible successor Michela Vittoria Brambilla
Michela Vittoria Brambilla
Michela Vittoria Brambilla is an Italian politician and businesswoman. On May 12th 2008, she is nominated undersecretary in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet...
registered the name and the logo of the "Freedom Party" (Partito della Libertà) apparently with Berlusconi's backing. On 18 November, after Forza Italia claimed to have collected the signatures of more than 7 million Italians (including Umberto Bossi
Umberto Bossi
Umberto Bossi is an Italian politician, leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy. He is married to Manuela Marrone and has four sons ....
) against the Romano Prodi's second government
Prodi II Cabinet
The Prodi II Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days...
in order to ask the President of the Republic
President of the Italian Republic
The President of the Italian Republic is the head of state of Italy and, as such, is intended to represent national unity and guarantee that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president's term of office lasts for seven years....
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...
to call a fresh election, Berlusconi announced that Forza Italia would have soon merged or transformed into The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....
(PdL) party.
After the sudden fall of Prodi II Cabinet
Prodi II Cabinet
The Prodi II Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days...
on 24 January 2008, the break-up of The Union
The Union (political coalition)
The Union was an centre-left coalition of political parties in Italy. It was led by Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy from April 2006 to April 2008, and former President of the European Commission.-Parties:...
coalition and the subsequent political crisis paving the way towards a new general election, Berlusconi hinted on 25 January that Forza Italia would have probably contested its last election and the new party would have been officially founded only after that election. In an atmosphere of reconciliation with Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini is an Italian politician, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, leader of the center-right Future and Freedom party, and the former leader of the conservative National Alliance and the post-fascist Italian Social Movement...
, Berlusconi also stated that the new party could have seen the participation of other parties. Finally, on 8 February, Berlusconi and Fini agreed to form a joint list under the banner of the "The People of Freedom", allied with Lega Nord. In the 2008 general election
Italian general election, 2008
A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote, and the unsuccessful tentative...
the PdL won 37.4% and a majority in both chambers, thanks to the alliance with Lega Nord (8.3%). Soon after the election Berlusconi formed his fourth government
Berlusconi IV Cabinet
Berlusconi IV Cabinet has been the cabinet of the government of Italy from 8 May 2008 to 16 November 2011.As of July 2011, it was composed of 24 ministers, 4 deputy ministers and 39 under-secretaries, for a total of 67 members.-Sources:*...
.
On 21 November 2008 the National Council of the party, presided over by Alfredo Biondi
Alfredo Biondi
Alfredo Biondi is an Italian politician and lawyer. In 1994 he served as Minister of Justice of the Italian Republic during the first cabinet chaired by Silvio Berlusconi.-Biography:...
and attended by Berlusconi himself, officially decided the dissolution of Forza Italia into The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....
, whose official foundation took place on 27 March 2009.
Ideology
Forza Italia was a centre-rightCentre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...
party, formed mainly by ex-Christian Democrats
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
, ex-Liberals
Italian Liberal Party
The Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution...
and ex-Socialists
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
. The ideology of the party ranged from libertarianism
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
to social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
(often referred to as "liberal socialism" in Italy), including elements of the Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching is a body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state...
and the social market economy
Social market economy
The social market economy is the main economic model used in West Germany after World War II. It is based on the economic philosophy of Ordoliberalism from the Freiburg School...
. The party was a member of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
(EPP) and presented itself as the party of renewal and modernization. The core values of Forza Italia were "freedom" and the "centrality of the individual
Individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
". From a comparative perspective the ideology of Forza Italia has been characterized as both "liberal conservative", "national conservative" and "liberal".
Alessandro Campi wrote that "the political culture of Forza Italia – a curious and, on many respects, untold mixture of "liberalism" and "democratic populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
" – deserves to be described as an "anti-ideologic ideology", [...] as a synthesis or fusion of very diverse political families and traditions (from liberal catholicism
Liberal Catholicism
Liberal Catholicism was a current of thought that was influential, especially in France, in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th.Being predominantly political in nature, Liberal Catholicism was distinct from the contemporary theological movement of Modernism, and is distinct also both...
to social conservatism
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
, from reformist socialism
Reformism
Reformism is the belief that gradual democratic changes in a society can ultimately change a society's fundamental economic relations and political structures...
to economic liberalism
Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...
), kept together by the mobilizing appeal to "freedom"". Chiara Moroni, who explains Forza Italia's ideology as a mixture of liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, christian-democratic
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
and social-democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
values (united in the concept of "popular liberalism" in party documents), wrote that "Berlusconi offered to voters liberal values through a populist style" and that "Forza Italia has made the liberal political ideal popular" among voters, so that "it was spread and shared by broad and heterogenous sectors of the Italian population".
In fact the electoral base of Forza Italia was highly heterogeneous and the ideological differences among its voters are explained also by its different regional constituencies: while voters from the North tended to support the original libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
line of the party, voters from the South tended to be more statist
Statism
Statism is a term usually describing a political philosophy, whether of the right or the left, that emphasises the role of the state in politics or supports the use of the state to achieve economic, military or social goals...
. Both its Northern strongholds (Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
) and its Southern strongholds (Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
) were once dominated by the Christian Democracy party, but, while in the South most leading members of Forza Italia are former Christian Democrats, the party was highly influenced also by liberals in the North.
Forza Italia claimed to be a fresh-new party, with no ties with the last governments of the so-called First Republic, and at the same time to be the heir of the best political traditions of Italy: Christian Democrat
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
Alcide De Gasperi
Alcide De Gasperi
Alcide De Gasperi was an Italian statesman and politician and founder of the Christian Democratic Party. From 1945 to 1953 he was the prime minister of eight successive coalition governments. His eight-year rule remains a landmark of political longevity for a leader in modern Italian politics...
