Future and Freedom
Encyclopedia
Future and Freedom whose complete name is Future and Freedom for Italy (Futuro e Libertà per l'Italia, abbreviated to FLI) is a centre-right political party in Italy.
The party was formed by followers of Gianfranco Fini
in July 2010 as a split from The People of Freedom
(PdL), the major Italian centre-right party led by Silvio Berlusconi
. Fini, the former leader of the Italian Social Movement
(MSI) and National Alliance
(AN) and co-founder of the PdL in 2009, had taken a long journey from post-fascism
to become a sincere liberal conservative
. Soon after the party's foundation, he started to become a critic of Berlusconi's government
and leadership style.
The core of FLI is constituted by Generation Italy
(GI), led by Italo Bocchino
, who is also the vice president of the party, and its members are mostly former MSI/AN stalwarts, despite some notable exceptions. FLI is a constituent member of the nascent New Pole for Italy
alliance, along with the Union of the Centre, Alliance for Italy
and the Movement for Autonomies.
, former leader of the national-conservative National Alliance
(AN) and President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
, became the most influential representative of the socially liberal
wing of the party due to his progressive views on stem cell
research, end of life issues, advance health care directive and immigration. Fini was also an outspoken supporter of the principle of separation of church and state
and became also a vocal critic of Silvio Berlusconi
and of his leadership style of the country and the party.
Fini's positions distanced him from most former leading members of AN (including Ignazio La Russa
, Maurizio Gasparri
, Gianni Alemanno, Altero Matteoli
and Giorgia Meloni
) who became close allies of Berlusconi instead.
In the meantime, a group of Fini loyalists, known as Finiani, started to join forces in support of their leader. In April 2010 Italo Bocchino
launched an association within the PdL named Generation Italy
in order to better represent Fini's views within the party and push for a different party organisation. Fini posed a sort of ultimatum to Berlusconi and hinted the formation of separate groups from the PdL in Parliament. At one point some Finiani even proposed the formation of a new party outside the PdL. After some tense days emerged as a possibility that Fini and his group would have remained in the party as a minority faction. On 22 April 2010 the National Committee of the PdL convened in Rome for the first time in a year. The conflict between Fini and Berlusconi was covered live by television. A resolution which denounced Fini's conduct and reaffirmed the party's political line was approved by a landslide margin by the assembly.
, Fabio Granata and Carmelo Briguglio) who had harshly criticised Berlusconi and accused some party members of criminal offences.
On 30 July, Fini held a press conference during which he announced the formation of separate groups from the PdL both in the Chamber and the Senate under the name Future and Freedom (FLI). He also confirmed the support of his group, which counted a handful of cabinet members, to Berlusconi's government. 33 deputies and 10 senators joined the new parliamentary groups from the beginning. Only a minority of the PdL MPs originating from National Alliance followed their former leader Fini into the new party, but enough to hold the balance in the Chamber of Deputies Moreover, some members of the former Forza Italia
, Berlusconi's party before its merger into the PdL, joined too (Benedetto Della Vedova
and Barbara Contini).
On 5 July, the Chamber voted on the suspension of Giacomo Caliendo, a PdL senator under investigation, from his post of Under-Secretary of Justice. The FLI group chose to abstain from the vote along with the Union of the Centre, Alliance for Italy
and the Movement for Autonomies, forming the so-called "area of responsibility". The motion was voted down, but it was a blow for the Berlusconi IV Cabinet
, which retained its majority only through FLI's support.
During the vote on Caliendo, Chiara Moroni
, a social democrat
from the late Italian Socialist Party
who had formerly been a member of Forza Italia, announced that she was leaving the PdL group in order to join Fini's outfit. In a touching speech dedicated to her father Sergio Moroni, a Socialist who committed suicide during Tangentopoli
, she explained that she was leaving the PdL in the name of garantismo (an Italian word for "protection of civil liberties" used in relation to the right to a fair trial). For this she was vehemently criticised by senior former Socialists of the PdL such as Fabrizio Cicchitto
and Margherita Boniver
.
On 5 September, after a month of silence, Fini gave a speech to his supporters during the Festa Tricolore in Mirabello
, a traditional rally of the late MSI and, later, of AN. During that speech Fini declared that the PdL was dead and that his group would not have returned into the PdL's fold, but he did not speak about the transformation of FLI into an official party. Moreover, despite being very critical of Berlusconi, he offered a "pact of legislature" in order for the government to continue until 2013, the natural end of the current parliamentary term. As a response, Berlusconi and his junior partner in government Umberto Bossi
reiterated their call to Fini to resign from his post of President of the Chamber. Subsequently, on 8 Septermber, Fini left the PdL group in the Chamber and joined to all intents and purposes FLI, becoming its 36th member.
