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 ...

and radicalism have played a role in the political history of

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 ...

since the country's unification, started in 1861 and largely completed in 1871, and currently influence several leading political parties. During the first decades of Italy as a united country, the main parliamentary parties included liberals, but it was not until 1877 that the left-wing Radical Party was established as the first organized liberal party. The more centrist Liberal Union followed in 1913. Most liberal and radical parties were banned in 1926 under Benito Mussolini's Fascist government. 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 opposing ...

and the establishment of the

Italian Republic 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 ...

there have been frequent changes in the configuration of political parties and, for the most part, the representation of liberal and radical views has been split among a number of parties that may also espouse other views. These parties have often been part of governing coalitions. During the so-called " First Republic" three minor liberal parties were active: 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 part ...

(centre-right), 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 hist ...

(centre-left) and the modern-day Radical Party (left-wing). More recently, liberals have been split primarily among the centre-right

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 ...

/ Forza Italia and the centre-left Democratic Party.

Overview

In the 19th century both early Italian political groupings, the Historical Right 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 ...

, were composed of

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. ...

liberals and functioned mainly as loose

parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamenta ...

s, while radicals organised themselves as the Radical Party, and republicans, who were influenced also by

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

, as the

. These two parties had in fact been part of The Extreme, which included also the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Socialism, socialist and later Social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the l ...

and its predecessors. In 1913 the liberals around Giovanni Giolitti joined forces in the Liberal Union and in 1922 the

is formed. In that period, other liberal parties emerged: the

Constitutional Democratic Party The Constitutional Democratic Party (russian: Конституцио́нно-демократи́ческая па́ртия, translit=Konstitutsionno-demokraticheskaya partiya, K-D), also called Constitutional Democrats and formally the Party of P ...

, the Democratic Liberal Party (merger of the Radicals with other liberal groups), and the Italian Social Democratic Party. When Benito Mussolini's

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. Th ...

came to power in 1922, some Liberals and Radicals flirted with Fascism, but, ultimately, a Fascist regime was established and all the parties, notably including the Italian Liberal Party and the Italian Republican Party, were banned. After the end of

, both Liberals and Republicans reorganised themselves, followed by more liberal parties in the upcoming decades (notably including the new Radical Party), and, despite their modest results in elections, they were often part of the Italian government, in alliance with Christian Democracy. In the 1940s, during the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

and the writing of the republican Constitution, an important role was played by the Action Party, a social-liberal, republican and liberal-socialist outfit, successor of the Justice and Freedom movement. In this phase the Liberals adhered to

conservative liberalism Conservative liberalism or right-liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. M. Gallagher, M. Laver and P. Mair, ''Repre ...

and Republicans to

social liberalism 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 ...

. Since 1992–1994, following the ''Tangentopoli'' scandals, the subsequent ''

Mani pulite ''Mani pulite'' (; Italian language, 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 "History of the Italian Republic#First ...

'' inquiries and the resulting shake-up of the Italian party system, the liberal movement has been strongly divided. As a result, a broad group of parties, not all included here, started to use the "liberal" label. Italian liberals are basically divided between the centre-right Forza Italia (successor of the former Forza Italia, itself primarily a merger of liberal and Christian-democratic forces, and

, which integrated the more conservative National Alliance) and the centre-left Democratic Party (a merger of social democrats, progressive Christian democrats and social liberals, the latter two mainly organised in

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 ...

in the early 2000s). Minor liberal parties include, among others, Civic Choice, the Italian Radicals ( ALDE Party and

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...

member), the aforementioned Italian Republican Party (which stretched a long way from the far-left to the centre-right of the

political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more geometric axes that represent independent political dimensions. The expressions politi ...

), and

Act to Stop the Decline Act to Stop the Decline ( it, Fare per Fermare il Declino, Fare or FFD) was a liberal political party in Italy, founded in 2012 as Stop the Decline (''Fermare il Declino'', FiD). Oscar Giannino and Michele Boldrin have been its main leaders. H ...

