Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party
Encyclopedia
The Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party is a regionalist
Christian-democratic
Italian political party based in Trentino.
(PPTT). In 1982 a split between the conservative wing, led by Franco Tretter, and the centrist wing of the party, led by longstanding leader Enrico Pruner, occurred. The first group retained the name of the party but then changed it to Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Union
(UATT), while second one took the name of Integral Autonomy
. In 1988 the two groups were re-united and formed the PATT.
the party had its best result ever (20.2%), thanks to the crisis of Christian Democracy
(DC), and its leader Carlo Andreotti was President of the Province of Trento for the successive five years, at the head of a coalition composed of the PATT and the Italian People's Party, one of the successors of DC, and some minor parties.
In 1998
the party suffered a reatret to 12.4%, due to the big result of the newly formed Daisy Civic List
(22.2%), with which it entered in coalition. Despite this the PATT formed an alliance with the House of Freedoms
and especially Lega Nord Trentino
for the 2001 general election
, but Giacomo Bezzi was narrowly defeated in the single-seat-constituency of Lavis
.
In the 2003 provincial election, the PATT won 9.0%, down from 20.2% in 1993. Indeed in 2002, when it entered in alliance with the centre-left coalition (in Trentino dominated by the Daisy Civic List
, Civica), it suffered the split of those who wanted to continue to collaborate with the centre-right. These splinters, led by former leader and President of Trentino Carlo Andreotti, formed a much minor group called Autonomist Trentino
, closely tied with Forza Italia
, which scored 2.2%. In that occasion Andreotti was the candidate for President of the centre-right and he was soundly defeated (60.8% to 30.7%) by incumbent Lorenzo Dellai
(Civica).
In 2007 the Trentino Autonomists
, that were formed in 2000 by the merger of PATT splinter groups, merged into the PATT.
(SVP), the PATT was for the second time ever represented in the Chamber of Deputies
by its former secretary Giacomo Bezzi (PPTT had a Senator from 1972 to 1976, Sergio Fontanari).
In the 2008 general election
the PATT formed an alliance with Daisy Civic List and the SVP for the Senate
(Sergio Muraro, PATT, was the candidate in the single-seat constituency of Pergine Valsugana
), while for the Chamber of Deputies the PATT supported the SVP. Prior to the electoral campaign Giacomo Bezzi, who did not stay for re-election, announced that he was to vote for the centre-right in the election and that it was his intention to form a new regionalist party allied with Lega Nord Trentino
and The People of Freedom
. Also would-be Senator Muraro did not rule out the possibility of an alliance with the centre-right, if Silvio Berlusconi
would have become Prime Minister again.
In the general election the centre-left was for the first time defeated in Trentino and Sergio Muraro was not elected. This bad result brought the PATT into a bitter turmoil. Giacomo Bezzi finally left the party and formed the Popular Autonomists, along with two minor regionalist parties, Autonomist Trentino
and the Popular Autonomy Movement
. In the 2008 provincial election the new party supported Sergio Divina, Senator and leader of Lega Nord Trentino, as candidate for President, while the PATT chose to continue its alliance with the centre-left Democratic Party
and Lorenzo Dellai
's Union for Trentino
. Dellai was re-elected by a landslide and the PATT gained 8.5% of the vote and three provincial deputies. The PATT took part to the new government of Dellai with two provincial ministers, Ugo Rossi and Franco Panizza.
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
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...
Italian political party based in Trentino.
History
The party was founded in 1948 as Trentino Tyrolean People's PartyTrentino Tyrolean People's Party
The Trentino Tyrolean People's Party was a regionalist Christian-democratic Italian political party based in Trentino which was active from 1948 to 1992.-History:...
(PPTT). In 1982 a split between the conservative wing, led by Franco Tretter, and the centrist wing of the party, led by longstanding leader Enrico Pruner, occurred. The first group retained the name of the party but then changed it to Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Union
Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Union
The Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Union was a regionalist christian-democratic Italian political party based in Trentino which was active from 1982 to 1988.-History:...
