Sardinian Reformers
Encyclopedia
The Sardinian Reformers (Riformatori Sardi, RS) is a liberal
and Christian-democratic
political party in Sardinia based in Sardinia
and led by Massimo Fantola.
The party is a keen supporter of the free market
, competition
, globalization
and two-party system
, but, although they are part of the centre-right coalition around The People of Freedom
, it differs from it on some key issues, such as the "relations between power and institutions", the judicial system and information.
. This list was launched by Mario Segni
, a former Christian Democrat
from Sardinia, and was composed basically of disgruntled Christian Democrats and Liberals
. When the Patto Segni entered in the center-left coalition for the 1996 general election
(through Italian Renewal
, the Sardinian Reformers gained some independence from the mother-party, and when at the 1999 European Parliament election
Mario Segni formed a joint-list with National Alliance
, they seemed to be closer to Forza Italia
.
Led by Michele Cossa and Massimo Fantola, the RS were part of the centre-right in Sardinia since 1999 and, at the 2001 general election
, Cossa was elected deputy in a single-seat constituency in Cagliari
for the House of Freedoms
coalition.
During the years in government of Silvio Berlusconi
(2001–2006), the RS started to be critical of the centre-right. In 2003 they contributed to the foundation of the new national party of Mario Segni named Pact of Liberal Democrats
. This party was on the ballot at the 2004 European Parliament election
and won only a misere 0.5% (7.4% in Sardinia). In the same year RS won 5.9% of the vote at the regional election
, having 4 Reformers elected to the Regional Council.
For the 2006 general election
, the Sardinian Reformers signed a pact with the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC), at the time member of the House of Freedoms. Massimo Fantola was elected Senator in UDC list, while Michele Cossa, candidate for the Chamber of Deputies, failed to be elected. For the 2008 general election
they tried to form an alliance with The People of Freedom
, but talks failed.
At the 2009 regional election
the party was part of the centre-right coalition in support of Ugo Cappellacci, who was elected President. The RS won 6.8% of the vote (having their strongholds in the Provinces of Oristano
and Olbia-Tempio
, where they gained 10.0 and 8.7%, respectively) and five regional deputies (including Michele Cossa) plus one (Franco Meloni, a former leading member of the Sardinian Action Party
) elected in Cappellacci's regional list.
At the 2010 provincial elections the party was strongest in Oristano
(9.0%), Olbia-Tempio
(8.9%) and Cagliari
(7.3%). In 2011 Fantola was the centre-right candidate for Mayor of Cagliari, but he was severely defeated by his left-wing opponent.
since 1994 are shown in the table below.
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 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...
political party in Sardinia based in Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
and led by Massimo Fantola.
The party is a keen supporter of the free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
, competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
, globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and two-party system
Two-party system
A two-party system is a system where two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all elections at every level of government and, as a result, all or nearly all elected offices are members of one of the two major parties...
, but, although they are part of the centre-right coalition around 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....
, it differs from it on some key issues, such as the "relations between power and institutions", the judicial system and information.
History
The party emerged in 1993 as the Sardinian section of the Patto SegniPatto Segni
Patto Segni was a Christian-democratic and liberal political party in Italy, named after Mario Segni.-History:The party was founded in 1993 as a split from Democratic Alliance and as the continuation of the Populars for the Reform, a split from Christian Democracy in 1992, whose principal aim was...
. This list was launched by Mario Segni
Mario Segni
Mariotto Segni, more often known as Mario, is an Italian politician, son of Antonio Segni, one time President of the Republic of Italy....
, 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 ....
from Sardinia, and was composed basically of disgruntled Christian Democrats and 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...
. When the Patto Segni entered in the center-left coalition for 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...
(through Italian Renewal
Italian Renewal
The Italian Renewal was a liberal-centrist political party in Italy.It was founded in 1996 by Lamberto Dini along with some former Liberals, Socialists, Christian Democrats, Republicans and Social Democrats...
, the Sardinian Reformers gained some independence from the mother-party, and when at the 1999 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 1999
The European Parliament Election, 1999 was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and Luxembourg, where voting is compulsory and where...
Mario Segni formed a joint-list with 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...
, they seemed to be closer to 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....
.
Led by Michele Cossa and Massimo Fantola, the RS were part of the centre-right in Sardinia since 1999 and, at the 2001 general election
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....