(a party which is the standard-bearer of a more classical- and libertarian-oriented form of liberalism). Also the centrist-populist

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 p ...

was a member of the ALDE Party, but it is hardly a liberal party. From 1994 on, most Liberals and several Republicans joined Forza Italia and the other parties of the House of Freedoms coalition. This is the reason why the term "liberal" is more often used when speaking of the centre-right than the centre-left. A new

was launched in 1997, but, as the Italian Republican Party, it survives as a very minor party. The former two, Civic Choice, Act to Stop the Decline and minor groups joined forces in European Choice, with disappointing results, in 2014.

Timeline of parties

The Italian Liberal Party

*1848:

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 ...

forms the

Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic lib ...

, a conservative-liberal parliamentary group, within 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 ...

. *1849: The Left, a left-liberal parliamentary group, is formed in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia. *1861: The Historical Right, a parliamentary group sometimes referred to as Liberal Constitutional Party or Liberals, is formed as the successor of the Moderate Party. The Left starts to be known as

, while its members are frequently referred to as Democrats. *1913: Giovanni Giolitti's "Liberal Left", heir of the Historical Left, is organised as Liberal Union, while its left wing forms the

(PDC) and Democratic Party (PD). *1919: The PDC, the PD and other liberals, in opposition to Giolitti, form an electoral list named Italian Social Democratic Party (PDSI) for the 1919 general election. *1921: Giolitti's Liberals incorporate the National Fasci of Combat in its National Blocs for the 1921 general election. *1922: Giolitti's Liberals, conservative liberals and remnants of the Historical Right (by then called Liberal Conservatives) form the

(PLI). *1924: Giolitti's Liberals are integrated in the Fascist-dominated National List in the 1924 general election, while anti-fascist liberals form the National Union (UN). *1926: Both the PLI and the UN are banned by the Fascist government. *1943: Former members of the old PLI re-organise the Italian Liberal Party (PLI). *1946: The PLI is part of an electoral list named National Democratic Union (UDN) in the 1946 general election. A faction opposed to this form the Progressive Liberal Movement (MLP) which merge into PRI soon after. *1948: The PLI join forces with the Common Man's Front in the National Bloc (BN) in the 1948 general election. *1953: A group of PLI splinters form the National Democratic Alliance (ADN). *1955: The PLI's left-wing forms the Radical Party (see below). *1993: A fraction of the PLI's right-wing forms the Union of the Centre (UdC), while splinters form the Liberal Democratic Union (ULD) and 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 ...

. *1994: The PLI is disbanded. Other than aforementioned spin-offs, the Federation of Liberals (FdL) and the Italian Liberal Right (DLI), which is integrated into National Alliance (see below), are formed. Several Liberals join either Forza Italia (see below) or the Segni Pact (see below). *1995: The ULD is merged into the FdL. *1996: The FdL joins the Democratic Union (see below). *1997: Some of Forza Italia's Liberals form the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

(PL). *1998: The UdC is merged into Forza Italia. *2004: Splinters from the FdL form the Association for Liberal Democracy, which would join

(see below), whilst the PL, along with members of the DLI (briefly known as Liberals for Italy) and former members of the UdC, re-establishes the

(PLI). *2007: The Liberal Left joins the Democratic Party (see below). *2011: The DLI joins The People of Freedom (see below). *2014: Splinters from the PLI and other former Liberals form The Liberals, a short-lived experience. *2018: The PLI forms an alliance with the Lega Nord, within the centre-right coalition. *2019: The PLI leaves the alliance with the Lega Nord and the DLI splits from PLI. *2020: The Liberals join forces with

Action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

and More Europe.

The historical Radical Party

*1877: Progressive liberals form the Radical Party (PR) within The Extreme parliamentary group. *1904: The PR is officially founded, 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 ...

. *1921: The PR merges with several minor liberal parties to form the Democratic Liberal Party (PLD). *1922: Some Radicals join forces with former PDC liberals within the PDSI. *1926: The PR/PLD is banned, but many members remain politically active through the

. *1943: Former PDSI members, along with former members of the

Italian Reformist Socialist Party The Italian Reformist Socialist Party ( it, Partito Socialista Riformista Italiano, PSRI) was a social-democratic political party in Italy. History It was formed in 1912 by those leading reformist socialists who had been expelled from the Ital ...

(PSRI), form the

Labour Democratic Party The Labour Democratic Party ( it, Partito Democratico del Lavoro), previously known as Labour Democracy (), was a social-democratic and social-liberal political party in Italy, founded in 1943 as the heir of defunct Italian Reformist Socialist P ...