, Social Democrat
Italian Democratic Socialist Party
The Italian Democratic Socialist Party is a minor social-democratic political party in Italy. Mimmo Magistro is the party leader. The PSDI, before the 1990s decline in votes and members, had been an important force in Italian politics, being the longest serving partner in government for Christian...
Giuseppe Saragat
Giuseppe Saragat
Giuseppe Saragat was an Italian politician who was the fifth President of the Italian Republic from 1964 to 1971.Saragat was born in Turin, from Sardinian parents....
, Liberal
Italian Liberal Party
The Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution...
Luigi Einaudi
Luigi Einaudi
Luigi Einaudi , Cavaliere di Gran Croce decorato di Gran Cordone OMRI was an Italian politician and economist. He served as the second President of the Italian Republic between 1948 and 1955.-Early life:...
and Republican
Italian Republican Party
The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini...
Ugo La Malfa
Ugo La Malfa
Ugo La Malfa was an Italian politician, and an important leader in the Italian Republican Party, of which his son, Giorgio La Malfa, is now president.- Early years and anti-Fascist resistance :...
were considered as party icons.
The "Secular Creed", that was also the preable to the party's constitution, described the party in this way:
Forza Italia thus presented itself as a bridge between Catholics and non-Catholics, who have been previously divided in the political system of the First Republic, and "the union of three political-cultural areas: that of liberal and popular Catholicism, that of secular, liberal and republican humanism and that of liberal socialism". In a speech during a party congress in 1998, Berlusconi himself proclaimed: "our liberal vision of the State is perfectly in agreement with the Catholic social teaching".
The "Secular Creed" of the party explains that FI was a party that primarily underlined freedom and the centrality of the individual, which are basic principles of both liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and the Catholic social teaching, often connected in party official documents:
In 2008 Berlusconi stated that:
Sandro Bondi
Sandro Bondi
Sandro Bondi is an Italian politician of The People of Freedom. He was appointed on 8 May 2008 to be Culture Minister until March 23, 2011 in Silvio Berlusconi's fourth cabinet.-Biography:...
, a leading member of the party, wrote:
The party included also non-Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
members, but they were a minority, and it was less secular in its policies than German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Christian Democratic Union
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
(in which there are also prominent Jews). The party usually gave to its members freedom of conscience on moral issues (and hence a free vote
Conscience vote
A conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are allowed to vote according to their own personal conscience rather than according to an official line set down by their political party....
), as in the case of the referendum on stem-cell research
Stem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
, but leading members of the party, including Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
, Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti is an Italian politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011....
and Marcello Pera
Marcello Pera
Marcello Pera is an Italian philosopher and politician. He was the President of the Italian Senate from 2001 to 2006.-Career:...
(who is himself non-Catholic, although friend of Pope Benedict XVI), spoke in favour of "abstention" (as asked by the Catholic Church, in order to not surpass the 50% of turnout needed for making the referendum legally binding). While Pera campaigned hard for the success of the boycott alongside with most FI members, both Berlusconi and Tremonti explicitly said that "abstention" was their personal opinion, not the official one of the party.
Members
Most members of the party were former Christian Democrats
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
(DC): Giuseppe Pisanu
Giuseppe Pisanu
Giuseppe Pisanu is an Italian politician, longtime member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Christian Democracy and then for Forza Italia...
(former member of the leftist faction of DC and Minister of Interior), Roberto Formigoni
Roberto Formigoni
Roberto Formigoni is an Italian politician, and the current President of Lombardy Region, Italy.-Life and career:Graduated in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Milan, he studied political economy at the Sorbonne, in Paris....
(President of Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
), Claudio Scajola
Claudio Scajola
Claudio Scajola is an Italian politician.-Career:A long-time Christian Democrat, he was mayor of Imperia in the Eighties, as his father and his brother had been. When Christian Democracy disbanded, he joined Forza Italia in 1995. He was then elected deputy in 1996 and was national coordinator of...
(former Minister of the Interior and of Industry), Enrico La Loggia, Renato Schifani
Renato Schifani
Renato Maria Giuseppe Schifani is an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-right People of Freedom. Since 29 April 2008 he has been President of the Italian Senate. Schifani was born in Palermo.-Berlusconi's chief whip:...
, Guido Crosetto, Raffaele Fitto
Raffaele Fitto
Raffaele Fitto is an Italian politician, current Minister for Regional Business in Berlusconi IV Cabinet.-Biography:Raffaele Fitto was born in Maglie, Province of Lecce. His father, Salvatore Fitto, who was an exponent of the Christian Democracy and President of Apulia from 1985, died in...
, Giuseppe Gargani
Giuseppe Gargani
Giuseppe Gargani is an Italian politician, a lawyer and from 1999 to 2009 a Member of the European Parliament,. He was elected on the Forza Italia ticket and sat with the European People's Party group. In the June 2009 elections Mr...
, Alfredo Antoniozzi
Alfredo Antoniozzi
Alfredo Antoniozzi is an Italian politician andMember of the European Parliamentfor Centralwith the Forza Italia, part of the European People's Party and sits on...
, Giorgio Carollo
Giorgio Carollo
Giorgio Carollo is an Italian politician.He is a Member of the European Parliament for North-East, elected with the Forza Italia, part of the European People's Party and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries and its Committee on Legal Affairs...