, an Under-Secretary of Economy under investigation for camorra
-related crimes. The motion was rejected by a larger majority than expected, meaning than some Finiani and possibly some deputies from the opposition.
On 24 September Souad Sbai left FLI and returned into the fold of the PdL parliamentary group. However, on the same day, Giampiero Catone, a former Christian Democrat
who had been elected with the PdL on behalf of Gianfranco Rotondi
's Christian Democracy for Autonomies, joined FLI.
On 29 September FLI voted yes in a vote of confidence to the government in the Chamber of Deputies, but two FLI deputies (Mirko Tremaglia and Fabio Granata) voted against. On the same day Fini announced the imminent birth of a new party.
On 2 November the party logo was presented during a press conference. The day after two more deputies joined the party: Roberto Rosso, a former Christian Democrat who had been leader of Forza Italia in Piedmont
, and Daniele Toto. In Sicily
the party joined forces with the remnants of the PdL–Sicily and formed an eight-strong group in the Regional Assembly
in support of President Raffaele Lombardo
.
On 7 November, during a crowded convention in Bastia Umbra
, Fini asked Berlusconi to step down from his post of Prime Minister and proposed a new government including the Union of the Centre (UdC). Fini declared also that if Berlusconi were not to step down, FLI ministers and under-secretaries would leave the executive. As Berlusconi refused to do so, the four FLI members of the government resigned on 15 November.
On 14 December FLI voted against the government in a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies, a vote won by Berlusconi by 314 to 311. Three deputies of FLI (Giampiero Catone, Catia Polidori and Maria Grazia Siliquini) voted in favour (along with Giuseppe Angeli, who had left FLI and returned to the PdL in November), while another one, Silvano Moffa, abstained from the vote and chose to leave the party. Subsequently also Catone, Polidori and Siliquini left FLI and the number of Futurist deputies was thus reduced to 32.
On 15 December 2010 FLI was a founding member of the New Pole for Italy
(NPI), along with the UdC and some minor parties.
and Gianfranco Fini
was elected president of it.
During the congress, no-one questioned the leadership of Fini, but the party was divided between "radicals" (Italo Bocchino
, Benedetto Della Vedova
, Fabio Granata, Carmelo Briguglio, Flavia Perina, etc.) and "moderates" (Adolfo Urso, Andrea Ronchi
, Pasquale Viespoli, Mario Baldassarri
and most senators), who strongly opposed the rise of Bocchino to party leadership. Fini finally appointed Bocchino vice president, downgraded Urso to spokesperson, appointed another "radical", Della Vedova, at the head of the party in the Chamber of Deputies, while Viespoli, a "moderate", was confirmed as leader in the Senate. This caused outrage among the "moderates", and especially Urso and Viespoli were very critical of Fini's choices.
On 15 February Viespoli resigned from the post of Senate floor leader, but was immediately re-elected by the 10 FLI senators with a new mandate: ensuring that the group takes a centre-right political position. On 16 February senator Giuseppe Menardi quit the party. On 17 February he was followed by senator Francesco Pontone and deputy Roberto Rosso, who both returned to the PdL. On 19 February also deputy Luca Bellotti left to re-join the PdL. On 20 February it was the turn of deputy Luca Barbareschi
, formerly a "radical". On 22 February Pasquale Viespoli and Maurizio Saia, both senators, left the party too and the senatorial group was thus dissolved. Viespoli, Menardi and Saia, along with other like-minded senators such as Adriana Poli Bortone
(I the South), formed a new centre-right group called National Cohesion
and returned into the fold of the parliamentary majority. On 16 February one more deputy, Giulia Cosenza, walked out and returned to the PdL.
The party experienced more internal troubles in April 2011, in the run-up to local elections. Some leading members of the party disagreed with some candidatures decided by the party's national leadership, notably in Latina and Naples
. This finally led MEP Enzo Rivellini to step down from regional leader in Campania
and leave the party. Another MEP, Potito Salatto, and one senator, Candido De Angelis, left their leadership posts too. In the meantine the party's "moderates", led Urso and Ronchi, launched their own faction, FareItalia
, open to members of all the centre-right parties, from the PdL to UDC. In May Ronchi resigned from president of the party's national assembly. In June Ronchi, along with Urso and Giuseppe Scalia (Sicilian leader of FLI), left the party.
to liberal conservatism
, but some of its leading members have a strong taste for social liberalism
. Its core issues include the defense of national unity, suspicion of federal
reform and the development of Southern Italy.