(PDL). *1946: Former Radicals and the PDL join the UDN for the 1946 general election. *1948: The PDL merges into the Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI).

The Italian Republican Party

*1895: The

(PRI) is formed by followers of

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...

. *1926: The PRI is banned, but continues its activities in exile. *1942: Republicans take part to the foundation of the Action Party (PdA). *1943: The PRI is re-organised in Italy. *1946: The PdA's liberal wing forms the

Republican Democratic Concentration The Republican Democratic Concentration ( it, Concentrazione Democratica Repubblicana, CDR) was a liberal and republican list which contested in the Italian general election of 1946. It was formed in February 1946 by Ferruccio Parri, a former Prim ...

(CDR), which is merged into the PRI, another wing forms the Italian Republican Alliance (ARI) which vanishes soon after. *1947: The PdA is dissolved and officially joins the

(PSI). *1952: PRI splinters form Popular Unity (UP). *1964: PRI splinters form the Democratic Union for the New Republic (UDNR). *1994: The PRI aligns with the Segni Pact (see below), while a splinter group forms the Republican Left (SR). *1996: The PRI joins the Democratic Union (see below), but soon distances from it *1998: The SR is merged into the Democrats of the Left (see below). *2001: The PRI makes an alliance with Forza Italia (see below), provoking the split of the European Republicans Movement (MRE). *2004: A group of splinters form the Democratic Republicans (RD). *2011: The MRE and the RD re-join the PRI. *2018: The PRI forms a pact with the

Liberal Popular Alliance The Liberal Popular Alliance, whose full name was Liberal Popular Alliance – Autonomies ( it, Alleanza Liberalpopolare – Autonomie, ALA), was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy. ALA members were known as ''Verdiniani'', from the ...

. *2020: The PRI joins forces with

and More Europe. *2020: The MRE is re-established as an independent party. *2022: The PRI briefly joins Civic Commitment and later joins

Italia Viva Italia Viva (, IV) is a liberal political party in Italy founded in September 2019. The party is led by Matteo Renzi, a former Prime Minister of Italy and former secretary of the Democratic Party (PD). History Background Matteo Renzi sta ...

, in alliance with

; the MRE joins the PD-led Democratic and Progressive Italy list.

From the Radical Party to the Italian Radicals

*1955: The PLI's left-wing faction, led by

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 ...

, forms the Radical Party (PR). *1982: The Radical Federative Movement (MFR) splits from the PR and would later merge into the PSI. *1988: The PR is transformed into Transnational Radical Party (PRT). *1992: The PRT is organised at the Italian-level as Pannella List. *1994: Pannella List's members are elected with Forza Italia in the 1994 general election. *1999: The PRT is organised at the Italian-level as

Bonino List The Bonino List ( it, Lista Bonino) was a liberal and libertarian electoral list active in Italy from 1999 to 2004. Named after Emma Bonino, a leading Radical who had been European Commissioner in 1995–1999 (appointed by Silvio Berlusconi), af ...

. *2001: The PRT is organised at the Italian-level as Italian Radicals, a full-fledged party. *2005: The party joins forces with the Italian Democratic Socialists in the Rose in the Fist, an electoral coalition. The right-wing libertarian faction leaves to form the Liberal Reformers (RL), which would become an associate party of Forza Italia (see below) and finally merge into The People of Freedom (see below). *2007: A splinter group forms Decide!, which would later merge into The People of Freedom (see below). *2008: The party contests the 2008 general election in a joint list with the Democratic Party (see below). *2009: The party contests the 2009 European Parliament election as Bonino-Pannella List. *2013: The party contests the 2013 general election with a list named Amnesty, Justice and Freedom. *2017: The PRT and the RI part ways. *2017:

Forza Europa Forza Europa was a centre-right political group with seats in the European Parliament between 1994 and 1995. History 27 MEPs from the Italian centre-right party Forza Italia, along with MEPs of the Christian Democratic Centre and the Union of ...