, Giuseppe Castiglione
Giuseppe Castiglione (politician)
Giuseppe Castiglione is an Italian politician andMember of the European Parliamentfor Islandswith the Forza Italia, part of the European People's Party and sits on...
, Francesco Giro, Luigi Grillo, Maurizio Lupi, Mario Mantovani
Mario Mantovani
Mario Mantovani is an Italian politician,Member of the European Parliament 1999-2009for North-Westwith the Forza Italia, part of the European People's Party, Italian Senator and Vice-minister of Infrastructures and Transports since 2008...
, Mario Mauro
Mario Mauro
Mario Mauro is an Italian Member of the European Parliament and a teacher of history. He was first elected on the Forza Italia ticket, and in 2009 on the merged party The People of Freedom ticket...
, Osvaldo Napoli, Antonio Palmieri, Angelo Sanza, Riccardo Ventre
Riccardo Ventre
Riccardo Ventre is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Southern with the Forza Italia, part of the European People's Party and is vice-chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs.He is a substitute for the Committee on Regional Development, a...
and Marcello Vernola
Marcello Vernola
Marcello Vernola is an Italian politician andMember of the European Parliamentfor Southernwith the Forza Italia, part of the European People's Party and sits on...
are only some remarkable examples.
Several members were former Socialists
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
(PSI), as Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti is an Italian politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011....
(Vice President of the party and former Minister of Economy), Franco Frattini (Vice President of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
), Fabrizio Cicchitto
Fabrizio Cicchitto
Fabrizio Cicchitto is an Italian politician.-Career:Fabrizio Cicchitto entered politics during the earlier 1960s, supporting the Marxist left wing of Riccardo Lombardi in the Italian Socialist Party and then becoming secretary of the party's youth organization...
(national deputy-coordinator of the party), Renato Brunetta
Renato Brunetta
Renato Brunetta is an Italian economist and politician and, as of May 2008, a minister in the Berlusconi government.He is a former member of the Italian Socialist Party, Member of the European Parliament for the North-East from 2004 to 2009 with the Forza Italia, part of the European People's...
, Francesco Musotto
Francesco Musotto
Francesco Musotto is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Islands...
, Amalia Sartori
Amalia Sartori
Amalia Sartori is an Italian politician.-Career:* 1971-1985: Teacher* 1985-1990: Member of the Regional Executive of the Veneto with responsibility for roads and transport...
, Paolo Guzzanti
Paolo Guzzanti
Paolo Guzzanti is an Italian journalist and politician. He was previously a member of the Italian Socialist Party.-Biography:Born in Rome, he is the nephew of Elio Guzzanti and father to actors Corrado, Sabina and Caterina....
and Margherita Boniver
Margherita Boniver
Margherita Boniver is an Italian politician.Until 1962 she lived abroad, in places such as Washington, D.C., Bucharest and London. In Italy she founded the Italian section of Amnesty International which she led from 1973 to 1980....
. Berlusconi himself was a close friend of Bettino Craxi
Bettino Craxi
Benedetto Craxi was an Italian politician, head of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993, the first socialist President of the Council of Ministers of Italy from 1983 to 1987.-Political career:...
, leader of PSI, in spite of his Christian Democratic and Liberal background (he was a DC's activist in occasion of the 1948 general election
Italian general election, 1948
The Italian elections of 1948 were the second democratic elections with universal suffrage ever held in Italy, taking place after the 1946 elections to the Constituent Assembly, responsible for drawing up a new Italian Constitution...
).
Many were former Liberals
Italian Liberal Party
The Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution...
(PLI), Republicans
Italian Republican Party
The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini...
(PRI) and Social Democrats
Italian Democratic Socialist Party
The Italian Democratic Socialist Party is a minor social-democratic political party in Italy. Mimmo Magistro is the party leader. The PSDI, before the 1990s decline in votes and members, had been an important force in Italian politics, being the longest serving partner in government for Christian...
(PSDI): Alfredo Biondi
Alfredo Biondi
Alfredo Biondi is an Italian politician and lawyer. In 1994 he served as Minister of Justice of the Italian Republic during the first cabinet chaired by Silvio Berlusconi.-Biography:...
(President of Forza Italia's National Council) and Raffaele Costa
Raffaele Costa
Raffaele Costa is an Italian politician. He has been President of the Province of Cuneo...
, both former PLI leaders, and former PSDI leader Carlo Vizzini
Carlo Vizzini
-Political life:Vizzini was Secretary of the Italian Democratic Socialist Party from 1992 to 1993, Minister of Mails, and Minister for Cultural Assets and Activities , and was a member of the Italian Senate from Sicily for Forza Italia and latterly The People of Freedom...
were later MPs for Forza Italia. Also Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...
and Giancarlo Galan
Giancarlo Galan
Giancarlo Galan is an Italian politician.After having been a Liberal activist in the Seventies and the Eighties, he was not active in politics until he joined Forza Italia since its foundation in 1994. In the same year he was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies.In 1995 he ran successfully...
were formers Liberals, Jas Gawronski
Jas Gawronski
Jas Gawronski is an Italian journalist and politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament for North-West with the Forza Italia , Member of the Bureau of the European People's Party and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs.Gawronski, who speaks Polish fluently,...
was a leading Republican, while Marcello Pera
Marcello Pera
Marcello Pera is an Italian philosopher and politician. He was the President of the Italian Senate from 2001 to 2006.-Career:...
has a Socialist and Radical background.