FLI counts 27 deputies, 6 senators, 3 MEPs and a bunch of regional and local councillors. The core of FLI is constituted by Generation Italy
(GI), which counts 20 deputies, 4 senators and 3 MEPs, but also the other two factions of the arcipelago finiano (National Area
and Open Space
) are represented. On the cultural side, the FareFuturo
foundation and Secolo d'Italia
newspaper are very influential.
Most FLI members come from the post-fascist
tradition of the Italian Social Movement
(MSI) and National Alliance
(AN) with some notable exceptions: Benedetto Della Vedova
(a former Radical
elected for Forza Italia, FI), Barbara Contini (a former Governor of Nasiriyah, Iraq elected for FI), Chiara Moroni
(a former Socialist
elected for FI), Giuseppe Valditara (a former Leghista), Giulia Bongiorno, Alessandro Ruben and a handful of former Christian Democrats
. However most FLI members are Southern conservatives or MSI nostalgics worried by the growing influence of Lega Nord over the centre-right, federal reform and economic liberalism
. The party is actually very heterogeneous, and it is possible to identify some divisions either over politics or policies.
First, on the relationship with the PdL, since the beginning there has been a clear divide between a "radical" wing (Italo Bocchino
, Fabio Granata, Carmelo Briguglio, Flavia Perina, Luca Barbareschi
and most deputies) and a "moderate" one (Andrea Ronchi
, Pasquale Viespoli, Roberto Menia and most senators). Some (the "moderates" and Adolfo Urso) long continued to consider themselves as part of the PdL, while others (the "radicals" and Menia) wanted FLI to be autonomous from the PdL. Shortly before launching the new party, Fini sided with the "radicals" and criticized the "moderates". Many "moderates", most of the former Christian Democrats and even "radical" Barbareschi left the party along the way.
Second, while some Finiani (Bocchino, Granata, etc.) see FLI as the embryo of a modern and innovative right-wing, others (Menia, Urso, etc.) have joined FLI in order to re-create the political community of the late MSI. In this sense the word "future" in the party's name is a reference to futurism
, which was a cultural inspiration for Italian Fascism
.
Both progressive and reactionary forces thus hail from FLI, but almost none identifies with the political centre
.
Third, on the economy, the predominant strain in FLI is highly influenced by dirigisme
, statism
, corporatism
and centralism (all well represented in the ideology of the former MSI). Salvatore Merlo writes that "though Fini would never admit it [...] many of the positions adopted by him today derive from a certain thread in fascist culture" and The Economist
remarks that "many of Mr Fini's fellow-rebels originated in the social wing of neo-fascism, whose anti-capitalist adherents embraced such ideas as feminism and environmentalism as long ago as the 1970s", that is why FLI "has perhaps the oddest pedigree of any progressive group on the European right". However FLI includes also some uncompromising libertarians
such as Benedetto Della Vedova and his Libertiamo
foundation. Moreover some Finiani, notably including Mario Baldassarri, propose to lower taxes and to slow down the introduction of fiscal federalism instead.
Fourth, on ethical issues, which caused some of the main strifes between Fini and the majority of the PdL and of the former AN, some FLI members such as Della Vedova are pushing for a progressive commitment aimed at the introduction of civil unions and the liberalisation of artificial insemination, while others do not consider those issues a priority (Urso) or oppose any departure from the traditional social conservatism
of MSI/AN (Ronchi).
The party was formed by followers of 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...
in July 2010 as a split from 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), the major Italian centre-right party 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...
. Fini, the former leader of the Italian Social Movement
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s...
(MSI) and 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...
(AN) and co-founder of the PdL in 2009, had taken a long journey from post-fascism
Neo-Fascism
Neo-fascism is a post–World War II ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. The term neo-fascist may apply to groups that express a specific admiration for Benito Mussolini and Italian Fascism or any other fascist leader/state...
to become a sincere liberal conservative
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...
. Soon after the party's foundation, he started to become a critic of Berlusconi's 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:*...
and leadership style.
The core of FLI is constituted by Generation Italy
Generation Italy
Generation Italy is a faction within Future and Freedom , a political party in Italy.Although most of its members come from the conservative National Alliance and were earlier members of the Italian Social Movement , the foundation was considered the cradle of social liberalism within The People...
(GI), led by Italo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino is an Italian politician and journalist.-Biography:Bocchino was born at Naples, and in his youth he was a members of the Italian Social Movement and worked as a spokesman for the member of parliament Giuseppe Tatarella, and subsequently as a journalist for Il Secolo d'Italia.In...
