Act to Stop the Decline ( it, Fare per Fermare il Declino, Fare or FFD) was a
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
political party in Italy
This article contains a list of political parties in Italy since Italian unification in 1861.
Throughout history, numerous political parties have been operating in Italy, and since World War II no party has ever gained enough support to govern ...
, founded in 2012 as Stop the Decline (''Fermare il Declino'', FiD).
Oscar Giannino
Oscar Fulvio Giannino (born 1 September 1961) is an Italian journalist and politician: he is the former president of the free-market oriented party Act to Stop the Decline.
He was born in Turin, the capital city of Piedmont, Italy. He soon star ...
and
Michele Boldrin
Michele Boldrin (; 20 August 1956) is an Italian-born economist, academic and former politician expert in economic growth, business cycles, technological progress and intellectual property. He is the Joseph Gibson Hoyt Distinguished Professor i ...
have been its main leaders.
History
FFD was launched in July 2012 as a spinoff of a cultural movement, "Fermare il Declino" initiated by a group of seven economists with an open letter published in Italy's major newspapers:
Oscar Giannino
Oscar Fulvio Giannino (born 1 September 1961) is an Italian journalist and politician: he is the former president of the free-market oriented party Act to Stop the Decline.
He was born in Turin, the capital city of Piedmont, Italy. He soon star ...
,
Michele Boldrin
Michele Boldrin (; 20 August 1956) is an Italian-born economist, academic and former politician expert in economic growth, business cycles, technological progress and intellectual property. He is the Joseph Gibson Hoyt Distinguished Professor i ...
,
Sandro Brusco,
Alessandro De Nicola,
Andrea Moro,
Carlo Stagnaro and
Luigi Zingales
Luigi Zingales (; born 8 February 1963 in Padua, Italy) is a finance professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of two widely-reviewed books. His book '' Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists'' (2003) is a stu ...
. The manifesto of the association was signed by 240 personalities and, as of May 2013, had attracted more than 70,000 signatures.
The core goals of FFD included the reduction of the national debt by 20% of GDP in 5 years, the reduction of the public expenditure by at least 6% of GDP in 5 years, the reduction of the tax burden on citizens by at least 5% in 5 years, the introduction of a serious
federalism
Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...
, university reform,
liberalization
Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...
s and
privatization
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
s.
On 8 December 2012 it was announced that the association would run an electoral list in the
2013 general election. In the election, held in February 2013, the party obtained 1.2%, returning no seats. Luigi Zingales left the party that same month.
FFD contested the
2014 European election within the
European Choice
European Choice ( it, Scelta Europea, SE) was a pro-European and primarily liberal electoral alliance of political parties in Italy formed to contest the 2014 European election on a platform influenced heavily by the Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstad ...
(SE) electoral list alongside
Civic Choice
Civic Choice ( it, Scelta Civica; SC) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy founded by Mario Monti. The party was formed in the run-up of the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Monti and continue his polit ...
,
Democratic Centre and other minor parties. The list received just 0.7% of the vote and failed to elect any
MEPs. Boldrin publicly expressed his regret about the decision to take part in SE and criticized its coalition partners and
Guy Verhofstadt
Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who was the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from 2009 to 2019, and has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium ...
.
The party has since been almost inactive and lost media attention and notability. In late 2015 the official website was no longer active.
Electoral results
Italian Parliament
European Parliament
Leadership
*President/Coordinator:
Oscar Giannino
Oscar Fulvio Giannino (born 1 September 1961) is an Italian journalist and politician: he is the former president of the free-market oriented party Act to Stop the Decline.
He was born in Turin, the capital city of Piedmont, Italy. He soon star ...
(2012–2013),
Silvia Enrico (acting, 2013),
Michele Boldrin
Michele Boldrin (; 20 August 1956) is an Italian-born economist, academic and former politician expert in economic growth, business cycles, technological progress and intellectual property. He is the Joseph Gibson Hoyt Distinguished Professor i ...
(2013–2014)
*President of the National Assembly:
Santo Versace
Santo Domenico Versace (; born 16 December 1944) is an Italian businessman and politician who is the president and co-chief executive officer of Gianni Versace SpA, based in Milan, Italy. Since 2008 he has been elected as Member of the Chambe ...
(2014)
References
External links
Official website
{{Historical Italian political parties
Political associations of Italy
Libertarianism in Italy
2012 establishments in Italy
Classical liberal parties
Defunct political parties in Italy
Political parties established in 2012
Liberal parties in Italy