Even some former Communists
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party 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 . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
were leading members of the party, such as national party coordinator Sandro Bondi
Sandro Bondi
Sandro Bondi is an Italian politician of The People of Freedom. He was appointed on 8 May 2008 to be Culture Minister until March 23, 2011 in Silvio Berlusconi's fourth cabinet.-Biography:...
and Fernando Adornato.
Factions
Members of Forza Italia were divided in factions, which were sometimes mutable and formed over the most important political issues, despite previous party allegiances. However it is possible to distinguish some patterns. The party was divided basically over ethical (between social conservativeSocial conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
s and progressives), economic (between social-democrats and some Christian-democrats on one side and liberals on the other one) and institutional issues.
Regarding the latter issue, generally speaking, northern party members were staunch proposers of political
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
, fiscal federalism
Fiscal federalism
As a subfield of public economics, fiscal federalism is concerned with "understanding which functions and instruments are best centralized and which are best placed in the sphere of decentralized levels of government"...
and autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
for the Regions (in some parts of Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
and Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, it was sometimes difficult to distinguish a member of FI from a leghista), while those coming from the South were more cold on the issue. Also some former Liberals
Italian Liberal Party
The Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution...
, due to their role of unifiers of Italy in the XIX Century, were more centralist.
A scheme of the internal factions within Forza Italia could be this:
- Liberals.LiberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
Supporters of free-market, deregulationDeregulationDeregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
, economic freedoms, civil rightsCivil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and, in general, personal responsibility and freedom. This group was basically formed by two wings: classical liberals (former members of the Italian Liberal PartyItalian Liberal PartyThe Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution...
, most of them organized in Popular LiberalismPopular LiberalismPopular Liberalism , recently known also as Liberal Union of the Centre , is a liberal faction within The People of Freedom, a political party in Italy....
, as Alfredo BiondiAlfredo BiondiAlfredo Biondi is an Italian politician and lawyer. In 1994 he served as Minister of Justice of the Italian Republic during the first cabinet chaired by Silvio Berlusconi.-Biography:...
, Raffaele CostaRaffaele CostaRaffaele Costa is an Italian politician. He has been President of the Province of Cuneo...
, Egidio Sterpa and Enrico Nan); former SocialistsItalian Socialist PartyThe Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
, as Renato BrunettaRenato BrunettaRenato Brunetta is an Italian economist and politician and, as of May 2008, a minister in the Berlusconi government.He is a former member of the Italian Socialist Party, Member of the European Parliament for the North-East from 2004 to 2009 with the Forza Italia, part of the European People's...
and Paolo GuzzantiPaolo GuzzantiPaolo Guzzanti is an Italian journalist and politician. He was previously a member of the Italian Socialist Party.-Biography:Born in Rome, he is the nephew of Elio Guzzanti and father to actors Corrado, Sabina and Caterina....
; others like Stefania PrestigiacomoStefania PrestigiacomoStefania Prestigiacomo is the Italian Minister of the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea.-Biography:Stefania Prestigiacomo is a graduate in Public Administration. In 1990, she became the president of the Young Entrepreneurs Group of Syracuse, Sicily.In 1994 she joined the House of...
and Simone Baldelli) and liberatariansLibertarianismLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, as Antonio MartinoAntonio MartinoAntonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...
(ex-PLI), Dario Rivolta, Benedetto Della VedovaBenedetto Della VedovaBenedetto Della Vedova is an Italian politician, formerly the leader of Liberal Reformers, a minor liberal and libertarian party, and currently member of The Liberal Part, a liberal faction within the centre-right People of Freedom party.-Biography:His political experience began in 1994 with the...
(ex-RadicalItalian RadicalsItalian Radicals is an Italian political party which describes itself as a liberale, liberista e libertario political movement .It was...
) and his Liberal ReformersLiberal ReformersLiberal Reformers was a minor libertarian political party in Italy led by Benedetto Della Vedova, a former President of the Italian Radicals.-History:...
. The latter were more staunchly pro-United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
than the former and supported the idea of transforming Italy into a federal State. - LiberalLiberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
-centrists.CentrismIn politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
They were more moderate than Martino and Della Vedova on economic issues, and more social-conservative on ethical issues, although not being totally sided with the Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. To this broad group belong people of various origin: former Socialists (as Giulio TremontiGiulio TremontiGiulio Tremonti is an Italian politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011....
, Franco Frattini, Giampiero Cantoni, Amalia SartoriAmalia SartoriAmalia Sartori is an Italian politician.-Career:* 1971-1985: Teacher* 1985-1990: Member of the Regional Executive of the Veneto with responsibility for roads and transport...
and Jole Santelli), former RepublicansItalian Republican PartyThe Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini...
(as Luigi Casero, Denis VerdiniDenis Verdini-Biography:He graduated in Political Sciences and later became president of the local cooperative bank Credito Cooperativo Fiorentino.He began his political career in the Italian Republican Party, without being elected in the 1994 Italian general elections. After Silvio Berlusconi's victory in...
and Donato Bruno), former Liberals (as Giancarlo GalanGiancarlo GalanGiancarlo Galan is an Italian politician.After having been a Liberal activist in the Seventies and the Eighties, he was not active in politics until he joined Forza Italia since its foundation in 1994. In the same year he was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies.In 1995 he ran successfully...