(FE), led by Benedetto Della Vedova is formed. *2018: The RI,

and the Democratic Centre join forces in More Europe. *2019: +Eu is transformed into a party, with the Italian Radicals, FE and the CD as its founding associate parties. *2020: +Eu, abandoned by the CD, joins forces with

, ALI and the

. *2022: +Eu breaks its alliance with Action; some Radicals, led by

Marco Cappato Marco Cappato (; born 25 May 1971) is an Italian activist and politician. Cappato was an Italian Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2009. He represented the Bonino List within the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe parli ...

, form the Referendum and Democracy list; the RI joins the PD-led Democratic and Progressive Italy list.

Forza Italia, The People of Freedom and back to Forza Italia

*1993: Forza Italia (FI) is founded by media-tycoon

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 f ...

. Most Liberals, several

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

and a few Republicans join the party. Though some of its members retain their membership of the

European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

, FI would join the European People's Party in 1999. *1994: The Liberal Democratic Pole (PLD) merges into FI. *1998: The UdC merges into FI. *2003: Liberals within FI form Popular Liberalism, a liberal faction. *2007: Silvio Berlusconi announces the creation of

(PdL), a party merging FI with the more conservative National Alliance (AN) and other parties of the House of Freedoms, notably including the Liberal Reformers, Decide! and the Liberal Democrats (see below). *2009: FI is officially merged into the PdL. *2010: Former members of AN and some liberals too leave FI to form Future and Freedom (FLI). *2013: Silvio Berlusconi announces the revival of FI. Subsequently, the PdL is folded into the new Forza Italia (FI). A minority of FI's liberals take part to the creation of the

New Centre-Right New Centre-Right ( it, Nuovo Centrodestra, NCD) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The party was launched on 15 November 2013 by a group of dissidents of The People of Freedom (PdL) who opposed the party's transformation into Forza Ita ...

, an alternative, predominantly Christian-democratic party. *2015: Some of FI's liberals take part to two successive splits, Conservatives and Reformists (CR) and

(ALA). *2017: The CR launches a new centre-right party named

Direction Italy Direction Italy ( it, Direzione Italia, DI) was a liberal-conservative political party in Italy. The party was led by Raffaele Fitto, an MEP in the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group. History The party was formed in January 2017 ...

(DI). SC, F!, the PLI, liberal splinters from

Popular Alternative Popular Alternative ( it, Alternativa Popolare, AP) is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy that was founded on 18 March 2017 after the dissolution of New Centre-Right (NCD), one of the two parties that emerged at the break-up of The ...

and DI form

Us with Italy Us with Italy ( it, Noi con l'Italia, NcI) is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Italy. NcI started as a federation of minor centre-right parties and, as such, was part of the centre-right coalition in the 2018 gen ...

(NcI) for the 2018 general election allied with the centre-right coalition. *2017:

Energies for Italy Energies for Italy ( it, Energie per l'Italia, EpI) was a political party in Italy, launched in November 2016 and officially established on 1 April 2017. Its leader is Stefano Parisi, a former director-general of Confindustria and CEO of Fastweb ...

(EpI), led by Stefano Parisi and including former members of FI and Giannino, is formed. *2019: Splinters from FI launch a new centre-right liberal party,

Cambiamo! Cambiamo! (, also stylized as C!) is a centre-right political party in Italy, led by Giovanni Toti. History Background and beginnings In June 2019, after the European Parliament election, Silvio Berlusconi appointed Giovanni Toti, president o ...

(C!). NcI becomes a party. *2020: EpI is dissolved. *2020: Cambiamo! forms with

Identity and Action Identity and Action ( it, Identità e Azione, IDeA) is a conservative political party in Italy, whose membership stretches from Christian democracy to liberal conservatism. The party's leader is Gaetano Quagliariello, a former minister for In ...

Coraggio Italia Coraggio Italia (, also translatable as 'Cheer up Italy', CI) is a liberal-conservative political party in Italy, led by Luigi Brugnaro. History In February 2021, amid the formation of Mario Draghi's national unity government, Cambiamo! (C ...

(CI). *2022: C! and IDeA leave CI and form

Italy in the Centre Italy in the Centre ( it, Italia al Centro, IaC) is a liberal-conservative political party in Italy led by Giovanni Toti. History In August 2019, Giovanni Toti left his former party Forza Italia (FI), and formed Cambiamo! (C!). In May 2021, C! ...