, who is also the vice president of the party, and its members are mostly former MSI/AN stalwarts, despite some notable exceptions. FLI is a constituent member of the nascent New Pole for Italy
New Pole for Italy
The New Pole for Italy , referred also either as the Third Pole or Pole of the Nation , is a centre-right coalition of parties in Italy....
alliance, along with the Union of the Centre, Alliance for Italy
Alliance for Italy
Alliance for Italy is a centrist political party in Italy.The party, which is described in its manifesto as "democratic, liberal, popular" as opposed both to "right-wing populism" and the "social-democratic left, an experience with high and memorable value, yet by now run out", was launched on 11...
and the Movement for Autonomies.
Background
Somewhat surprisingly, Gianfranco FiniGianfranco 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...
, former leader of the national-conservative 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...
(AN) and President of the Italian 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...
, became the most influential representative of the socially liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
wing of the party due to his progressive views on stem cell
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...
research, end of life issues, advance health care directive and immigration. Fini was also an outspoken supporter of the principle of separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
and became also a vocal critic of 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...
and of his leadership style of the country and the party.
Fini's positions distanced him from most former leading members of AN (including Ignazio La Russa
Ignazio La Russa
Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa is an Italian politician . He became Minister of Defence in the fourth cabinet of Silvio Berlusconi on 8 May 2008...
, Maurizio Gasparri
Maurizio Gasparri
Maurizio Gasparri is an Italian politician.After a period as Member of the Italian Parliament for the Movimento Sociale Italiano, Gasparri served as an Alleanza Nazionale member. During the course of his career he has served as Minister of Communications...
, Gianni Alemanno, Altero Matteoli
Altero Matteoli
Altero Matteoli is an Italian politician, former member of Alleanza Nazionale right-wing party and then member of People of Freedom.Matteoli was born in Cecina. From 2001 to 2006 he was the Italian Environment Minister.-References:*...
and Giorgia Meloni
Giorgia Meloni
-Biography:Giorgia Meloni was born on January 15, 1977 in Rome, Italy. in 1996, she graduated from the Amerigo Vespucci Institute in Foreign Languages...
) who became close allies of Berlusconi instead.
In the meantime, a group of Fini loyalists, known as Finiani, started to join forces in support of their leader. In April 2010 Italo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino is an Italian politician and journalist.-Biography:Bocchino was born at Naples, and in his youth he was a members of the Italian Social Movement and worked as a spokesman for the member of parliament Giuseppe Tatarella, and subsequently as a journalist for Il Secolo d'Italia.In...
launched an association within the PdL named Generation Italy
Generation Italy
Generation Italy is a faction within Future and Freedom , a political party in Italy.Although most of its members come from the conservative National Alliance and were earlier members of the Italian Social Movement , the foundation was considered the cradle of social liberalism within The People...
in order to better represent Fini's views within the party and push for a different party organisation. Fini posed a sort of ultimatum to Berlusconi and hinted the formation of separate groups from the PdL in Parliament. At one point some Finiani even proposed the formation of a new party outside the PdL. After some tense days emerged as a possibility that Fini and his group would have remained in the party as a minority faction. On 22 April 2010 the National Committee of the PdL convened in Rome for the first time in a year. The conflict between Fini and Berlusconi was covered live by television. A resolution which denounced Fini's conduct and reaffirmed the party's political line was approved by a landslide margin by the assembly.
Split from the PdL
Clashes between Fini and Berlusconi became even more frequent and reached their heights in late July 2010, when Fini questioned the morality of some PdL party bigwigs under investigation. On 29 July 2010 the executive of the PdL released a document (voted by 33 members out of 37) in which Fini was described as "incompatible" with the political line of the PdL and unable to perform his job of President of the Chamber of Deputies in a neutral way. Berlusconi asked Fini to step down from his post and the executive proposed the suspension from party membership of three Finiani hard-liners (Italo BocchinoItalo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino is an Italian politician and journalist.-Biography:Bocchino was born at Naples, and in his youth he was a members of the Italian Social Movement and worked as a spokesman for the member of parliament Giuseppe Tatarella, and subsequently as a journalist for Il Secolo d'Italia.In...
, Fabio Granata and Carmelo Briguglio) who had harshly criticised Berlusconi and accused some party members of criminal offences.
On 30 July, Fini held a press conference during which he announced the formation of separate groups from the PdL both in the Chamber and the Senate under the name Future and Freedom (FLI). He also confirmed the support of his group, which counted a handful of cabinet members, to Berlusconi's government. 33 deputies and 10 senators joined the new parliamentary groups from the beginning. Only a minority of the PdL MPs originating from National Alliance followed their former leader Fini into the new party, but enough to hold the balance in the Chamber of Deputies Moreover, some members of the former Forza Italia
Forza Italia
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....