, Giuseppe VegasGiuseppe VegasGiuseppe Vegas is an Italian politician, senator for The People of Freedom and minister in the Berlusconi IV Government....
and Paolo Romani), some former liberal Christian DemocratsChristian Democracy (Italy)Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
(Giuseppe CossigaGiuseppe CossigaGiuseppe Cossiga is an Italian politician, member of the Forza Italia party . He became Undersecretary of State for Defence in the cabinet of Silvio Berlusconi on May 12, 2008....
and Basilio Germanà) and many others (as Giorgio Jannone, Antonio Leone, Gianfranco Micciché and Aldo BrancherAldo BrancherAldo Brancher is an Italian politician. He served as a Minister without portfolio in the Government of Silvio Berlusconi for 17 days in June/July 2010, but was forced to resign due to a pending court case.-Early career:...
). They were strong in Northern Italy and strong supporters of political and fiscal federalism. - Christian democrats.Christian DemocracyChristian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
They believed in the social market economySocial market economyThe social market economy is the main economic model used in West Germany after World War II. It is based on the economic philosophy of Ordoliberalism from the Freiburg School...
model and were supporters of Catholic stances over ethical issues. Most former members of Christian DemocracyChristian Democracy (Italy)Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
were identifiable with this tendency (from Roberto FormigoniRoberto FormigoniRoberto Formigoni is an Italian politician, and the current President of Lombardy Region, Italy.-Life and career:Graduated in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Milan, he studied political economy at the Sorbonne, in Paris....
to Giuseppe PisanuGiuseppe PisanuGiuseppe Pisanu is an Italian politician, longtime member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Christian Democracy and then for Forza Italia...
, from Claudio ScajolaClaudio ScajolaClaudio Scajola is an Italian politician.-Career:A long-time Christian Democrat, he was mayor of Imperia in the Eighties, as his father and his brother had been. When Christian Democracy disbanded, he joined Forza Italia in 1995. He was then elected deputy in 1996 and was national coordinator of...
to Enrico La Loggia, from Guido Crosetto to Angelo Sanza, from Maurizio Lupi to Giuseppe GarganiGiuseppe GarganiGiuseppe Gargani is an Italian politician, a lawyer and from 1999 to 2009 a Member of the European Parliament,. He was elected on the Forza Italia ticket and sat with the European People's Party group. In the June 2009 elections Mr...
, from Antonio Palmieri to Mario MantovaniMario MantovaniMario Mantovani is an Italian politician,Member of the European Parliament 1999-2009for North-Westwith the Forza Italia, part of the European People's Party, Italian Senator and Vice-minister of Infrastructures and Transports since 2008...
), but also ex-CommunistsItalian Communist PartyThe Italian Communist Party 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 . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
, such as Sandro BondiSandro BondiSandro Bondi is an Italian politician of The People of Freedom. He was appointed on 8 May 2008 to be Culture Minister until March 23, 2011 in Silvio Berlusconi's fourth cabinet.-Biography:...
and Fernando Adornato, and an ex-Socialist as Gianni Baget BozzoGianni Baget BozzoGianni Baget Bozzo was an Italian Catholic priest and politician.Baget Bozzo was born in Savona, and graduated in law. At one-time Christian-Democrat activist, in 1984 he was elected at the European Parliament for the Italian Socialist Party and from 1994 he had been a member of Silvio...
, a Catholic priest who is in charge of cultural formation, fitted the category, along with former Liberals, as Isabella Bertolini. Some were more socially conservative than others (for example Formigoni and theoconservativeTheoconservativeTheoconservatism is a derogatory political label referring to members of the Christian right, particularly those whose ideology is a synthesis of elements of American conservatism, Conservative Christianity and social conservatism, expressed through political means. This term first appeared in...
s like Marcello PeraMarcello PeraMarcello Pera is an Italian philosopher and politician. He was the President of the Italian Senate from 2001 to 2006.-Career:...
) and many of them were close to Giulio Tremonti, indeed this group and that described before were very close on most political issues, so that the two factions were often undistinguishable. They are probably the most europeanistEuropeanismAlthough this term is occasionally used to describe support for European integration , it is more commonly used in relation to the idea that Europeans have common norms and values that transcend national or state identity, that have been promoted most actively...
wing of the party, along with former Socialists, but many of them were also the most atlanticistsAtlanticismAtlanticism is a philosophy of cooperation among Western European and North American nations regarding political, economic, and defense issues, with the purpose to maintain the security of the participating countries, and to protect the values that unite them: "democracy, individual liberty and...
within it, as Adornato and Pera. In 2007 Adornato, Pisanu and Formigoni launched a faction named Liberal-Popular UnionLiberal-Popular UnionThe Liberal-Popular Union was a short-lived Christian-democratic faction within Forza Italia.It was founded on 27 October 2007 by Ferdinando Adornato...
, but, the faction soon was disbanded as Adornato left Forza Italia to join UDC. Formigoni had also his own group, Network ItalyNetwork ItalyNetwork Italy is a Christian-democratic faction within The People of Freedom , a political party in Italy. It is composed of followers of Roberto Formigoni, a party bigwig who is currently President of Lombardy...
, mainly composed of Catholics active in Communion and LiberationCommunion and LiberationCommunion and Liberation, or CL, is a lay ecclesial movement within the Catholic Church.-Overview:CL grew out of the educational and catechetical methods of Msgr. Luigi Giussani, who founded the movement...
, to which group both Crosetto and Fitto showed closeness. - Social democrats.Social democracySocial democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
The most progressive wing of the party, especially about ethical issues. They were basically former Socialists, as Fabrizio CicchittoFabrizio CicchittoFabrizio Cicchitto is an Italian politician.-Career:Fabrizio Cicchitto entered politics during the earlier 1960s, supporting the Marxist left wing of Riccardo Lombardi in the Italian Socialist Party and then becoming secretary of the party's youth organization...