(IaC), CI dissidents form Vinciamo Italia joining IaC.

From Democratic Alliance to the Democratic Party

*1992: Democratic Alliance (AD) is launched as a proposed coalition of centre-left political parties. *1993: AD is officially founded, by former PRI, PSI, PCI and DC members. Soon after,

Mario Segni Mariotto Segni (born 16 May 1939) is an Italian politician and professor of civil law. He founded several parties, which focused on fighting for electoral reform through referendums. He is the son of the politician Antonio Segni, one time Presid ...

leaves to form the

Segni Pact 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 form ...

. *1994: AD takes part to the

Alliance of Progressives The Alliance of Progressives ( it, Alleanza dei Progressisti) was a left-wing political alliance of parties in Italy formed in 1994, with relevant predecessors at local level in 1993. The leader of the alliance was Achille Occhetto. The allianc ...

, while the Segni Pact to the

Pact for Italy The Pact for Italy ( it, Patto per l'Italia) was a centrist political and electoral alliance in Italy launched by Mario Segni and Mino Martinazzoli in 1994. History The alliance was composed of the Italian People's Party (PPI), the main successo ...

. *1996: The social-liberal Democratic Union (UD) and the centrist-liberal

Italian Renewal Italian Renewal ( it, Rinnovamento Italiano, RI) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy. The party was a member of The Olive Tree and centre-left coalition, while also affiliated to the European People's Party from 1998 to 2004. ...

(RI) are formed. AD joins the former, the Segni Pact the latter. *1999: The Democrats, a centrist and social-liberal party, is formed by the union of the UD with

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 Pr ...

's supporters (some of which splinters from the Christian-democratic Italian People's Party, PPI). For its part, the Segni Pact forms an alliance with AN. *2002: The Democrats, the PPI and RI merge into

(DL) *2003: The Segni Pact is re-organised as Pact of Liberal Democrats (PLD). *2007: DL is merged with the social-democratic

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 ...

(DS) to form the Democratic Party (PD). *2007: A group of DL splinters form the Liberal Democrats (LD). *2008: Liberals within the PD form Liberal PD, a liberal faction. *2009: A group of PD splinters form

Alliance for Italy Alliance for Italy ( it, Alleanza per l'Italia; ApI) was a centrist political party in Italy. The party, which was described in its manifesto as "democratic, liberal, popular" as opposed both to "right-wing populism" and the "social-democratic l ...

(ApI). *2012: Leading members of ApI form the Democratic Centre (CD). *2019: Liberal splinters from the PD form

(Az) and Italy Alive (IV). *2020: Action joins forces with More Europe and the

. *2022: Action and IV join forces. MRE, Italian Radicals and Volt join PD's Democratic and Progressive Italy alliance.

Minor liberal, social-liberal and libertarian parties

*2012: A group of intellectuals, led by

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 ...

, form the libertarian-oriented

(FiD), originally "Stop the Decline". *2013: Civic Choice (SC) is launched as an electoral list in support of Mario Monti, the incumbent non-partisan Prime Minister, to contest the 2013 general election. The list includes members from Future Italy (IF), a liberal think tank, and is part of the With Monti for Italy coalition. After the election, SC becomes a full-fledged party, while FiD finds a new leader in Michele Boldrin. Splinters from FiD, led by Giannino, form the Liberal Democratic Alliance for Italy (ALI). *2014: SC, FiD, ALI, CD, the PRI, the new PLI, The Liberals and other minor parties contest the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...

within a list named European Choice, in support of the ALDE Party candidate for President of the European Commission, Guy Verhofstadt. *2015:

Unique Italy Unique Italy (''Italia Unica'', IU; ''unico/a'' translates both to "unique" and "united") was a centre-right political party in Italy. Its leader was Corrado Passera, a former manager (Mondadori, Espresso, Olivetti, Poste), banker ( Intesa/Intes ...

(IU), including former members of IF, SC and the PdL, is formed. A splinter group from Lega Nord forms Act! (F!). Several SC's liberals join the PD. *2016: IU is dissolved. SC, which has suffered the split of the Civics and Innovators (CI), forms a federative pact with the ALA. *2018: Volt Italia (Volt) was formed.