, Berlusconi's party before its merger into the PdL, joined too (Benedetto Della Vedova
Benedetto Della Vedova
Benedetto 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...
and Barbara Contini).
On 5 July, the Chamber voted on the suspension of Giacomo Caliendo, a PdL senator under investigation, from his post of Under-Secretary of Justice. The FLI group chose to abstain from the vote along with the Union of the Centre, Alliance for Italy
Alliance for Italy
Alliance for Italy is a centrist political party in Italy.The party, which is described in its manifesto as "democratic, liberal, popular" as opposed both to "right-wing populism" and the "social-democratic left, an experience with high and memorable value, yet by now run out", was launched on 11...
and the Movement for Autonomies, forming the so-called "area of responsibility". The motion was voted down, but it was a blow for the Berlusconi IV Cabinet
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:*...
, which retained its majority only through FLI's support.
During the vote on Caliendo, Chiara Moroni
Chiara Moroni
Chiara Moroni is an Italian politician, daughter of Sergio Moroni, a Socialist politician who killed himself during Tangentopoli...
, a social democrat
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...
from the late Italian Socialist Party
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...
who had formerly been a member of Forza Italia, announced that she was leaving the PdL group in order to join Fini's outfit. In a touching speech dedicated to her father Sergio Moroni, a Socialist who committed suicide during 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...
, she explained that she was leaving the PdL in the name of garantismo (an Italian word for "protection of civil liberties" used in relation to the right to a fair trial). For this she was vehemently criticised by senior former Socialists of the PdL such as 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...
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....
.
On 5 September, after a month of silence, Fini gave a speech to his supporters during the Festa Tricolore in Mirabello
Mirabello
-Places:Greece*Mirabello Bay, a bay in Lasithi Prefecture, CreteItaly*Mirabello, Emilia–Romagna, a comune in the Province of Ferrara*Mirabello Monferrato, a comune in the Province of Alessandria, Piedmont...
, a traditional rally of the late MSI and, later, of AN. During that speech Fini declared that the PdL was dead and that his group would not have returned into the PdL's fold, but he did not speak about the transformation of FLI into an official party. Moreover, despite being very critical of Berlusconi, he offered a "pact of legislature" in order for the government to continue until 2013, the natural end of the current parliamentary term. As a response, Berlusconi and his junior partner in government 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 ....
reiterated their call to Fini to resign from his post of President of the Chamber. Subsequently, on 8 Septermber, Fini left the PdL group in the Chamber and joined to all intents and purposes FLI, becoming its 36th member.
Road to the new party
On 22 September FLI abstained during a secret confidence vote on Nicola CosentinoNicola Cosentino
Nicola 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...
, an Under-Secretary of Economy under investigation for camorra
Camorra
The Camorra is a Mafia-type criminal organization, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century.-Background:...
-related crimes. The motion was rejected by a larger majority than expected, meaning than some Finiani and possibly some deputies from the opposition.
On 24 September Souad Sbai left FLI and returned into the fold of the PdL parliamentary group. However, on the same day, Giampiero Catone, 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 had been elected with the PdL on behalf of Gianfranco Rotondi
Gianfranco Rotondi
Gianfranco Rotondi is an Italian politician, and the current leader of the Christian Democracy for Autonomies since June 2005.- Biography :Rotondi was born in Avellino, Campania....
's Christian Democracy for Autonomies, joined FLI.
On 29 September FLI voted yes in a vote of confidence to the government in the Chamber of Deputies, but two FLI deputies (Mirko Tremaglia and Fabio Granata) voted against. On the same day Fini announced the imminent birth of a new party.
On 2 November the party logo was presented during a press conference. The day after two more deputies joined the party: Roberto Rosso, a former Christian Democrat who had been leader of Forza Italia 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...
, and Daniele Toto. In 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,...
the party joined forces with the remnants of the PdL–Sicily and formed an eight-strong group in the Regional Assembly
Sicilian Regional Assembly
The Sicilian Regional Assembly is the legislative body of the Sicily, as provided in its special status. By virtue of its particular state legislature, Regional Assembly is the only regional assembly to have the title of parliament and its components are defined Deputies.- History :The Sicilian...
in support of President Raffaele Lombardo
Raffaele Lombardo
Raffaele Lombardo is an Italian politician, President of Sicily and former Member of the European Parliament for Islands with the Movement for Autonomies and has sat on the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.He is a substitute for the Committee on the...