, Francesco Colucci, Maurizio SacconiMaurizio SacconiMaurizio Sacconi is an Italian politician from Veneto.A long-time member of the Italian Socialist Party, from 1979 to 1994 he was a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and from 1987 to 1994 he served also as Under-Secretary of the Treasury...
, Margherita BoniverMargherita BoniverMargherita Boniver is an Italian politician.Until 1962 she lived abroad, in places such as Washington, D.C., Bucharest and London. In Italy she founded the Italian section of Amnesty International which she led from 1973 to 1980....
, Giorgio StracquadanioGiorgio StracquadanioGiorgio Stracquadanio is an Italian politician and journalist.He began his political careers in the 1980s as activist of the Radical Party in Milan with the municipal councillor Tiziana Maiolo....
, Chiara MoroniChiara MoroniChiara Moroni is an Italian politician, daughter of Sergio Moroni, a Socialist politician who killed himself during Tangentopoli...
and Stefania CraxiStefania CraxiStefania Gabriella Anastasia Craxi is an Italian politician, who is a member of the PdL and before that a member of the Italian_Socialist_Party. She became Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Silvio Berlusconi on May 12, 2008...
, or former Social DemocratsItalian Democratic Socialist PartyThe Italian Democratic Socialist Party is a minor social-democratic political party in Italy. Mimmo Magistro is the party leader. The PSDI, before the 1990s decline in votes and members, had been an important force in Italian politics, being the longest serving partner in government for Christian...
, as Carlo VizziniCarlo Vizzini-Political life:Vizzini was Secretary of the Italian Democratic Socialist Party from 1992 to 1993, Minister of Mails, and Minister for Cultural Assets and Activities , and was a member of the Italian Senate from Sicily for Forza Italia and latterly The People of Freedom...
, Nicola CosentinoNicola CosentinoNicola Cosentino is an Italian politician. He is currently the regional coordinator of Forza Italia in Campania.-Biography:Cosentino was born in Casal di Principe, one of Camorra's strongholds near Naples...
and Paolo Russo. They considered themselves the true heirs of Pietro NenniPietro NenniPietro Sandro Nenni was an Italian socialist politician, the national secretary of the Italian Socialist Party and lifetime Senator since 1970. He was a recipient of the Stalin Peace Prize in 1951...
, Giuseppe SaragatGiuseppe SaragatGiuseppe Saragat was an Italian politician who was the fifth President of the Italian Republic from 1964 to 1971.Saragat was born in Turin, from Sardinian parents....
and Bettino CraxiBettino CraxiBenedetto Craxi was an Italian politician, head of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993, the first socialist President of the Council of Ministers of Italy from 1983 to 1987.-Political career:...
, continued to declare themselves 'Socialists' and were sided with Silvio BerlusconiSilvio BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
's centre-right because they saw the Italian centre-left as too much hegemonized by the Democrats of the LeftDemocrats of the LeftThe Democrats of the Left was a social-democratic Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party on 14 October 2007...
, heir of the Italian Communist PartyItalian Communist PartyThe Italian Communist Party 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 . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
, which was the harshest rival of the Italian Socialists from the Fifties to the Nineties. These Forza Italia's social democrats were organized in four sub-factions: We Blue ReformersWe Blue ReformersWe Reformers is a social-democratic faction within The People of Freedom , a political party in Italy.The faction was organized in 2005 within Forza Italia, the centre-right party created by Silvio Berlusconi, as We Blue Reformers...
, Free FoundationFree FoundationThe Free Foundation is a think tank within The People of Freedom, a political party in Italy.Although most of its leading members are former members of the Italian Socialist Party and thus have social-democratic roots, the group expresses liberal and libertarian stances...
, Young ItalyYoung Italy (current)Young Italy is a social-democratic faction within The People of Freedom, a political party in Italy.Named after the late organization led by Giuseppe Mazzini, the faction was founded on 16 July 2004. It is led by Stefania Craxi, daughter of Bettino, a long-time leader of the Italian Socialist Party...
and Circles of Reformist Initiative.
Christian democrats and liberal-centrists were undoubtedly the strongest factions within the party, but all four were mainstream for a special issue: for example liberals and liberal-centrists were highly influential over economic policy, Christian democrats led the party over ethical issues (although there was a substantial minority promoting a more progressive outlook), while social democrats had their say in defining the party's policy over labour market reform and, moreover, it is thanks to this group (and to those around Tremonti, he himself a former Socialist) that constitutional reform was at the top of Forza Italia's political agenda. It is difficult to say to what faction Berlusconi was closer, what is sure is that his political record was a synthesis of all the political tendencies within the party.
Internal structure
Before being merged into the PdL, Forza Italia had a President (currently Silvio BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
), two Vice-Presidents (Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti is an Italian politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011....
and Roberto Formigoni
Roberto Formigoni
Roberto Formigoni is an Italian politician, and the current President of Lombardy Region, Italy.-Life and career:Graduated in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Milan, he studied political economy at the Sorbonne, in Paris....
), a Presidential Committee (presided by Claudio Scajola
Claudio Scajola
Claudio Scajola is an Italian politician.-Career:A long-time Christian Democrat, he was mayor of Imperia in the Eighties, as his father and his brother had been. When Christian Democracy disbanded, he joined Forza Italia in 1995. He was then elected deputy in 1996 and was national coordinator of...
) and a National Council (presided by Alfredo Biondi
Alfredo Biondi
Alfredo Biondi is an Italian politician and lawyer. In 1994 he served as Minister of Justice of the Italian Republic during the first cabinet chaired by Silvio Berlusconi.-Biography:...
).
