The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) 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 ...

and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

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 ...

. The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the

Historical Right The Right group ( it, Destra), later called Historical Right ( it, Destra storica) by historians to distinguish it from the right-wing groups of the 20th century, was an Italian conservative parliamentary group during the second half of the 19th c ...

and the

Historical Left The Left group ( it, Sinistra), later called Historical Left ( it, Sinistra storica) by historians to distinguish it from the left-wing groups of the 20th century, was a liberal and reformist parliamentary group in Italy during the second half of ...

, was a minor party after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but also a frequent junior party in government, especially since 1979. The party disintegrated in 1994 following the fallout of the

Tangentopoli ''Mani pulite'' (; Italian for "clean hands") was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the so-called " First Republic" and the disappearance of many Italian ...

corruption scandal, succeeded by several minor parties.

History

Origins

The origins of

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

in Italy are in the

, a parliamentary group formed by

Camillo Benso di Cavour Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (, 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour ( , ), was an Italian politician, businessman, economist and noble, and a leading figure in the movement t ...

in the Parliament of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

following the 1848 revolution. The group was moderately

and supported centralised government, restricted

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

regressive tax A regressive tax is a tax imposed in such a manner that the tax rate decreases as the amount subject to taxation increases. "Regressive" describes a distribution effect on income or expenditure, referring to the way the rate progresses from high t ...

ation, and

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

. They dominated politics following

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

in 1861 but never formed a party, basing their power on

census suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and a

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

system. The Right was opposed by its more progressive counterpart, the

, which overthrew

Marco Minghetti Marco Minghetti (18 November 1818 – 10 December 1886) was an Italian economist and statesman. Biography Minghetti was born at Bologna, then part of the Papal States. He signed the petition to the Papal conclave, 1846, urging the electio ...

's government during the so-called "Parliamentary Revolution" of 1876, which brought Agostino Depretis to become

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. However, Depretis immediately began to look for support among Rightists MPs, who readily changed their positions, in a context of widespread

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

. This phenomenon, known in Italian as ''

trasformismo ''Trasformismo'' is the method of making a flexible centrist coalition of government which isolated the extremes of the political left and the political right in Italian politics after the Italian unification and before the rise of Benito Mussoli ...

'' (roughly translatable in English as "transformism" — in a satirical newspaper, the PM was depicted as a

chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ...

), effectively removed political differences in Parliament, which was dominated by an undistinguished liberal bloc with a landslide majority until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Two parliamentary factions alternated in government, one led by

Sidney Sonnino Sidney Costantino, Baron Sonnino (11 March 1847 – 24 November 1922) was an Italian statesman, 19th prime minister of Italy and twice served briefly as one, in 1906 and again from 1909 to 1910. In 1901, he founded a new major newspaper, ''Il Gior ...

and the other, by far the largest of the two, by

Giovanni Giolitti Giovanni Giolitti (; 27 October 1842 – 17 July 1928) was an Italian statesman. He was the Prime Minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921. After Benito Mussolini, he is the second-longest serving Prime Minister in Italian history. A pr ...

. The latter was known as Liberal Union since 1913 and was finally also re-joined by Sonnino. At that time the Liberals governed in alliance with the Radicals, the Democrats and, eventually, the Reformist Socialists.

The brief party

At the end of World War I,

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

and

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

were introduced. These reforms caused big problems to the Liberals, which found themselves unable to stop the rise of two mass parties, the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...

(PSI) and the Italian People's Party (PPI), which had taken the control of many local authorities in

northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

even before the war. The

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

PPI opposed the PSI, but also the Liberals and, generally, the Right, under the consequences of the

capture of Rome The Capture of Rome ( it, Presa di Roma) on 20 September 1870 was the final event of the unification of Italy (''Risorgimento''), marking both the final defeat of the Papal States under Pope Pius IX and the unification of the Italian Peninsula ...

and the struggles between the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

and the Italian state which the Liberals had ruled for more than fifty years. The Parliament was thus divided in three different blocks with huge instability, while the Socialists and the rising

Fascists Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and th ...

instigators of political violence on opposite sides. In this chaotic situation, the Liberals founded the Italian Liberal Party (PLI) in 1922, which immediately joined an alliance led by Fascists and formed with them a joint list for the 1924 general election, transforming the Fascists from a small political force into an absolute-majority party. The PLI was banned by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

in 1926, while many old Liberal politicians were given prestigious, but not influential, political posts, such as seats in the Senate, which was stripped of any real power by Fascist reforms.