.
On 7 November, during a crowded convention in Bastia Umbra
Bastia Umbra
Bastia Umbra is a comune in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 15 km southeast of Perugia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 20,523 and an area of 27.6 km²....
, Fini asked Berlusconi to step down from his post of Prime Minister and proposed a new government including the Union of the Centre (UdC). Fini declared also that if Berlusconi were not to step down, FLI ministers and under-secretaries would leave the executive. As Berlusconi refused to do so, the four FLI members of the government resigned on 15 November.
On 14 December FLI voted against the government in a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies, a vote won by Berlusconi by 314 to 311. Three deputies of FLI (Giampiero Catone, Catia Polidori and Maria Grazia Siliquini) voted in favour (along with Giuseppe Angeli, who had left FLI and returned to the PdL in November), while another one, Silvano Moffa, abstained from the vote and chose to leave the party. Subsequently also Catone, Polidori and Siliquini left FLI and the number of Futurist deputies was thus reduced to 32.
On 15 December 2010 FLI was a founding member of the New Pole for Italy
New Pole for Italy
The New Pole for Italy , referred also either as the Third Pole or Pole of the Nation , is a centre-right coalition of parties in Italy....
(NPI), along with the UdC and some minor parties.
New party, new splits
On 11–13 February 2011 FLI was officially established as a party during a congress in MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and 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...
was elected president of it.
During the congress, no-one questioned the leadership of Fini, but the party was divided between "radicals" (Italo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino is an Italian politician and journalist.-Biography:Bocchino was born at Naples, and in his youth he was a members of the Italian Social Movement and worked as a spokesman for the member of parliament Giuseppe Tatarella, and subsequently as a journalist for Il Secolo d'Italia.In...
, Benedetto Della Vedova
Benedetto Della Vedova
Benedetto 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...
, Fabio Granata, Carmelo Briguglio, Flavia Perina, etc.) and "moderates" (Adolfo Urso, Andrea Ronchi
Andrea Ronchi
Andrea Ronchi is an Italian politician, former Italian Minister of Community Policy.-Biography:Andrea Ronchi was born in Perugia, Umbria. He graduated in political science and worked as a journalist. He was a founding member of the National Alliance party.In 2001, he joined the House of...
, Pasquale Viespoli, Mario Baldassarri
Mario Baldassarri
Mario Baldassarri is an Italian economist and politician, and a member of Alleanza Nazionale. He was elected as a senator during the 2006 general election....
and most senators), who strongly opposed the rise of Bocchino to party leadership. Fini finally appointed Bocchino vice president, downgraded Urso to spokesperson, appointed another "radical", Della Vedova, at the head of the party in the Chamber of Deputies, while Viespoli, a "moderate", was confirmed as leader in the Senate. This caused outrage among the "moderates", and especially Urso and Viespoli were very critical of Fini's choices.
On 15 February Viespoli resigned from the post of Senate floor leader, but was immediately re-elected by the 10 FLI senators with a new mandate: ensuring that the group takes a centre-right political position. On 16 February senator Giuseppe Menardi quit the party. On 17 February he was followed by senator Francesco Pontone and deputy Roberto Rosso, who both returned to the PdL. On 19 February also deputy Luca Bellotti left to re-join the PdL. On 20 February it was the turn of deputy Luca Barbareschi
Luca Barbareschi
Luca Barbareschi is an Italian- Uruguayan actor, television presenter and politician, member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies....
, formerly a "radical". On 22 February Pasquale Viespoli and Maurizio Saia, both senators, left the party too and the senatorial group was thus dissolved. Viespoli, Menardi and Saia, along with other like-minded senators such as Adriana Poli Bortone
Adriana Poli Bortone
Adriana Poli Bortone is an Italian politician andwas an Alleanza Nazionale Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2008. She represented Southern Italy...
(I the South), formed a new centre-right group called National Cohesion
National Cohesion
National Cohesion is a centre-right parliamentary party active in the Italian Senate.Launched on 2 March 2011, the group was supportive of Berlusconi IV Cabinet. The group's president is Pasquale Viespoli, formerly leader of Future and Freedom in the Senate, and its counterpart in the Chamber of...
and returned into the fold of the parliamentary majority. On 16 February one more deputy, Giulia Cosenza, walked out and returned to the PdL.