As the President is the leader of the party, a national coordinator was in charge of internal organization and day-to-day political activity, similarly to the secretary-general in many European parties. Moreover the party had thematic departments and regional, provincial or metropolitan coordination boards plus a lot of affiliate clubs (Club Azzurro) all over Italy.
It has been claimed that Forza Italia had no internal democracy because there was no way of changing the leader of the party from below (although the party's constitution makes it possible). Key posts in the party structure were appointed by Berlusconi or by his delegates. Forza Italia's organization was based on the idea of a "party of the elected people", giving more importance to the whole electorate than to party's members.
Party national-level conventions did not have normally elections to choose the party leadership (although the National Congress elected some members of the National Council), and they seemed to be more like events arranged for propaganda purposes. However, Berlusconi was highly popular among his party fellows, and it was unlikely he could be overthrown if such an election were to occur.
Within the party there was a long debate over organization. The original idea was the so-called "light party" (partito leggero), intended to be different from Italian traditional, bureaucratic and self-referential, party machines. This was the line of the early founders of the party, notably Marcello Dell'Utri
Marcello Dell'Utri
Marcello Dell'Utri is an influential Italian politician and senior advisor to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi...
and Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...
. However Claudio Scajola
Claudio Scajola
Claudio Scajola is an Italian politician.-Career:A long-time Christian Democrat, he was mayor of Imperia in the Eighties, as his father and his brother had been. When Christian Democracy disbanded, he joined Forza Italia in 1995. He was then elected deputy in 1996 and was national coordinator of...
and most former Christian Democrats
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
supported a more capillary-based organization, in order to make participate as much people as possible, and a more collegial, participative and democratic decision-making process.
Distinctive traits
Since its birth Forza Italia used unconventional means for European politics (in fact resembling more the American model), such as stickering, SMS messaging and mass mailing of propaganda material, including the biography of its leader Berlusconi, "An Italian story" (Una storia italiana).The party was heavily dependent on Berlusconi's image. The party's anthem was sung in karaoke fashion at American-style conventions. There was nominally no internal opposition (although some critical voices raised up, such as those of Senators Paolo Guzzanti and Raffaele Iannuzzi). The party used TV advertising extensively, although this has been slightly restricted since 2000 by a law passed by the then centre-left majority.
Popular support
The electoral results of Forza Italia in the 10 most populated Regions of Italy are shown in the table below.| 1994 general | 1995 regional | 1996 general | 1999 European | 2000 regional | 2001 general | 2004 European | 2005 regional | 2006 general | |
| Piedmont | 26.5 | 26.7 | 21.7 | 28.8 | 30.8 | 32.0 | 22.2 | 22.4 | 23.5 |
| Lombardy | 26.0 | 29.2 | 23.6 | 30.5 | 33.9 | 32.3 | 25.7 | 26.0 | 27.1 |
| Veneto | 23.7 | 24.0 | 17.1 | 26.0 | 30.4 | 32.0 | 24.6 | 22.7 | 24.5 |
| Emilia-Romagna | 16.5 | 18.2 | 15.1 | 20.4 | 21.2 | 23.8 | 19.8 | 18.2 | 18.6 |
| Tuscany | 16.4 | 19.1 | 14.3 | 19.5 | 20.3 | 21.7 | 17.8 | 17.2 | 16.9 |
| Lazio | 20.5 | 18.9 | 16.1 | 20.6 | 21.5 | 26.4 | 17.5 | 15.4 | 21.4 |
| Campania | 19.9 | 18.9 | 23.4 | 25.2 | 20.9 | 33.8 | 19.5 | 11.9 | 27.2 |
| Apulia | |||||||||
| 20.7 | 24.6 | 28.0 | 28.7 | 30.1 | 20.4 | 26.8 | 27.3 | ||
| Calabria | 19.0 | 19.7 | 18.3 | 21.4 | 18.3 | 25.7 | 13.0 | 10.0 | 20.7 |
| Sicily | 33.6 | 17.1 (1996) | 32.2 | 26.8 | 25.1 (2001) | 36.7 | 21.5 | 19.2 (2006) | 29.1 |
| ITALY | 21.0 | - | 20.4 | 25.2 | - | 29.4 | 21.0 | - | 23.7 |
Leadership
- President: Silvio BerlusconiSilvio BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
(1994−2009) - Vice President: Giulio TremontiGiulio TremontiGiulio Tremonti is an Italian politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011....
(2004−2009), Roberto FormigoniRoberto FormigoniRoberto Formigoni is an Italian politician, and the current President of Lombardy Region, Italy.-Life and career:Graduated in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Milan, he studied political economy at the Sorbonne, in Paris....
(2008−2009) - Spokesperson: Antonio TajaniAntonio TajaniAntonio Tajani is an Italian politician. He is the current European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship and has also been one of the five Vice-President of the European Commission since May 2008....
(1994−1996), Paolo Bonaiuti (1996−2001), Sandro BondiSandro BondiSandro Bondi is an Italian politician of The People of Freedom. He was appointed on 8 May 2008 to be Culture Minister until March 23, 2011 in Silvio Berlusconi's fourth cabinet.-Biography:...
(2001−2004), Elisabetta GardiniElisabetta GardiniElisabetta Gardini is an Italian actress and politician from Veneto.A popular actress and RAI host close to Christian Democracy, Gardini was an unsuccessful candidate for Patto Segni in the 1994 general election...
(2004−2008), Daniele CapezzoneDaniele CapezzoneDaniele Capezzone is a centre-right Italian politician.He currently is the spokesman for the People of Freedom.From July 14, 2001 to November 4, 2006, he was secretary of the Italian Radicals, a liberal, pro-market economy, libertarian movement associated with the Transnational Radical Party...
