The National Democratic Union ( it, Unione Democratica Nazionale, UDN) was a

political alliance A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies. International terms Equivalent terms are used differ ...

of parties for the 1946 general election, formed by 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 ...

, 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 ...

and some other

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 ...

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

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. ...

clubs. Its symbol was an Italian flag overcome by a shining star.

History

The party scored 6.8%, placing itself at the fourth place in the election. This grouping, during the sessions of the Constituent Assembly, represented the continuation of the

Liberal elite Liberal elite, also referred to as the metropolitan elite or progressive elite, is a stereotype of politically liberal people whose education has traditionally opened the doors to affluence, wealth and power and who form a managerial elite. It is ...

, which governed Italy from the years 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 ...

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 ...

and the instauration of the

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. Important politicians elected on the UDN lists were

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

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

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 ...

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

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

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 me ...

Giuseppe Paratore Giuseppe Paratore (31 May 1876 – 26 February 1967) was an Italian attorney and politician. He was President of the Italian Senate from 26 June 1952 to 24 March 1953. President Giovanni Gronchi Giovanni Gronchi, (; 10 September 188 ...

Ivanoe Bonomi Ivanoe Bonomi (18 October 1873 – 20 April 1951) was an Italian politician and journalist who served as Prime Minister of Italy from 1921 to 1922 and again from 1944 to 1945. Background and earlier career Ivanoe Bonomi was born in Mantua, I ...

, Raffaele De Caro,

Meuccio Ruini Meuccio Ruini (14 December 1877 – 6 March 1970) was an Italian jurist and socialist politician who served as the president of the Italian Senate and the minister of the colonies. Biography After graduating in law from the University of Bologna, ...

, Enrico Molè, Bruno Villabruna,

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

and Aldo Bozzi. The alliance was succeeded in the 1948 general election by the National Bloc.

Composition

It was composed of the following

political parties 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 ideological or pol ...

Electoral results

Italian Parliament

References

{{Authority control 1946 establishments in Italy Political parties established in 1946 Defunct political party alliances in Italy