Liberal leaders

*Before 1861:

Alessandro Manzoni Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni (, , ; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873) was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel '' The Betrothed'' (orig. it, I promessi sposi) (1827), generally ranked among the maste ...

, Carlo Cattaneo *Historical Right / Liberal Conservatives: Massimo d'Azeglio,

Bettino Ricasoli Bettino Ricasoli, 1st Count of Brolio, 2nd Baron Ricasoli (; 9 March 180923 October 1880) was an Italian statesman. He was a central figure in the politics of Italy during and after the unification of Italy. He led the Moderate Party. Biography ...

, Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora, Luigi Federico Menabrea,

Giovanni Lanza Domenico Giovanni Giuseppe Maria Lanza (15 February 1810 9 March 1882) was an Italian politician and the eighth prime minister of Italy from 1869 to 1873. Biography Lanza was born in the Piedmontese city of Casale Monferrato. He studied medicin ...

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 ...

, Antonio Starabba di Rudinì,

Luigi Pelloux Luigi Gerolamo Pelloux ( La Roche-sur-Foron, 1 March 1839 – Bordighera, 26 October 1924) was an Italian general and politician, born of parents who retained their Italian nationality when Savoy was annexed to France. He was the Prime Minister o ...

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 Gio ...

Luigi Luzzatti Luigi Luzzatti (11 March 1841 – 29 March 1927) was an Italian financier, political economist, social philosopher, and jurist. He served as the 20th prime minister of Italy between 1910 and 1911. Luzzatti came from a wealthy and cultured Jewis ...

*Historical Left / Democrats: Urbano Rattazzi, Benedetto Cairoli, Agostino Depretis, Francesco Crispi, Giovanni Giolitti, Giuseppe Saracco, Alessandro Fortis *Historical Radical Party: Agostino Bertani, Felice Cavallotti,

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 ...

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'' ("T ...

, Giovanni Amendola *Liberals / Italian Liberal Party:

Giuseppe Zanardelli Giuseppe Zanardelli (29 October 1826 26 December 1903) was an Italian jurist and political figure. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 15 February 1901 to 3 November 1903. An eloquent orator, he was also a Grand Master freemason. Zan ...

, Giovanni Giolitti,

Antonio Salandra Antonio Salandra (13 August 1853 – 9 December 1931) was a conservative Italian politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Italy between 1914 and 1916. He ensured the entry of Italy in World War I on the side of the Triple Entente (the ...

Paolo Boselli Paolo Boselli (8 June 1838 – 10 March 1932) was an Italian politician who served as the 34th prime minister of Italy during World War I. Biography Boselli was born in Savona, Liguria. Boselli was the first professor of science at the Univ ...

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 ...

Luigi Facta Luigi Facta (16 November 1861 – 5 November 1930) was an Italian politician, lawyer and journalist and the last Prime Minister of Italy before the leadership of Benito Mussolini. Background and earlier career Facta was born in Pinerolo, Pied ...

, Benedetto Croce, Alberto Giovannini,

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 ...

, Bruno Villabruna,

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 ...

, Leone Cattani,

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 ...

, Bruno Leoni, Giovanni Malagodi, Aldo Bozzi, Agostino Bignardi, Valerio Zanone, Alfredo Biondi, Renato Altissimo, Raffaele Costa, Egidio Sterpa, Antonio Martino, Beatrice Rangoni Machiavelli *Italian Republican Party:

Randolfo Pacciardi Randolfo Pacciardi (1 January 1899 – 14 April 1991) was an Italian politician. He was a long-time member of the secular, centre-left Italian Republican Party. An ardent anti-fascist, he lived in exile for many years and was an officer of the ...

Oronzo Reale Oronzo Reale (24 October 1902 – 14 July 1988) was an Italian politician, who served as justice minister in the 1960s and 1970s. Biography Reale was born in Lecce on 24 October 1902. He received a degree in law. He was a member and the hea ...

Ugo La Malfa Ugo La Malfa (16 May 1903 – 26 March 1979) was an Italian politician and an important leader of the Italian Republican Party (''Partito Repubblicano Italiano''; PRI). Early years and anti-fascist resistance La Malfa was born in Palermo, Sic ...