(UATT), while second one took the name of Integral Autonomy
Integral Autonomy (1980s)
Integral Autonomy was a regionalist Christian-democratic Italian political party based in Trentino.-History:In 1982 the Trentino Tyrolean People's Party broke up: the more conservative wing formed the Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Union , while the more centrist Integral Autonomy, under the...
. In 1988 the two groups were re-united and formed the PATT.
Golden age
In the 1993 provincial electionTrentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regional election, 1993
The Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regional election of 1993 took place on 21 November 1993.The South Tyrolean People's Party and Christian Democracy resulted the two most voted parties at the regional level. However while thje SVP retained its outright majority in South Tyrol, the DC was the real...
the party had its best result ever (20.2%), thanks to the crisis of Christian Democracy
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), and its leader Carlo Andreotti was President of the Province of Trento for the successive five years, at the head of a coalition composed of the PATT and the Italian People's Party, one of the successors of DC, and some minor parties.
In 1998
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regional election, 1998
The Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regional election of 1998 took place on 22 November 1998.The South Tyrolean People's Party and the Daisy Civic List resulted the two most voted parties at the regional level. The SVP retained its outright majority in South Tyrol, while the Civica became the...
the party suffered a reatret to 12.4%, due to the big result of the newly formed Daisy Civic List
Daisy Civic List
The Daisy Civic List was a regionalist Christian-democratic and centrist Italian political party active in Trentino.-History:It was founded in 1998 by Lorenzo Dellai and other local politicians active in several centrist parties, both from the centre-left and the centre-right at the national...
(22.2%), with which it entered in coalition. Despite this the PATT formed an alliance with 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...
and especially Lega Nord Trentino
Lega Nord Trentino
Lega Nord Trentino is a regionalist political party in Italy which is the provincial section of Lega Nord in Trentino. The current national secretary is Maurizio Fugatti, deputy to the Italian Parliament...
for 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....
, but Giacomo Bezzi was narrowly defeated in the single-seat-constituency of Lavis
Lavis
Lavis is a comune in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 7 km north of Trento...
.
In the 2003 provincial election, the PATT won 9.0%, down from 20.2% in 1993. Indeed in 2002, when it entered in alliance with the centre-left coalition (in Trentino dominated by the Daisy Civic List
Daisy Civic List
The Daisy Civic List was a regionalist Christian-democratic and centrist Italian political party active in Trentino.-History:It was founded in 1998 by Lorenzo Dellai and other local politicians active in several centrist parties, both from the centre-left and the centre-right at the national...
, Civica), it suffered the split of those who wanted to continue to collaborate with the centre-right. These splinters, led by former leader and President of Trentino Carlo Andreotti, formed a much minor group called Autonomist Trentino
Autonomist Trentino
Autonomist Trentino is a regionalist Christian-democratic Italian political party based in Trentino.It was founded in 2002 by a split from the Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party of those members who contested the party new alliance with the centre-left-coalition...
, closely tied with 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....
, which scored 2.2%. In that occasion Andreotti was the candidate for President of the centre-right and he was soundly defeated (60.8% to 30.7%) by incumbent Lorenzo Dellai
Lorenzo Dellai
Lorenzo Dellai is an Italian politician, the governor of the province of Trentino and the President of the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol....
(Civica).
In 2007 the Trentino Autonomists
Trentino Autonomists
Trentino Autonomists , whose complete name was Trentino Autonomists – Gentians was a regionalist centrist Italian political party based in Trentino.-History:...
, that were formed in 2000 by the merger of PATT splinter groups, merged into the PATT.
Recent events
After the 2006 general election, thanks to an electoral pact with the South Tyrolean People's PartySouth 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...
(SVP), the PATT was for the second time ever represented in 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...
by its former secretary Giacomo Bezzi (PPTT had a Senator from 1972 to 1976, Sergio Fontanari).
