The Union ( it, L'Unione) was a heterogenous
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 ...
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
and
electoral alliance
An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political party, political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand ...
of
political parties in Italy. The Union was the direct heir of
The Olive Tree coalition which represented the centre-left in the
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
and
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
general elections. However, The Union also included parties of the
radical left, which were not affiliated with The Olive Tree. The Union was led by
Romano Prodi
Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prim ...
,
Prime Minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...
from May 2006 to May 2008, and former
President of the European Commission
The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
. Collapsing in the wake of the
2008 Italian political crisis
On 24 January 2008 Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi lost a vote of confidence in the Senate by a vote of 161 to 156 votes, causing the downfall of his government. Prodi's resignation led President Giorgio Napolitano to request the president of ...
, the alliance was succeeded by the current-day
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 ...
.
Parties
The parties which were part of the coalition for most of the time are:
DS, DL and MRE contested elections as
The Olive Tree federation. The
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(PD,
social-democratic
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
), a merger of DS and DL, replaced its predecessor parties as a member of The Union upon its foundation in October 2007, becoming the largest member party of the alliance. Also during that time, the SDI became the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
(PS).
Primary elections
![ProdiBari](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/ProdiBari.jpg)
As of 2005, the coalition was assumed to be led by Prodi, however he called for a
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
in order to gain an official leadership. Primary elections were a novelty in Italian politics, as the
proportional system
Proportionality, proportion or proportional may refer to:
Mathematics
* Proportionality (mathematics), the property of two variables being in a multiplicative relation to a constant
* Ratio, of one quantity to another, especially of a part compare ...
in place until the early 1990s was supposed to present sufficient variety to electors. With the new
majoritarian electoral system, two clear blocks emerged since 1996. The primary elections for The Union took place on 16 October 2005.
Previous primary election in Apulia
Primary elections had never been held on a national level before in Italy, and only once at a regional level, in
Apulia
it, Pugliese
, population_note =
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, demographic ...
: in that occasion,
Nichi Vendola
Nicola "Nichi" Vendola (; born 26 August 1958) is an Italian left-wing politician and LGBT activist who was a Member of the Chamber of Deputies from Apulia from 1992 to 2005 and President of Apulia from 2005 to 2015. He is one of the first o ...
, a
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
and
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
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 ...
, became the candidate for the centre-left coalition in a region reputed to be
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 ...
and with deep religious roots. The institute of primary election came under criticism from some centre-left moderates, as in their opinion it had produced a useless candidate doomed to failure. However, Vendola's victory against the incumbent governor and centre-right candidate
Raffaele Fitto
Raffaele Fitto (born 28 August 1969) is an Italian politician and a member of the European Parliament. He is serving as the minister of European affairs in the Meloni Cabinet since 2022.
Career
Born in Maglie, Fitto was elected in 1999 at Europe ...
, a much more conventional and moderate young man, vindicated the primary elections in the internal argumentations of The Union.
Candidates
When the primary elections were first proposed, they were mostly meant as a
plebiscite
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
for Romano Prodi, since there were no other candidates to the leadership of the coalition. The secretary of the Communist Refoundation Party,
Fausto Bertinotti
Fausto Bertinotti (born 22 March 1940) is an Italian politician who led the Communist Refoundation Party (''Partito della Rifondazione Comunista'') from 1994 to 2006. On 29 April 2006, after the centre-left coalition's victory in the Italian ...
, then announced he would run for the leadership, even if only to act as a
symbolic candidate, to avoid a one-candidate election. After some time, more candidates were presented.
The seven candidates for the leadership of The Union were, in the order in which they appear on the electoral ballot
*
Fausto Bertinotti
Fausto Bertinotti (born 22 March 1940) is an Italian politician who led the Communist Refoundation Party (''Partito della Rifondazione Comunista'') from 1994 to 2006. On 29 April 2006, after the centre-left coalition's victory in the Italian ...
, secretary of the
Communist Refoundation Party
The Communist Refoundation Party ( it, Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, PRC) is a communist political party in Italy that emerged from a split of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1991. The party's secretary is Maurizio Acerbo, who replac ...
.
*
Antonio Di Pietro
Antonio Di Pietro (; born 2 October 1950) is an Italian politician, lawyer and magistrate. He was a minister in government of Romano Prodi, a Senator, and a Member of the European Parliament. He was a prosecutor in the ''Mani Pulite'' corrupti ...
, former anti-
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 ...
prosecutor in 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, leader of
Italy of Values
Italy of Values ( it, Italia dei Valori, IdV) is a populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party was founded in 1998 by former ''Mani pulite'' prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who entered politics in 1996 and finally left the par ...
