''Liberamente'' (which literally means "freely", but is also a play on words meaning "free mind") is 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 ...

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 ...

foundation and think-tank within

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), a

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 ...

. Its main leader is

Mariastella Gelmini Mariastella Gelmini (born 1 July 1973) is an Italian politician and attorney (specialised in administrative law). She served as Italian Minister of Education in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet until 16 November 2011. She served as minister of Regional ...

and, previously,

Franco Frattini Franco Frattini (14 March 1957 – 24 December 2022) was an Italian politician and magistrate. From January to December 2022, Frattini served as president of the Council of State. Frattini previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...

. Founded on 20 June 2010, the faction was one of the strongest within

The People of Freedom The People of Freedom ( it, Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL, launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including Forza Italia a ...

as its members included eight ministers (Mariastella Gelmini, Franco Frattini,

Maurizio Sacconi Maurizio Sacconi (Conegliano, 13 July 1950) is an Italian politician from Veneto. A long-time member of the Italian Socialist Party, from 1979 to 1994 he was a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and from 1987 to 1994 he served also as Under ...

Stefania Prestigiacomo Stefania Prestigiacomo (born 16 December 1966) is an Italian politician, member of the centre-right political party Forza Italia and Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy from 1994 to 2022. Biography Stefania Prestigiacomo belongs to a fam ...

Mara Carfagna Maria Rosaria "Mara" Carfagna (born 18 December 1975) is an Italian politician and former showgirl and model. After obtaining a degree in law, Carfagna worked for several years on Italian television shows and as a model. She later entered politi ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

), plus Mario Valducci (leader of the Clubs of Freedom), Luigi Casero, Giorgio Stracquadanio, Giampiero Cantoni, Valentina Aprea, Giancarlo Serafini, Romano Comincioli, Lara Comi, Guido Podestà and

Licia Ronzulli Licia Ronzulli (born 14 September 1975 in Milan) is an Italian politician and a former MEP who represented The People of Freedom party and New Forza Italia party in the years 2009-14. She won a seat in the 2009 European Parliament election. S ...

. These, along with

Christopher Columbus Foundation The Christopher Columbus Foundation, whose complete name is Christopher Columbus Foundation for Freedoms (''Fondazione Cristoforo Colombo per le Libertà'', FCL) was an organization and think tank connected to The People of Freedom (PdL), a politi ...

on opposite sides, represented the bulk of the former

party, merged with National Alliance into the PdL in 2009, and were mostly liberals or former

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 ...

, although the faction included also some leading Christian democrats such as Fitto. ''Liberamente'' was born to reaffirm the identity of Forza Italia within the PdL, in opposition to

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 ...

Generation Italy Generation Italy (''Generazione Italia'', GI) or ''Finiani'' was an association connected to Future and Freedom (FLI), a political party in Italy, and earlier to The People of Freedom (PdL). Although most of its members came from the conservative ...

Future and Freedom Future and Freedom ( it, Futuro e Libertà), whose full name was Future and Freedom for Italy (''Futuro e Libertà per l'Italia'', abbreviated to FLI), was a political party in Italy, comprising both liberal and national conservative elements. F ...

. In

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

the faction, through Prestigiacomo, approached with

Gianfranco Micciché Gianfranco is a compound Italian language, 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 ...

, leader of the rebels of the PdL–Sicily. This caused outrage from the Sicilian majority of the party led by

Renato Schifani Renato Maria Giuseppe Schifani (; born 11 May 1950
.) is an Italian politician who has served as the

and

Angelino Alfano Angelino Alfano (; born 31 October 1970) is an Italian former politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 12 December 2016 to 1 June 2018. Alfano was Minister of the Interior from 28 April 2013 to 12 December 2016, serving in the g ...

, two leading Christian democrats and former members of Forza Italia too. When Micciché launched

Force of the South Force of the South ( it, Forza del Sud, FdS) was a liberal-conservative political party in Italy based in Sicily. In September 2010, after years of weighting, Gianfranco Micciché, long-time leader of Forza Italia and, later, The People of Fre ...

outside the PdL, Prestigiacomo was very sympathetic and took part to the new party's convention, but remained loyal to the PdL. Most ''Liberamente'' members (with the notable exceptions of Frattini and Sacconi) joined the new

in November 2013.

References

External links

Official website
{{Forza Italia (2013) factions Organisations associated with The People of Freedom