Post World War II

The PLI was re-founded in 1943 by

Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce (; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician, who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography and aesthetics. In most regards, Croce was a lib ...

, a prominent intellectual and senator whose international recognition and parliamentary membership allowed him to remain a free man during the

Fascist regime Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, despite being an

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

himself. After the end of

Enrico De Nicola Enrico De Nicola, (; 9 November 1877 – 1 October 1959) was an Italian jurist, journalist, politician, and provisional head of state of 1946 Italian constitutional referendum, republican Italy from 1946 to 1948. Afterwards, he became the firs ...

, a Liberal, became "Provisional Head of State" and another one,

Luigi Einaudi Luigi Numa Lorenzo Einaudi (; 24 March 1874 – 30 October 1961) was an Italian politician and economist. He served as the president of Italy from 1948 to 1955. Early life Einaudi was born to Lorenzo and Placida Fracchia in Carrù, in the prov ...

, who as Minister of Economy and Governor of the

Bank of Italy The Bank of Italy (Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', informally referred to as ''Bankitalia''), (), is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, via Nazionale, Rome. The bank's curre ...

between 1945 and 1948 had reshaped Italian economy, succeeded him as

President of Italy The president of Italy, officially denoted as president of the Italian Republic ( it, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana) is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian poli ...

. In the 1946 general election the PLI, contesting the vote as part of the National Democratic Union, won 6.8% of the vote, which was somewhat below expectations. Indeed, the party was supported by all the survivors of the Italian political class before the rise of Fascism, from

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (19 May 1860 – 1 December 1952) was an Italian statesman, who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from October 1917 to June 1919. Orlando is best known for representing Italy in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference with h ...

Francesco Saverio Nitti Francesco Saverio Vincenzo de Paolo Nitti (19 July 1868 – 20 February 1953) was an Italian economist and political figure. A Radical, he served as Prime Minister of Italy between 1919 and 1920. According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (" ...

. In the first years, the party was led by Leone Cattani, member of the internal left, and then by Roberto Lucifero, a

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

-conservative. This fact caused the exit of the group of Cattani and Bruno Villabruna, a moderate, was elected secretary in 1948 in order to re-unite all the Liberals under a single banner.

Giovanni Malagodi

Under the leadership of

Giovanni Malagodi Giovanni Francesco Malagodi (12 October 1904 – 17 April 1991) was an Italian liberal politician, secretary of the Italian Liberal Party (''Partito Liberale Italiano''; PLI), and president of the Italian Senate. He was the third and sixth Pre ...

(1954–1972) the party moved further to the right on economic issues. This caused in 1956 the exit of the party's left-wing, including Bruno Villabruna,

Eugenio Scalfari Eugenio Scalfari (; 6 April 1924 – 14 July 2022) was an Italian journalist. He was editor of the news magazine ''L'Espresso'' (1963–1968), a member of parliament in the Chamber of Deputies (1968–1972), and co-founder of the newspaper ''La ...

and

Marco Pannella Marco Pannella (born Giacinto Pannella; 2 May 1930 – 19 May 2016) was an Italian politician, journalist and activist. He was well known in his country for his nonviolence and civil rights' campaigns, like the right to divorce, the right to ab ...

, who founded the Radical Party. In particular, the PLI opposed the new centre-left coalition which also included the

, and presented itself as the main

party in Italy. Malagodi managed to draw some votes from the

Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement ( it, Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national ...