.
*
Ivan Scalfarotto
Ivan Scalfarotto (born 16 August 1965) is an Italian politician and activist, committed to LGBT rights. A member of the Italian Parliament, he is a Deputy Minister at the Italian Ministry of Interior.
Previously a Deputy Minister at the Ministr ...
, a
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
living in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and a
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
ger, running as an independent candidate. He is openly bisexual.
*''The faceless candidate'', formally represented in person by
Simona Panzino
Simona may refer to:
* 1033 Simona, a main-belt asteroid
* Simona (given name), a feminine given name of Hebrew origin
* Simona (TV series), ''Simona'' (TV series), a 2018 Argentine telenovela
* Simona (cicada), ''Simona'' (cicada), a genus of cic ...
. This was a symbolic candidate from the
anti-globalization movement
The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalis ...
. Some
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
s close to these movements were initially suggested for the actual name to place on the ballots, but they were retreated in face of likely backfire from 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 ...
.
*
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio (born 13 March 1959) is an Italian politician, lawyer and journalist. He served as Minister of Agriculture in the second cabinet of Giuliano Amato and as Minister of Environment in the second cabinet of Romano Prodi.
Bor ...
, secretary of the
Federation of the Greens
The Federation of the Greens ( it, Federazione dei Verdi, FdV), frequently referred to as Greens (''Verdi''), was a green political party in Italy. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the Federation of Green Lists and the Rainbow Greens.
T ...
. Other than
environmentalism
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...
, he had a
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
-oriented and
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
agenda. He is openly
bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
*
Romano Prodi
Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prim ...
, leader of
The Olive Tree coalition; former
Prime Minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...
and
president of the European Commission
The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
. Prodi was supported by
DS,
DL and
PdCI.
*
Clemente Mastella
Mario Clemente Mastella (born 5 February 1947) is an Italian politician who has served as the mayor of Benevento since 20 June 2016. He is the leader of Union of Democrats for Europe, a minor centrist Italian party. He was Minister of Labour i ...
, leader of the
Union of Democrats for Europe
The Union of Democrats for Europe ( it, Unione Democratici per l'Europa, UDEUR), also known as UDEUR Populars (''Popolari UDEUR''), was a minor centrist, Christian-democratic political party in Italy.
Led by Clemente Mastella, minister of Labour ...
. A former ally of
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
, he was considered the most Catholic and centrist candidate.
The primary election may have been foreseen an easy win for Romano Prodi, with the other candidates running mostly to "measure their strengths" in the coalition, and they often talked about reaching a certain percentage rather than winning. However, there were rumours of supporters of the
House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms ( it, Casa delle Libertà, CdL) was a major centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy, led by Silvio Berlusconi.
History
The CdL was the successor of the Pole of Freedoms/Pole of Good Government and the Pole fo ...
trying to participate in the elections, and vote in favour of Mastella, reputed to be the least competent of the candidates and the least likely to win against Berlusconi, other than the most centrist; other rumours indicated such "fake" left-wing voters would vote for Bertinotti, because his leadership would likely lose any grip on the
political centre
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 ...
.
The election
The primary election had been held nationwide on 16 October 2005, from 8 am to 10 pm. The primary election was open to all Italian citizens who were at least 18 during the following general election, plus regular immigrants who have lived in Italy for three years (immigrants still do not have the opportunity to vote for any other election in Italy), against a payment of (at least) 1 euro, charged to cover organisational expenses. Poll stations were mainly managed on a voluntary basis; they were hosted mainly in squares, local party quarters, schools, and even
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
s,
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
s,
campers and a
hairdresser
A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be refe ...
; some polling stations were also provided outside the country for Italians abroad. Most of the party leaders claimed a result of 1 million voters would be a good success for the election. The total count was in excess of 4,300,000.
Allegations of fraud by Mastella
Clemente Mastella
Mario Clemente Mastella (born 5 February 1947) is an Italian politician who has served as the mayor of Benevento since 20 June 2016. He is the leader of Union of Democrats for Europe, a minor centrist Italian party. He was Minister of Labour i ...
claimed, already on the election day, that too few ballots had been provided in areas where his party is stronger, and that several pre-marked voting papers, pre-marked with votes for Prodi, have been prepared in order to let him lose. No one other than Mastella backed up these claims inside the coalition, and material evidence was not presented.