, Oddo Biasini, Giovanni Spadolini, Giorgio La Malfa, Giorgio Bogi, Luciana Sbarbati *Radical Party / Italian Radicals:

Mario Pannunzio Mario Pannunzio (5 March 1910 – 10 February 1968) was an Italian journalist and politician. As a journalist he was the director in charge of the daily newspaper Risorgimento Liberale (''Liberal reawakening'') in the 1940s and of the weekly p ...

, Leopoldo Piccardi, Bruno Villabruna,

, Gianfranco Spadaccia, Angiolo Bandinelli, Adelaide Aglietta,

Adele Faccio Adele Faccio (13 November 1920 – 8 February 2007) was an Italian politician and deputy of the Radical Party (Italy), Radical Party (''Partito Radicale'').Morta la radicale Adele Faccio" (February 9, 2007). ''Corriere della Sera.'' Retrieved Ju ...

, Sergio Stanzani,

Emma Bonino Emma Bonino (born 9 March 1948) is an Italian politician. A senator for Rome, she served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2014. Previously, she was a Member of the European Parliament and a member of the Chamber of Deputies. She serve ...

Francesco Rutelli Francesco Rutelli (born 14 June 1954) is an Italian journalist and former politician, who is the president of ''Anica'', National Association of Film and Audiovisual Industry, since October 2016. He also chairs the "Centro per un Futuro Sostenib ...

, Benedetto Della Vedova,

Daniele Capezzone Daniele Capezzone (born 8 September 1972) is an Italian journalist and former politician. From 14 July 2001 to 4 November 2006, he was secretary of the Italian Radicals, a liberal, pro-market economy, libertarian movement associated with the ...

*Forza Italia / The People of Freedom / Forza Italia:

, Alfredo Biondi, Raffaele Costa, Egidio Sterpa, Antonio Martino,

Giulio Tremonti Giulio Tremonti () (born 18 August 1947) is an Italian politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 20 ...

Marcello Pera Marcello Pera (; born 28 January 1943
.) is an Italian

, Franco Frattini,

Renato Brunetta Renato Brunetta (born 15 May 1950) is an Italian economist and politician. He was the Minister of Public Administration and Innovation from 8 May 2008 to 16 November 2011 in the Berlusconi government, and he is, once again, the minister for P ...

, Sandro Bondi,

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 ...

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 ...

, Paolo Romani, Benedetto Della Vedova, Daniele Capezzone *Democratic Alliance / Democratic Union / Democracy is Freedom / Democratic Party: Willer Bordon,

Ferdinando Adornato Ferdinando Adornato (born 11 May 1954) is an Italian politician and journalist. Biography On 8 June 1994, he founded and led the group ''Area'', "an area of programmatic comparison ... inspired liberal, Christian and environmentalist ... elemen ...

Antonio Maccanico Antonio Maccanico (4 August 1924 – 23 April 2013) was an Italian constitutional specialist and social liberal politician, who served in various capacities in the parliament and federal administrations of Italy. Early life and education Maccani ...

, Valerio Zanone, Giorgio Bogi, Francesco Rutelli, Enzo Bianco,

Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019. He previously served as prime minister of Italy from December ...

, Gianni Vernetti, Linda Lanzillotta,

Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...

Sandro Gozi Sandro Gozi () (born 25 March 1968 in Sogliano al Rubicone) is an Italian politician formerly of the Democratic Party who has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2020. He was a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2006 to 201 ...

, Andrea Marcucci, Luciana Sbarbati, Beatrice Rangoni Machiavelli, Pietro Ichino, Stefania Giannini, Carlo Calenda, Andrea Romano *Civic Choice: Pietro Ichino, Linda Lanzillotta, Stefania Giannini, Carlo Calenda, Andrea Romano, Bendetto Della Vedova,

Enrico Zanetti Enrico Zanetti (born 12 August 1973, Venice) is an Italian politician and tax advisor. He was appointed Secretary of Civic Choice in February 2015. Biography Enrico Zanetti was born on 12 August 1973 in Venice; from 1990 to 1998 he moved to Go ...

*More Europe: Emma Bonino, Benedetto Della Vedova, Gianfranco Spadaccia, Marco Cappato

References

{{Liberalism in Europe Politics of Italy

Radical parties in Italy *