, the

Monarchist National Party The Monarchist National Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Monarchico, PNM) was a political party in Italy founded in 1946, uniting conservatives, liberal conservatives and nationalists. It was a right-wing competitor to Christian Democracy and was esp ...

and especially

Christian Democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

, whose electoral base was also composed of conservatives suspicious of the Socialists, increasing the party's share to a historical record of 7.0% in the 1963 general election. After Malagodi's resignation from the party's leadership, the PLI was defeated with a humiliating 1.3% in the 1976 election, but tried to re-gain strength by supporting social reforms such as

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

The ''Pentapartito''

After

Valerio Zanone Valerio Zanone (22 January 1936 – 7 January 2016) was an Italian politician, who was formerly secretary and president of the Italian Liberal Party (''Partito Liberale Italiano''; PLI). He was also a senator for the Democratic Party (Italy), Demo ...

took over as party secretary in 1976, the PLI adopted a more

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...

and, to some extent,

social-liberal Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

approach. The new secretary opened to the

Socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

, hoping to put in action a sort of Lib–Lab cooperation, similar to that experimented in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

from 1977 to 1979 between the Labour Party and the Liberals. In 1983 the PLI finally joined the ''

pentapartito The Pentapartito (from Greek , "five", and Italian , "party"), commonly shortened to CAF (from the initials of Craxi, Andreotti and Forlani), refers to the coalition government of five Italian political parties that formed between June 1981 an ...

'' coalition composed also of the

(DC), the

(PSI), the

Italian Democratic Socialist Party The Italian Democratic Socialist Party (, PSDI), also known as Italian Social Democratic Party, was a minor social-democratic political party in Italy. The longest serving partner in government for Christian Democracy, the PSDI had been an im ...

(PSDI) and the

Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party ( it, Partito Repubblicano Italiano, PRI) is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Italy. Founded in 1895, the PRI is the oldest political party still active in Italy. The PRI has old roots and a long histo ...

(PRI). In the 1980s the party was led by

Renato Altissimo Renato Altissimo (4 October 1940 – 17 April 2015) was an Italian politician and minister. Biography He was born in Portogruaro, near Venice. Altissimo was a member of the Italian Liberal Party (''Partito Liberale Italiano''; PLI), a small p ...

and

Alfredo Biondi Alfredo Biondi (29 June 1928 – 24 June 2020) was an Italian politician and lawyer. In 1994 he served as Minister of Justice of the Italian Republic during the first cabinet chaired by Silvio Berlusconi. Biography Born in Pisa, Biondi was Secr ...

. With the uncovering of the

system nicknamed ''Tangentopoli'' by the ''

Mani pulite ''Mani pulite'' (; Italian for "clean hands") was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the so-called " First Republic" and the disappearance of many Italian ...

'' investigation, many government parties experienced a rapid loss of their support. In the first months the PLI seemed immune to investigation. However, as the investigations further unraveled, the party turned out to be part of the corruption scheme.

Francesco De Lorenzo Francesco De Lorenzo (born June 5, 1938 in Naples) is a physician and politician, member of the Italian Liberal Party. He was born in Naples. He was minister of health (1989–1993) in the Government of Italy. He served in the cabinet of Prime M ...

, the Liberal

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

, was one of the most loathed politicians in Italy for his corruption, that involved stealing funds from the sick, and allowing commercialisation of medicines based on bribes.

Dissolution and diaspora

The party was disbanded on 6 February 1994 and at least four heirs tried to take its legacy: *the

Federation of Liberals The Federation of Liberals ( it, Federazione dei Liberali, FdL) was a minor liberal political party in Italy. The party was founded on 6 February 1994 as the legal successor of the Italian Liberal Party (PLI): Alfredo Biondi, incumbent presiden ...

(FdL), led by

Raffaello Morelli Raffaello, Raffaele or Raffaellino is an Italian given name. It usually refers to Raphael (a.k.a. Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. Raffaello may also refer to: * Raffaello (confection), a confe ...

and

, the official successor party, first joined the

Patto Segni The Segni Pact ( it, Patto Segni), officially called Pact of National Rebirth (''Patto di Rinascita Nazionale''), was a Christian-democratic, centrist and liberal political party in Italy. The party was founded and named after Mario Segni, a forme ...

, then The Olive Tree; *the Union of the Centre (UdC), led by

Raffaele Costa Raffaele Costa (born 8 September 1936 in Mondovì) is an Italian politician. He was the President of the Province of Cuneo, from June 2004 to June 2009. He was previously a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies representing the Italian Libe ...

and

Enrico Nan Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from ''Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Henri (French), Enr ...

, was an associate party of

Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...