The party experienced more internal troubles in April 2011, in the run-up to local elections. Some leading members of the party disagreed with some candidatures decided by the party's national leadership, notably in Latina and Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. This finally led MEP Enzo Rivellini to step down from regional leader in 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...
and leave the party. Another MEP, Potito Salatto, and one senator, Candido De Angelis, left their leadership posts too. In the meantine the party's "moderates", led Urso and Ronchi, launched their own faction, FareItalia
FareItalia
FareItalia is a liberal-conservative political party in Italy.The group was founded in April 2011 by Adolfo Urso, Andrea Ronchi and Giuseppe Scalia as a "moderate" faction within Future and Freedom in opposition to the party's "radicals" . In May Ronchi resigned from president of FLI's national...
, open to members of all the centre-right parties, from the PdL to UDC. In May Ronchi resigned from president of the party's national assembly. In June Ronchi, along with Urso and Giuseppe Scalia (Sicilian leader of FLI), left the party.
Ideology and members
The ideology of Future and Freedom stretches from national conservatismNational conservatism
National conservatism is a political term used primarily in Europe to describe a variant of conservatism which concentrates more on national interests than standard conservatism as well as upholding cultural and ethnic identity, while not being outspokenly nationalist or supporting a far-right...
to liberal conservatism
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...
, but some of its leading members have a strong taste for social liberalism
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
. Its core issues include the defense of national unity, suspicion of federal
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...
reform and the development of Southern Italy.
FLI counts 27 deputies, 6 senators, 3 MEPs and a bunch of regional and local councillors. The core of FLI is constituted by Generation Italy
Generation Italy
Generation Italy is a faction within Future and Freedom , a political party in Italy.Although most of its members come from the conservative National Alliance and were earlier members of the Italian Social Movement , the foundation was considered the cradle of social liberalism within The People...
(GI), which counts 20 deputies, 4 senators and 3 MEPs, but also the other two factions of the arcipelago finiano (National Area
National Area
National Area is a faction within Future and Freedom , a political party in Italy.Founded by Roberto Menia and Silvano Moffa , it represents the right-wing of the so-called arcipelago finiano, that is to say the area around Gianfranco Fini...
and Open Space
Open Space (faction)
Open Space was a faction within The People of Freedom , a political party in Italy.Led by Andrea Augello and Silvano Moffa, it was one of the factions of the so-called arcipelago finiano, that is to say the area around Gianfranco Fini. Open Space represented the more conciliatory wing of Finiani,...
) are represented. On the cultural side, the FareFuturo
FareFuturo
FareFuturo is a liberal-conservative think tank close to Future and Freedom, a political party in Italy. FF was inspired by Gianfranco Fini, who served as its first president, while Adolfo Urso was its first secretary-general and serves now as president.-Leadership:*President: Gianfranco Fini ,...
foundation and Secolo d'Italia
Secolo d'Italia
Secolo d'Italia is a daily conservative newspaper in Italy. Founded in Rome in 1952 by Franz Turchi, it is close to the centre-right political party The People of Freedom....
newspaper are very influential.
Most FLI members come from the post-fascist
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
tradition of the Italian Social Movement
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s...
(MSI) and 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...
(AN) with some notable exceptions: Benedetto Della Vedova
Benedetto Della Vedova
Benedetto 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...
(a former Radical
Italian Radicals
Italian Radicals is an Italian political party which describes itself as a liberale, liberista e libertario political movement .It was...
elected for Forza Italia, FI), Barbara Contini (a former Governor of Nasiriyah, Iraq elected for FI), Chiara Moroni
Chiara Moroni
Chiara Moroni is an Italian politician, daughter of Sergio Moroni, a Socialist politician who killed himself during Tangentopoli...
(a former Socialist
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...
elected for FI), Giuseppe Valditara (a former Leghista), Giulia Bongiorno, Alessandro Ruben and a handful of 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 ....
. However most FLI members are Southern conservatives or MSI nostalgics worried by the growing influence of Lega Nord over the centre-right, federal reform and 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...
. The party is actually very heterogeneous, and it is possible to identify some divisions either over politics or policies.
First, on the relationship with the PdL, since the beginning there has been a clear divide between a "radical" wing (Italo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino is an Italian politician and journalist.-Biography:Bocchino was born at Naples, and in his youth he was a members of the Italian Social Movement and worked as a spokesman for the member of parliament Giuseppe Tatarella, and subsequently as a journalist for Il Secolo d'Italia.In...
, Fabio Granata, Carmelo Briguglio, Flavia Perina, Luca Barbareschi
Luca Barbareschi
Luca Barbareschi is an Italian- Uruguayan actor, television presenter and politician, member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies....
and most deputies) and a "moderate" one (Andrea Ronchi
Andrea Ronchi
Andrea Ronchi is an Italian politician, former Italian Minister of Community Policy.-Biography:Andrea Ronchi was born in Perugia, Umbria. He graduated in political science and worked as a journalist. He was a founding member of the National Alliance party.In 2001, he joined the House of...
