Lega Nord Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Encyclopedia
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
political party in Italy which is the regional section of Lega Nord in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...
.
The party, who is led by Pietro Fontanini since 2008, is represented in the institutions by two deputies (Fulvio Follegot and Massimiliano Fedriga), one senator (Mario Pittoni) and eight regional deputies. Pietro Fontanini is the President of the Province of Udine
Province of Udine
The Province of Udine is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Its capital is the city of Udine....
, while Edouard Ballaman is the President of the Regional Council.
History
The party was founded in 1990 as Lega Friuli by leading members of the Friuli MovementFriuli Movement
Friuli Movement is a regionalist political party active in Friuli, Italy since 1966.The party is currently active, but has lost importance...
, including Roberto Visentin, Pietro Fontanini, Rinaldo Bosco, Sergio Cecotti and Alessandra Guerra. After that the Fiuli Movement decided not join Lega Nord, they formed Lega Friuli in order to join. Visentin was the longstanding leader of the party until 1999.
In its golden age the party controlled the posts of President or Vice President of the Region (1993–2003), President of the Province of Pordenone
Province of Pordenone
The Province of Pordenone is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pordenone. The territory was carved out of the Province of Udine in 1968....
(1995–1999), President of the Province of Udine
Province of Udine
The Province of Udine is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Its capital is the city of Udine....
(1995–1999), Mayor of Pordenone
Pordenone
Pordenone is a comune of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.The name comes from the Latin "Portus Naonis" meaning the port on the river Noncello - History :...
(1993–2001) and Mayor of Udine
Udine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...
(1998–2003). In the 1993 regional election
Friuli-Venezia Giulia regional election, 1993
The Friuli-Venezia Giulia regional election of 1993 took place on 6 June 1993.Lega Nord Friuli-Venezia Giulia, at its first appearance in a regional election, became the largest party with 26.7%, while Christian Democracy, which had governed the Region since 1964, came second with 22.3%...
(26.7%) and the 1996 general election
Italian 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...
(23.2%) Lega Nord Friuli was the largest party in the Region.
In 2001 Lega Nord Friuli was merged with Lega Nord Trieste
Lega Nord Trieste
Lega Nord Trieste was a regionalist political party in Italy. It was the provincial section of Lega Nord in the Province of Trieste, before merging into Lega Nord Friuli-Venezia Giulia in 2001....
to form a united regional section. After the end of the leadership of Visentin and the merger with Lega Nord Trieste, the party suffered many splits and a strong decline in term of votes, especially if compared to neighbouring Liga Veneta
Liga Veneta
Liga Veneta is a regionalist political party based in Veneto, combining Venetism and fiscal federalism. Liga Veneta is by far the largest party in Veneto and the party of Luca Zaia, President of Veneto since March 2010.It was the first party of its kind in Northern Italy, predating Umberto...
.
In the 2003 regional election
Friuli-Venezia Giulia regional election, 2003
The Friuli-Venezia Giulia regional election of 2003 took place on 8 June 2003.Riccardo Illy, a centre-left independent, who had been Mayor of Trieste, defeated Alessandra Guerra, leading member of Lega Nord Friuli-Venezia Giulia.-Results:Source:...
Alessandra Guerra was candidate for President of 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...
coalition. She was defeated by Riccardo Illy
Riccardo Illy
-Biography:Riccardo Illy was born in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. His name shows Hungarian origins.As a young man he worked as a skiing instructor at Piancavallo and a sailing instructor at Monfalcone. He married Rossana Bettini, food and wine journalist, when he was very young...
and the party gained only 9.3% of the vote. Between 2001 and 2007 Visentin, Bosco, Cecotti, Fontanini, Guerra, Giuseppe Zoppolato (secretary from 2000 to 2003) and Marco Pottino (secretary from 2005 to 2007) left or were expelled in party struggles. Guerra joined the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
in 2009.
In 2008 Fontanini, who had been re-integrated into the party shortly before, was elected President of the Province of Udine
Province of Udine
The Province of Udine is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Its capital is the city of Udine....
and shortly after secretary of Lega Nord Friuli. This represented a sort of return to normality for the party, which won 13.0% of the vote in the 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...
. In the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009 (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
The European Parliament election of 2009 took place on 6-7 June 2009.The People of Freedom was largest party in Friuli-Venezia Giulia with 31.8%, followed by the Democratic Party and Lega Nord .-Results:Source:...
the party won 17.5% of the vote.
Popular support
In the past ten years Lega Nord suffered big lossess in term of votes. Anyway, the strongholds of the party remain in FriuliFriuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
, the western part of the region: in the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009 (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
The European Parliament election of 2009 took place on 6-7 June 2009.The People of Freedom was largest party in Friuli-Venezia Giulia with 31.8%, followed by the Democratic Party and Lega Nord .-Results:Source:...
it won 24.3% in the Province of Pordenone
Province of Pordenone
The Province of Pordenone is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pordenone. The territory was carved out of the Province of Udine in 1968....
and 19.0% in Udine
Province of Udine
The Province of Udine is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Its capital is the city of Udine....
.
The electoral results of Lega Nord in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...
are shown in the table below.
| 1992 general | 1993 regional | 1994 general | 1996 general | 1998 regional | 1999 European | 2001 general | 2003 regional | 2004 European | 2006 general | 2008 general | 2009 European |
| 15.3 | 26.7 | 16.9 | 23.2 | 17.3 | 10.1 | 8.2 | 9.3 | 8.5 | 7.2 | 13.0 | 17.5 |
Leadership
- National Secretary: Roberto Visentin (1990–1999), Edouard Ballaman (1999–2000), Giuseppe Zoppolato (2000–2003), Fulvio Follegot (2003–2005), Marco Pottino (2005–2007), Pietro Fontanini (2008–present)
- National President: Rinaldo Bosco (1991–2003), Alessandra Guerra (2005–2008), Enzo Bortolotti (2008–present)