(FI) and was merged into it in 1998 (other Liberals, including

Antonio Martino Antonio Martino (22 December 1942 – 5 March 2022) was an Italian politician, who was the minister of foreign affairs in 1994 and minister of defense from 2001 to 2006. He was a founding member of Forza Italia. Life and career Born in Mess ...

, Giuliano Urbani,

Giancarlo Galan Giancarlo Galan (born 10 September 1956 in Padua) is an Italian politician. Political career After having been an activist of the Italian Liberal Party in the 1970s and the 1980s, he was not active in politics until he joined Forza Italia sin ...

and

Paolo Romani Paolo Romani (born 18 September 1947) is an Italian politician, publisher, journalist and former minister of economic development. Early life Romani was born in Milan on 18 September 1947. He has a high school diploma. Career Romani worked as ...

, directly joined FI); *the

Liberal Left The Liberal Left (''Sinistra Liberale'', SL) was a minor liberal faction within the Democrats of the Left, an Italian political party. It was formed basically by former left-wingers of the Italian Liberal Party. Its leaders include Gianfranco P ...

(SL) of

Gianfranco Passalacqua Gianfranco is a compound Italian given name, consisting of Gian- and Franco. ''Gian-'' comes from Giovanni and is used in compound names. It is closest to John or French Jean. Gianni means "God is gracious" and Franco means "Free man" or "Frenchman ...

, representing the party's left-wingers, was finally merged into the

Democrats of the Left The Democrats of the Left ( it, Democratici di Sinistra, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy. The DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger of th ...

in 2006; *the

Italian Liberal Right The Italian Liberal Right ( it, Destra Liberale Italiana, DLI) or, simply, Liberal Right, is a minor conservative-liberal political party in Italy. History The party was founded in 1994 by members of the right-wing of the Italian Liberal Party ...

(DLI), led by

Gabriele Pagliuzzi Gabriele is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Surname *Al Gabriele, American comic book artist *Angel Gabriele (1956–2016), American comic book artist * Corrado Gabriele (born 1966), Italian polit ...

and

Giuseppe Basini Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giusep ...

, joined National Alliance (AN). In a few years after 1994, most Liberals migrated to FI, while others joined the

centre-left coalition The centre-left coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-sinistra) is an political alliance, alliance of list of political parties in Italy, political parties in Italy active, under several forms and names, since 1995 when The Olive Tree (Italy), Th ...

, especially

Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy ( it, Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita, DL), commonly known simply as The Daisy (''La Margherita''), was a centrist political party in Italy. The party was formed from the merger of three parties within ...

(DL).

Re-foundation

The party was re-founded in 1997 by Stefano De Luca and re-took its original name in 2004. The new PLI gathered some of the former right-wing Liberals, but soon distanced itself from the

centre-right coalition The centre-right coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-destra) is an alliance of political parties in Italy, active—under several forms and names—since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed his Forza Italia party. Despite ...

, led by FI, in order to follow an autonomous path.

Popular support

Before World Wars the Liberals constituted the political establishment that governed Italy for decades. They had their main bases in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, where many leading liberal politicians of the

and the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

came from, and

southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

. The Liberals never gained large support after

as they were not able to become a mass party and were replaced by

(DC) as the dominant political force. In the 1946 general election, the first after the war, the PLI gained 6.8% as part of the National Democratic Union. At that time they were strong especially in the South, as DC was mainly rooted in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

: 21.0% in

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

, 22.8% in

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

, 10.4% in

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

, 12.8% in

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and 13.6% in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

.Piergiorgio Corbetta; Maria Serena Piretti, ''Atlante storico-elettorale d'Italia'', Zanichelli,

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

2009 However, the party soon found its main constituency in the industrial elites of the "industrial triangle" formed by

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. The PLI had its best results in the 1960s, when it was rewarded by conservative voters for their opposition to the participation of the

(PSI) in government. The party won 7.0% of the vote in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

(15.2% in Turin, 18.7% in Milan and 11.5% in Genoa) and 5.8%

. The PLI suffered a decline in the 1970s and settled around 2–3% in the 1980s, when its strongholds were reduced to Piedmont, especially the provinces of Torino and

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

, and, to a minor extent, western Lombardy, Liguria and Sicily. As the other parties of the ''

'' coalition (Christian Democrats,

, Republicans and

Democratic Socialists Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

), the Liberals strengthened their grip on the South, while in the North they lost some of their residual votes to

Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...

and its precursors. In the 1992 general election, the last before the ''

'' scandals, the PLI won 2.9% of the vote, largely thanks to the increase of votes from the South. After the end of the " First Republic" former Liberals were very influential within

(FI) in Piedmont, Liguria and, strangely enough, in

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

, where

was three times elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. The electoral results of the PLI in general (

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

) and

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

elections since 1913 are shown in the chart below.