, Cossa was elected deputy in a single-seat constituency in Cagliari
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
for 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.
During the years in government 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...
(2001–2006), the RS started to be critical of the centre-right. In 2003 they contributed to the foundation of the new national party of Mario Segni named Pact of Liberal Democrats
Pact of Liberal Democrats
The Pact of Liberal Democrats is a liberal and Christian-democratic Italian political party.It was conceived in 2003 by Mario Segni, Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini and Michele Cossa , as a centrist party alternative to the centre-left...
. This party was on the ballot at the 2004 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2004 (Italy)
Elections to the European Parliament were held in Italy on 12 and 13 June 2004. Italy's highly fragmented party system made it hard to identify an overall trend, but the results were generally seen as a defeat for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and a victory for the centre-left opposition...
and won only a misere 0.5% (7.4% in Sardinia). In the same year RS won 5.9% of the vote at the regional election
Sardinian regional election, 2004
The Sardinian regional election of 2004 took place on 12 -13 June 2004.The election had two main competitors: Mauro Pili for the centre-right and Renato Soru for the centre-left. Soru won easily over Pili, who had been President of the Region from 2001 to 2003...
, having 4 Reformers elected to the Regional Council.
For the 2006 general election
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 Sardinian Reformers signed a pact with the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC), at the time member of the House of Freedoms. Massimo Fantola was elected Senator in UDC list, while Michele Cossa, candidate for the Chamber of Deputies, failed to be elected. For 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...
they tried to form an alliance with 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....
, but talks failed.
At the 2009 regional election
Sardinian regional election, 2009
The Sardinian regional election of 2009 took place on 15-16 February 2009.Ugo Cappellacci, the centre-right candidate, defeated Renato Soru, the centre-left incumbent President, by a large margin and The People of Freedom was by far the largest party...
the party was part of the centre-right coalition in support of Ugo Cappellacci, who was elected President. The RS won 6.8% of the vote (having their strongholds in the Provinces of Oristano
Province of Oristano
Oristano is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia in Italy. Its capital is the city of Oristano.It has an area of 3,040 km², and a total population of 167,971 . There are 88 municipalities in the province ). As of June 2005, the main communes by population are:-Politics:-External...
and Olbia-Tempio
Province of Olbia-Tempio
Olbia-Tempio is the name of a province in the autonomous region of Sardinia, Italy.The territory includes the historical region of Gallura , the northeastern coast of Sardinia , and the island of La Maddalena ....
, where they gained 10.0 and 8.7%, respectively) and five regional deputies (including Michele Cossa) plus one (Franco Meloni, a former leading member of the Sardinian Action Party
Sardinian Action Party
The Sardinian Action Party is a regionalist social-democratic political party in Sardinia, which has recently sided with The People of Freedom, the largest centre-right party in Italy.-History:...
) elected in Cappellacci's regional list.
At the 2010 provincial elections the party was strongest in Oristano
Province of Oristano
Oristano is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia in Italy. Its capital is the city of Oristano.It has an area of 3,040 km², and a total population of 167,971 . There are 88 municipalities in the province ). As of June 2005, the main communes by population are:-Politics:-External...
(9.0%), Olbia-Tempio
Province of Olbia-Tempio
Olbia-Tempio is the name of a province in the autonomous region of Sardinia, Italy.The territory includes the historical region of Gallura , the northeastern coast of Sardinia , and the island of La Maddalena ....
(8.9%) and Cagliari
Province of Cagliari
Cagliari is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia in Italy. Its capital is the city of Cagliari.It has an area of 4,470 km², and a total population of 543,310 . There are 71 comuni in the province....
(7.3%). In 2011 Fantola was the centre-right candidate for Mayor of Cagliari, but he was severely defeated by his left-wing opponent.
Popular support
The electoral results of the RS in SardiniaSardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
since 1994 are shown in the table below.
| 1994 general | 1994 European | 1994 regional | 1996 general | 1999 European | 1999 regional | 2001 general | 2004 European | 2004 regional | 2006 general | 2008 general | 2009 regional |
| 17.4 | 15.0 | 9.2 | |||||||||
| 4.4 | |||||||||||
| 7.4 | |||||||||||
| 6.0 | |||||||||||
| 6.8 | |||||||||||