Murder of Francesco Fortugno
Francesco Fortugno, vice-president of the Council of
Calabria
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
and member of The Daisy (DL), was murdered on 16 October 2005 by two killers when he was waiting in line to vote in a polling station in
Locri
Locri is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of the ancient Greek region of Locris. Today it is an important administrative and cultural centre on the Ionia ...
. The act was assumed to have political significance since the murderers killed him on a political occasion and with dozens of
witness
In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...
es. The administration Fortugno was a part of had previously removed many administrators, and some saw this murder as an act of retribution from the
'Ndrangheta
The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and secret society, criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of ...
against
Agazio Loiero
Agazio Loiero (born 14 January 1940) is an Italian politician, former President of Calabria and minister in the D'Alema II Cabinet and the Amato II Cabinet.
Biography
Graduated in Letters and Philosophy, Loiero has worked as a columnist for new ...
's administration.
Results
5''9,816 poll stations''
Reactions
Most reactions on the centre-left were comprehensibly enthusiastic, especially because of the high number of participants. Clemente Mastella, however, accused the organization of rigging the election and having pre-printed ballots in favour of Prodi.
On the centre-right, two main attitudes were held: some respected or even hailed the election, others contested its validity and characterised them as propaganda
*
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
said the primary elections "are the only way they can win";
*
Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini (born 3 January 1952) is an Italian politician who served as the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2008 to 2013. He is the former leader of the far-right Italian Social Movement, the conservative National Allianc ...
expressed respect for voters, but suggested, on the basis of Mastella's claims, that the results may have been rigged;
*
Roberto Maroni
Roberto Ernesto Maroni (; 15 March 1955 – 22 November 2022) was an Italian politician from Varese and a past President of Lombardy. He was the leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy or Padan ...
from the
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 ...
said that the elections "deserve respect in any case, but will not solve the centre-left's internal contradictions";
*
Roberto Castelli
Roberto Castelli (born 12 July 1946) is an Italian politician. He was the Minister of Justice in the second and third governments of Silvio Berlusconi. He has been one of the main representatives of the Northern League.
Early life and educatio ...
, minister of justice, stygmatised the elections as a "perfect example of
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
-style political campaign: there is no certification of the data purported by the centre-left, and knowing their methods they are certainly inflated".
* The
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats
The Union of the Centre ( it, Unione di Centro, UdC), whose complete name is "Union of Christian and Centre Democrats" (''Unione dei Democratici Cristiani e Democratici di Centro'', UDC), is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy. Lore ...
expressed the most positive judgements from the centre-right, and
Bruno Tabacci
Bruno Tabacci (born 27 August 1946) is an Italian politician and member of the Chamber of Deputies. He is the president of the Democratic Centre. In the past, he was member of Christian Democracy and served as the president of Lombardy from 1 ...
called for primary elections in the centre-right too, following tensions between his party and Berlusconi, no longer felt to be a strong candidate.
Election results
Italian Parliament
See also
*
The Olive Tree (Italy)
The Olive Tree ( it, L'Ulivo) was a denomination used for several successive centre-left political and electoral alliances of Italian political parties from 1995 to 2007.
The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was Romano Prodi ...
*
Centre-left coalition (Italy)
The centre-left coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-sinistra) is an alliance of political parties in Italy active, under several forms and names, since 1995 when The Olive Tree was formed under the leadership of Romano Prodi. The centre-left ...
*
Elections in Italy
National-level elections in Italy are called periodically to form a parliament consisting of two houses: the Chamber of Deputies (''Camera dei Deputati'') with 400 members; and the Senate of the Republic (''Senato della Repubblica'') with 200 e ...
*
2006 Italian general elections
The 2006 Italian general election was held on 9 and 10 April 2006. Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left coalition The Union, narrowly defeated the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the centre-right coalition House of Freed ...
*
History of Italy as a Republic
The history of the Italian Republic concerns the events relating to the history of Italy that have occurred since 1946, when Italy became a republic. The Italian republican history is generally divided into two phases, the so-called First and Se ...
*
Politics of Italy
The politics of Italy are conducted through a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. Italy has been a democratic republic since 2 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum and a constituent assembly was electe ...
*
Primary elections in Italy
Primary elections were first introduced in Italy by Lega Nord in 1995, but were seldom used until before the 2005 regional elections.
In January 2005 the centre-left The Union coalition held open primaries in order to select its candidate for Pre ...
*
Romano Prodi
Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prim ...
References
External links
L'Unioneofficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Union (Political Coalition)
Political parties established in 2005
Political parties disestablished in 2008
Defunct political party alliances in Italy
History of the Communist Refoundation Party
Romano Prodi