In the 2008 general election
Italian general election, 2008 (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol)
The Italian general election of 2008 took place on 13 -14 April 2008.In the province of Trentino the centre-right came first thanks to the strong showing of Lega Nord, while in South Tyrol the South Tyrolean People's Party was confirmed as the largest party, but lost many votes to its right-wing...
the PATT formed an alliance with Daisy Civic List and the SVP 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...
(Sergio Muraro, PATT, was the candidate in the single-seat constituency of Pergine Valsugana
Pergine Valsugana
Pergine Valsugana is a comune in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 9 km east of Trento...
), while for the Chamber of Deputies the PATT supported the SVP. Prior to the electoral campaign Giacomo Bezzi, who did not stay for re-election, announced that he was to vote for the centre-right in the election and that it was his intention to form a new regionalist party allied with Lega Nord Trentino
Lega Nord Trentino
Lega Nord Trentino is a regionalist political party in Italy which is the provincial section of Lega Nord in Trentino. The current national secretary is Maurizio Fugatti, deputy to the Italian Parliament...
and 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....
. Also would-be Senator Muraro did not rule out the possibility of an alliance with the centre-right, if 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...
would have become Prime Minister again.
In the general election the centre-left was for the first time defeated in Trentino and Sergio Muraro was not elected. This bad result brought the PATT into a bitter turmoil. Giacomo Bezzi finally left the party and formed the Popular Autonomists, along with two minor regionalist parties, Autonomist Trentino
Autonomist Trentino
Autonomist Trentino is a regionalist Christian-democratic Italian political party based in Trentino.It was founded in 2002 by a split from the Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party of those members who contested the party new alliance with the centre-left-coalition...
and the Popular Autonomy Movement
Popular Autonomy Movement
The Popular Autonomy Movement is a tiny regionalist christian-democratic political party in the province of Trentino, Italy. It is led by Luciano Pilati, economist at the University of Trento, and Guido Calliari....
. In the 2008 provincial election the new party supported Sergio Divina, Senator and leader of Lega Nord Trentino, as candidate for President, while the PATT chose to continue its alliance with the centre-left 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....
and Lorenzo Dellai
Lorenzo Dellai
Lorenzo Dellai is an Italian politician, the governor of the province of Trentino and the President of the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol....
's Union for Trentino
Union for Trentino
The Union for Trentino is a regionalist centrist and Christian-democratic political party active in the province of Trentino, Italy. The party is currently led by Marco Tanas....
. Dellai was re-elected by a landslide and the PATT gained 8.5% of the vote and three provincial deputies. The PATT took part to the new government of Dellai with two provincial ministers, Ugo Rossi and Franco Panizza.
Popular support
The electoral results of the PATT in Trentino since 1992 are shown in the table below.| 1992 general | 1993 provinc. | 1994 general | 1994 European | 1996 general | 1998 provinc. | 1999 European | 2001 general | 2003 provinc. | 2004 European | 2006 general | 2008 general | 2008 provinc. | 2009 European |
| 5.7 | 20.2 | 18.6 | 11.3 | 15.4 | 12.4 | 2.9 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 8.5 | 6.1 |
Leadership
- Secretary: Carlo Andreotti (1988–1994), unknown (1994–2001), Giacomo Bezzi (2001–2005), Ugo Rossi (2005–present)
- President: Enrico Pruner (1988–1989), Franco Tretter (1988–1997), Carlo Andreotti (1997–1999), Luigi Panizza (1999–2003), Rudi Oss (2003–2005), Giacomo Bezzi (2005–2007), Walter Kaswalder (2007–present)
Sources
- "Autonomists in Trentino", an essay by Franco Panizza
- Provincial Council of Trento – Legislatures
- Trentino Alto-Adige Region – Elections
- Provincial Government of Trento – Elections
- Cattaneo Institute – Archive of Election Data
- Parties and Elections in Europe – Province of Trento
- Ministry of the Interior – Historical Archive of Elections