Italian Radical Party
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The Italian Radical Party ( it, Partito Radicale Italiano), also known as the Historical Radical Party (''Partito Radicale storico''), was a
radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
, republican,
secularist Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
and
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 ...
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.


History

Since 1877, the Radical Party was active as a loose parliamentary group grown out from the
Historical Far Left The Historical Far Left ( it, Estrema Sinistra Storica), originally known as Far Left ( it, Estrema Sinistra), Radical Extreme ( it, Estrema Radicale), simply The Extreme ( it, L'Estrema), or Party of Democracy ( it, Partito della Democrazia), wa ...
. The group was later organised as a full-fledged party in 1904, under the leadership of
Ettore Sacchi Ettore Sacchi (31 May 1851 – 6 April 1924) was an Italian lawyer and politician. He was one of the founders and main leaders of the Italian Radical Party. Biography Ettore Sacchi was born in Cremona in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia on 31 Ma ...
. Leading Radicals included
Ernesto Nathan Ernesto Nathan (5 October 1848 – 9 April 1921) was an English-Italian politician, and mayor of Rome, Italy from November 1907 to December 1913. Biography Nathan was born in London in 1848 to Sara Levi, an Italian from Pesaro, and Mayer Moses ...
(mayor of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
with the support of 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, ...
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 ...
from 1907 to 1913),
Romolo Murri Romolo Murri (Monte San Pietrangeli, 27 August 1870 – Roma, 12 March 1944) was an Italian politician and ecclesiastic. This Catholic priest was suspended for having joined the party Lega Democratica Nazionale and is widely considered in Italy as ...
(a
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 ...
priest who was suspended from his ministry for having joined the party and who is widely considered in Italy the precursor of
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 ...
) and Francesco Saverio Nitti. The Radicals were originally strong in
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, notably in the northern
Province of Sondrio The Province of Sondrio ( it, provincia di Sondrio) is in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Sondrio. As of 2017, it has a population of 181,403. History The Province was established in 1815, within ...
, the southeastern
Province of Mantua The Province of Mantua ( it, provincia di Mantova; Mantovano, Lower Mantovano: ; Upper Mantovano: ) is a province in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Mantua. It is bordered to the north-east by the Province o ...
, northern
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 ...
and Friuli,
Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...
, and central Italy, especially around Rome. Later on, they lost votes to the Socialists in
Emilia Emilia may refer to: People * Emilia (given name), list of people with this name Places * Emilia (region), a historical region of Italy. Reggio, Emilia * Emilia-Romagna, an administrative region in Italy, including the historical regions of Emi ...
and to the Republicans in
Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...
, but strengthened their position in Veneto, notably holding for almost twenty years the single-seat constituencies of
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
and
Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
(which had also Radical mayors), 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 ...
, where they were previously virtually non-existent. Thanks to these inroads, the Radicals obtained their best result in the 1913 general election: 10.4% of the vote and 62 seats in the
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 ...
. With Nitti, a southerner, the Radicals became part of the governing coalition dominated by the Liberals of
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 ...
, who had positioned his party in the
centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...
and supported many Radical reforms, while the Radicals had moved toward the
centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
. Nitti himself was Minister of the Treasury from 1917 to 1919 and
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 ...
from 1919 to 1920.Massimo L. Salvadori (2000). ''Enciclopedia storica''. 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 ...
.
David Busato (1996)
''Il Partito Radicale in Italia da Mario Pannunzio a Marco Pannella''
In the 1919 general election, the Radicals filed joint candidates with the Liberals in 54% of the constituencies.Piergiorgio Corbetta; Maria Serena Piretti (2009). ''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 ...
.
For the 1921 general election, they joined forces with several minor liberal parties in order to form the Democratic Liberal Party: the joint list gained 15.9% of the vote and 96 seats, doing particularly well in
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
and the South. 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 ...
, some former Radicals led by Nitti joined the National Democratic Union, along with the
Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was a liberal and conservative political party in Italy. The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor party ...
and other elements of the political bloc that governed Italy from the years of Giolitti until the rise of
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 ...
's
Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
regime. The Radicals, who were once the far left of the Italian political spectrum, were finally associated with the old Liberal establishment, which was replaced by
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 ...
as the leading political force in the country. Some
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
elements of the old Radicals took part to the foundation of the Action Party in 1942, while a new Radical Party was launched in 1955 by the left wing of the Italian Liberal Party. These new Radicals, whose longtime leader was Marco Pannella, claimed to be the ideological successors of the Historical Far Left (
Agostino Bertani Agostino Bertani (19 October 1812 – 10 April 1886) was an Italian revolutionary and physician during Italian unification. Revolutionary Bertani was born in Milan on 19 October 1812. His father was an administrator for the Napoleonic govern ...
,
Felice Cavallotti Felice Cavallotti (6 November 1842 – 6 March 1898) was an Italian politician, poet and dramatic author. Biography Early career Born in Milan, Cavallotti fought with the Garibaldian Corps in their 1860 and 1866 campaigns during the Italian ...
, etc.) and the Radicals.


Electoral results


Leadership

* Secretary: Giovanni Amici (1904–1914), Mario Cevolotto (1919–1920), Gino Bandini (1920–1921), Ernesto Pietriboni (1921–1922)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Italian Radical Party Radical parties in Italy Political parties established in 1877 Defunct political parties in Italy Critics of the Catholic Church Liberal parties in Italy Defunct liberal political parties 1877 establishments in Italy