, Pasquale Viespoli, Roberto Menia and most senators). Some (the "moderates" and Adolfo Urso) long continued to consider themselves as part of the PdL, while others (the "radicals" and Menia) wanted FLI to be autonomous from the PdL. Shortly before launching the new party, Fini sided with the "radicals" and criticized the "moderates". Many "moderates", most of the former Christian Democrats and even "radical" Barbareschi left the party along the way.
Second, while some Finiani (Bocchino, Granata, etc.) see FLI as the embryo of a modern and innovative right-wing, others (Menia, Urso, etc.) have joined FLI in order to re-create the political community of the late MSI. In this sense the word "future" in the party's name is a reference to futurism
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
, which was a cultural inspiration for Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
.
Both progressive and reactionary forces thus hail from FLI, but almost none identifies with the political centre
Centrism
In 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...
.
Third, on the economy, the predominant strain in FLI is highly influenced by dirigisme
Dirigisme
Dirigisme is an economy in which the government exerts strong directive influence. While the term has occasionally been applied to centrally planned economies, where the state effectively controls both production and allocation of resources , it originally had neither of these meanings when...
, statism
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...
, corporatism
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
and centralism (all well represented in the ideology of the former MSI). Salvatore Merlo writes that "though Fini would never admit it [...] many of the positions adopted by him today derive from a certain thread in fascist culture" and The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
remarks that "many of Mr Fini's fellow-rebels originated in the social wing of neo-fascism, whose anti-capitalist adherents embraced such ideas as feminism and environmentalism as long ago as the 1970s", that is why FLI "has perhaps the oddest pedigree of any progressive group on the European right". However FLI includes also some uncompromising libertarians
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...
such as Benedetto Della Vedova and his Libertiamo
Libertiamo
Libertiamo is a libertarian association within Future and Freedom , a political party in Italy.The group is the continuation of the Liberal Reformers , an associate party of Forza Italia, formed in 2007 by Benedetto Della Vedova, a former President of the Italian Radicals who disagreed with the...
foundation. Moreover some Finiani, notably including Mario Baldassarri, propose to lower taxes and to slow down the introduction of fiscal federalism instead.
Fourth, on ethical issues, which caused some of the main strifes between Fini and the majority of the PdL and of the former AN, some FLI members such as Della Vedova are pushing for a progressive commitment aimed at the introduction of civil unions and the liberalisation of artificial insemination, while others do not consider those issues a priority (Urso) or oppose any departure from the traditional 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...
of MSI/AN (Ronchi).
Leadership
- President: Gianfranco FiniGianfranco FiniGianfranco 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...
(2011–present) - Vice President: Italo BocchinoItalo BocchinoItalo Bocchino is an Italian politician and journalist.-Biography:Bocchino was born at Naples, and in his youth he was a members of the Italian Social Movement and worked as a spokesman for the member of parliament Giuseppe Tatarella, and subsequently as a journalist for Il Secolo d'Italia.In...
(2011–present)- Coordinator: Adolfo Urso (2010–2011), Roberto Menia (2011–present)
- Spokesperson: Silvano Moffa (2010), 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...
(2010–2011)
- President of the National Assembly: Andrea RonchiAndrea RonchiAndrea Ronchi is an Italian politician, former Italian Minister of Community Policy.-Biography:Andrea Ronchi was born in Perugia, Umbria. He graduated in political science and worked as a journalist. He was a founding member of the National Alliance party.In 2001, he joined the House of...
(2011), Salvatore TatarellaSalvatore TatarellaSalvatore Tatarella is an Italian politician andMember of the European Parliamentfor Southern electoral districtwith People of Freedom , part of the Group of the European People's Party and...
(2011–present)
- 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...
: Italo BocchinoItalo BocchinoItalo Bocchino is an Italian politician and journalist.-Biography:Bocchino was born at Naples, and in his youth he was a members of the Italian Social Movement and worked as a spokesman for the member of parliament Giuseppe Tatarella, and subsequently as a journalist for Il Secolo d'Italia.In...
(2010–2011), 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...
(2011–present) - 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...
: Pasquale Viespoli (2010–2011), Candido De Angelis (2011–present) - 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...
: Cristiana MuscardiniCristiana MuscardiniCristiana Muscardini is an Italian politician andMember of the European Parliamentfor North-Westwith People of Freedom ,...
(2010–present)