The Pact of Liberal Democrats (''Patto dei Liberaldemocratici''), also called Segni-Scognamiglio Pact (''Patto Segni-Scognamiglio''), was 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 ...

and

Christian-democratic 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 ...

Italian political party. It was conceived in 2003 by

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 ...

, Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini (ex- PLI, ex- PL, ex- FI, ex- UDR, ex- UpR, ex- FdL and ex- DE) and Michele Cossa (leader of the

Sardinian Reformers The Sardinian Reformers ( it, Riformatori Sardi, RS) is a liberal-conservative and regionalist, Christian-democratic political party in Sardinia, led by Michele Cossa. The party, which has always been part of the centre-right at the Sardinian re ...

), as a

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 ...

party alternative to the centre-left. The party is aimed at changing Italian political system and especially Italian centre-right, which is perceived by its leaders as

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

under the leadership 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 ...

. The party is basically the continuation of the late Patto Segni. Segni and Scognamiglio launched PLD in time for contesting the

2004 European Parliament election The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but electe ...

, in which they hoped to attract many disgruntled centre-right voters. Instead PLD scored only 0.5% (7.4% in Sardinia, where its regional division, the Sardinian Reformers, is aligned with 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 ...

). After that the centre-right decided again to rally behind Berlusconi, Segni and Scognamiglio decided not to present their list for the 2006 general election, in which Berlusconi's Forza Italia scored 23.7% and the Sardinian Reformers elected a Senator, Massimo Fantola, in UDC list. Segni and supporters opposed the 2006 Constitutional Referendum. In early 2007 Segni became Coordinator of the Promoting Committee of the Electoral Referendum, led by Giovanni Guzzetta. This would place Segni alongside politicians such as

Gianni Alemanno Giovanni "Gianni" Alemanno (born 3 March 1958) is an Italian politician who from April 2008 until June 2013 was Mayor of Rome for the centre-right People of Freedom. He was the Secretary of the National Movement for Sovereignty from 2017 to 201 ...

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 ...

, Mercedes Bresso,

Riccardo Illy Riccardo Illy (born 24 September 1955) is an Italian businessman and former politician. Biography Riccardo Illy was born in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. His paternal grandfather, Francesco Illy, was of Hungarian origin. He's Waldensian. A ...

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 Pu ...

, Antonio Martino,

Giovanna Melandri Giovanna Melandri (born 28 January 1962 in New York City) is an Italians, Italian politician. She was an MP in the Italian Parliament for 18 years (1994-2012) and held the positions of Minister of Culture (1998- 2001) and Minister of Youth and ...

Arturo Parisi Arturo Parisi (born 13 September 1940) is an Italian politician, leader of the Ulivist faction of the Democratic Party and a four-time member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. He was also minister of defence in the cabinet of Prime Minister R ...

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 ...

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 ...

Gaetano Quagliariello Gaetano Quagliariello (born 23 April 1960) is an Italian politician, former Minister of Constitutional Reforms and current leader of Identity and Action party. Biography Toti was born in Naples in 1960. During the University he was a member o ...

, and

Giorgio Tonini Giorgio Tonini (born 5 January 1959) is an Italian journalist and politician. He served in the Italian Senate from 2001 to 2018. References External links Official website Senators of Legislature XIV of Italy Senators of Legislatur ...

in the fight for a majority based electoral system. On July 24 of 2007 Segni handed over 800,000 signatures to the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...

for the presentation of the Electoral Referendum. The referendum, which took place on 21–22 June 2009, did not reach the required quorum. After the failure of the referendum, Segni left parliamentary politics.

References

External links

Official website
{{Historical Italian political parties Defunct political parties in Italy Political parties established in 2003