(2008−2009) - President of the President's Committee: Claudio ScajolaClaudio ScajolaClaudio Scajola is an Italian politician.-Career:A long-time Christian Democrat, he was mayor of Imperia in the Eighties, as his father and his brother had been. When Christian Democracy disbanded, he joined Forza Italia in 1995. He was then elected deputy in 1996 and was national coordinator of...
(2004−2009) - Vice President of the President's Committee: Carlo VizziniCarlo Vizzini-Political life:Vizzini was Secretary of the Italian Democratic Socialist Party from 1992 to 1993, Minister of Mails, and Minister for Cultural Assets and Activities , and was a member of the Italian Senate from Sicily for Forza Italia and latterly The People of Freedom...
(2005−2009) - President of the National Council: Alfredo BiondiAlfredo BiondiAlfredo Biondi is an Italian politician and lawyer. In 1994 he served as Minister of Justice of the Italian Republic during the first cabinet chaired by Silvio Berlusconi.-Biography:...
(2004−2009) - Coordinator: Domenico Mennitti (1994), Luigi Caligaris (1994), Cesare PrevitiCesare PrevitiCesare Previti is a former Italian politician.-Biography:Born in Reggio Calabria, he grew up in Rome, where he started practicing law. In 1971 he became acquainted with Silvio Berlusconi, the construction magnate, later to be media mogul and Prime Minister of Italy...
(1994−1996), Claudio ScajolaClaudio ScajolaClaudio Scajola is an Italian politician.-Career:A long-time Christian Democrat, he was mayor of Imperia in the Eighties, as his father and his brother had been. When Christian Democracy disbanded, he joined Forza Italia in 1995. He was then elected deputy in 1996 and was national coordinator of...
(1996−2001), Roberto Antonione (2001−2003), Claudio ScajolaClaudio ScajolaClaudio Scajola is an Italian politician.-Career:A long-time Christian Democrat, he was mayor of Imperia in the Eighties, as his father and his brother had been. When Christian Democracy disbanded, he joined Forza Italia in 1995. He was then elected deputy in 1996 and was national coordinator of...
(2003), Sandro BondiSandro BondiSandro Bondi is an Italian politician of The People of Freedom. He was appointed on 8 May 2008 to be Culture Minister until March 23, 2011 in Silvio Berlusconi's fourth cabinet.-Biography:...
(2003−2008), Denis VerdiniDenis Verdini-Biography:He graduated in Political Sciences and later became president of the local cooperative bank Credito Cooperativo Fiorentino.He began his political career in the Italian Republican Party, without being elected in the 1994 Italian general elections. After Silvio Berlusconi's victory in...
(2008−2009) - Deputy-Coordinator: Giuliano Urbani / Mario Valducci (1995–1996), Fabrizio CicchittoFabrizio CicchittoFabrizio Cicchitto is an Italian politician.-Career:Fabrizio Cicchitto entered politics during the earlier 1960s, supporting the Marxist left wing of Riccardo Lombardi in the Italian Socialist Party and then becoming secretary of the party's youth organization...
(2003–2009), Gianfranco Micciché (2004–2009), Renato BrunettaRenato BrunettaRenato Brunetta is an Italian economist and politician and, as of May 2008, a minister in the Berlusconi government.He is a former member of the Italian Socialist Party, Member of the European Parliament for the North-East from 2004 to 2009 with the Forza Italia, part of the European People's...
(2007–2009), Gian Carlo Abelli (2008–2009) - Treasurer: Mario Valducci (1994−1995), Domenico Lo Jucco (1995−1997), Giovanni Dell’Elce (1997−2003), Rocco Crimi (2003−2009)
- Party Leader in the Chamber of DeputiesItalian Chamber of DeputiesThe Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
: Raffaele Della Valle (1994), Vittorio Dotti (1994−1996), Giuseppe PisanuGiuseppe PisanuGiuseppe Pisanu is an Italian politician, longtime member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Christian Democracy and then for Forza Italia...
(1996−2001), Elio VitoElio Vito-Biography:Elio Vito was born on November 12, 1964 in Naples, Italy. He received a degree in Sociology from the University of Naples.He became a member of Forza Italia in 1994, and of People of Freedom in 2008. From 1988 to 1992, he was a councillor for Naples...
(2001−2008), Fabrizio CicchittoFabrizio CicchittoFabrizio Cicchitto is an Italian politician.-Career:Fabrizio Cicchitto entered politics during the earlier 1960s, supporting the Marxist left wing of Riccardo Lombardi in the Italian Socialist Party and then becoming secretary of the party's youth organization...
(leader of PdLThe People of FreedomThe People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....
's group, 2008–2009) - Party Leader in the SenateItalian SenateThe Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
: Enrico La Loggia (1994−2001), Renato SchifaniRenato SchifaniRenato Maria Giuseppe Schifani is an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-right People of Freedom. Since 29 April 2008 he has been President of the Italian Senate. Schifani was born in Palermo.-Berlusconi's chief whip:...
(2001−2008), Gaetano Quagliariello (deputy leader of PdLThe People of FreedomThe People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....
's group, 2008–2009) - Party Leader in the European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
: Giancarlo Ligabue (1994−1997), Claudio Azzolini (1997−1999), Antonio TajaniAntonio TajaniAntonio Tajani is an Italian politician. He is the current European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship and has also been one of the five Vice-President of the European Commission since May 2008....
(1999−2009)