Electoral results

Italian Parliament

European Parliament

Leadership

*Secretary: Alberto Giovannini (1922–1924), Quintino Piras (1924–1926),

Giovanni Cassandro Giovanni Cassandro (21 April 1913 - 10 October 1989) was an Italian Jurisprudence, Jurist by training, with a particular focus on Legal history. During the 1930s he worked as a :it:Archivio di Stato (Italia), government archivist, first in Ven ...

(1944),

Manlio Brosio Manlio Brosio (10 July 1897 – 14 March 1980) was an Italian lawyer, diplomat, politician and the fourth Secretary General of NATO between 1964 and 1971. Early life Brosio was born in Turin by Edoardo & Fortunata Curadelli, studied law in the ...

(1944–1945), Leone Cattani (1945–1946),

(1946–1947), Roberto Lucifero (1947–1948), Bruno Villabruna (1948–1954), Alessandro Leone di Tavagnasco (1954),

(1954–1972), Agostino Bignardi (1972–1976),

(1976–1985),

(1985–1986),

(1986–1993),

(1993–1994) *President:

Emilio Borzino Emilio may refer to: * Emilio Navaira, a Mexican-American singer often called "Emilio" * Emilio Piazza Memorial School, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State * Emilio (given name) * ''Emilio'' (film), a 2008 film by Kim Jorgensen See also * Emílio (dis ...

(1922–1925),

(1944–1947), Raffaele De Caro (1947–1961),

Gaetano Martino Gaetano Martino (25 November 1900 – 21 July 1967) was an Italian politician, physician, and university teacher. Early life and medicine Gaetano Martino was born in 1900 in Messina, Sicily, son of its Mayor Antonino Martino. He graduated in med ...

(1961–1967),

Vittorio Badini Confalonieri Vittorio Badini Confalonieri (14 March 1914 – 3 August 1993) was an Italian politician and lawyer. Confalonieri was born in Turin in 1914. He was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Italy in 1946 and subsequently to the Chamber of Deputies f ...

(1967–1972),

(1972–1976), Agostino Bignardi (1976–1979), Aldo Bozzi (1979–1987),

Salvatore Valitutti Salvatore Valitutti (1907–1992) was an educator and liberal politician who served as the minister of public education in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Francesco Cossiga in the period 1979–1980. He was one of the proponents of the Monte ...

(1988–1991),

(1991–1993),

(1993–1994) *Party Leader in the

(1946),

(1946–1947),

Epicarmo Corbino Epicarmo Corbino (1890–1984) was an Italian academic and economist who served briefly as the minister of industry and the minister of treasury in the 1940s. Biography Corbino was born in Augusta, Sicily, in 1890. He was the brother of Orso M ...

(1947–1948), Raffaele De Caro (1948–1961),

(1961–1971), Aldo Bozzi (1971–1987),

Paolo Battistuzzi Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian language, Italian form of the name Paul (name), Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art *Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter *Paolo Abbate (1 ...

(1987–1993), Savino Melillo (1993–1994)

Symbols

File:Liste 1924 - 02.svg, 1922-1926 File:Logo of the PLI (1944-1949).svg, 1944–1949 File:Logo of the PLI (1949-1979).svg, 1949–1979 File:Logo_of_PLI_(1979-1994).svg, 1979–1994

References

{{Authority control 1922 establishments in Italy 1994 disestablishments in Italy Centre-right parties in Europe Classical liberal parties Conservative liberal parties Conservative parties in Italy Defunct political parties in Italy Formerly banned political parties Liberal parties in Italy Political parties established in 1922 Political parties disestablished in 1994