The People of Freedom ( it, Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL) was a

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the Right-wing politics, right of the Left–right politics, political spectrum, but are closer to the Centrism, centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure 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 ...

. The PdL, launched by

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 ...

on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including

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 ...

and National Alliance, which participated as a joint election list in the 2008 general election. The federation was later transformed into a party during a party congress on 27–29 March 2009. The party's leading members included

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 ...

(national secretary),

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

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 ...

Roberto Formigoni Roberto Formigoni (born 30 March 1947) is a former Italian politician born in Lecco, Italy. He was the President of Lombardy from 1995 to 2013. He is the former unofficial political spokesperson of the Communion and Liberation movement. On 21 Fe ...

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 ...

Maurizio Gasparri Maurizio Gasparri (Rome, 18 July 1956) is an Italian politician. Gasparri was member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. During the course of his career he has served as Minister of Communications (2001 to 2005 in the Ber ...

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 ...

Antonio Martino Antonio Martino (22 December 1942 – 5 March 2022) was an Italian politician, who was the minister of foreign affairs in 1994 and minister of defense from 2001 to 2006. He was a founding member of Forza Italia. Life and career Born in Mess ...

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 ...

Maurizio Lupi Maurizio Lupi (born 3 October 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of infrastructure and transport between 28 April 2013 and 20 March 2015. Early life and education Lupi was born in Milan, Italy, on 3 October 1959. He has a deg ...

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 ...

Daniela Santanchè Daniela Garnero Santanchè (; born 7 April 1961) is an Italian entrepreneur and a politician. Between 2010 and 2011 she served as Undersecretary to the Ministry for the Implementation of the Government Program in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. She ...

Sandro Bondi Sandro Bondi (born 14 May 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of culture from 2008 to 2011, in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. Biography Bondi was born in Fivizzano, province of Massa-Carrara, Italy. He first attended school at Lau ...

, and

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 ...

. The PdL formed Italy's government from 2008 to 2011 in coalition with

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 ...

. After having supported

Mario Monti Mario Monti, (born 19 March 1943) is an Italian economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a technocratic government in the wake of the Italian debt crisis. Monti served as a European Commiss ...

technocratic government Technocracy is a form of government in which the decision-maker or makers are selected based on their expertise in a given area of responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical knowledge. This system explicitly contrasts wi ...

in 2011–2012, the party was part of

Enrico Letta Enrico Letta (; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy from April 2013 to February 2014, leading a grand coalition of centre-left and centre-right parties. Since March 2021, Letta has been secretary ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

with 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 ...

Civic Choice Civic Choice ( it, Scelta Civica; SC) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy founded by Mario Monti. The party was formed in the run-up of the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Monti and continue his polit ...

and the Union of the Centre. Alfano functioned as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior. In June 2013, Berlusconi announced Forza Italia's revival and the PdL's transformation into a centre-right coalition.Berlusconi annuncia ritorno di Forza Italia. "Temo che sarò ancora il numero uno"
Repubblica.it (28 June 2013). Retrieved on 2013-08-24. On 16 November 2013, the PdL's national council voted to dissolve the party and start a new

party; the assembly was deserted by a group of dissidents, led by Alfano, who had launched 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 ...

the day before.

History

Background

In the run-up to the 2006 general election there was talk among 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 ...

coalition's member parties on merging into a "united party of moderates and reformers".

(FI), National Alliance (AN) and 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 ...

(UDC) all seemed interested in the project. Soon after the election, however, UDC leader

Pier Ferdinando Casini Pier Ferdinando Casini (; born 3 December 1955) is an Italian politician. He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006. Casini is the honorary president of the Centrist Democrat International and the Inter-Parliamentary Un ...

, who had been a reluctant coalition partner, started to distance from its historical allies. Another party of the coalition,

(LN), showed no interest in the idea, because of its character as a regionalist party. On 2 December 2006, during a big rally of the centre-right in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

against

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 ...

proposed the foundation of a "freedom party", stressing that centre-right voters were all part of a single "people of freedom". On 21 August 2007 Michela Brambilla, president of the Clubs of Freedom (a grassroot group), registered the name and the symbol of the "Freedom Party" (''Partito della Libertà'') on Berlusconi's behalf, but none of Berlusconi's allies seemed interested in joining such a party and some leading FI dignitaries looked disappointed.

"Running board revolution"

On 18 November 2007, Berlusconi claimed that his supporters had collected over 7 million signatures on an appeal demanding the President of the Republic,

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...

, to call a fresh general election. Shortly afterwards, from the

running board A running board or footboard is a narrow step fitted under the side doors of a tram ( cable car, trolley, or streetcar in North America), car, or truck. It aids entry, especially into high vehicles, and is typical of vintage trams and cars, w ...

of a car in a crowded Piazza San Babila in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, he announced that FI would soon merge or transform into a new "party of the Italian people". The new course was thus called the "running board revolution" (''rivoluzione del predellino'') and this expression soon became very popular both among Berlusconi's supporters and his adversaries. At the beginning, the fate of FI remained unclear. Later, it was explained that the new party's core would consist of FI, the Clubs of Freedom and other grassroots groups, and that some minor parties of the House of Freedoms would join too. AN leader

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 ...

made very critical statements in the days after Berlusconi's announcement, declaring the end of his support for Berlusconi as candidate for Prime Minister and that his party would not join the new party. Also UDC leader Casini criticized the idea from the start and seemed interested in an alternative coalition with Fini.

Foundation and early years

On 24 January 2008, the Prodi II Cabinet fell as a result of the

political crisis 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 ...

, paving the way for a new general election. The day after Berlusconi hinted that FI would probably contest its last election, and postponed the foundation of the new party until after the election. In an atmosphere of reconciliation with Fini, Berlusconi also stated that the new party could involve the participation of other parties. On 8 February, Berlusconi and Fini agreed to form a joint list under the banner of The People of Freedom (PdL), in alliance with LN. In addition to Forza Italia and the National Alliance, several minor parties and groups chose to join the PdL: the Clubs of Freedom of

Michela Vittoria Brambilla Michela Vittoria Brambilla (born 26 October 1967) is an Italian politician and businesswoman. On 12 May 2008 she was nominated undersecretary (Tourism) in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet; on 8 May 2009 she was appointed Minister of Culture and Tourism ...

, the

Clubs of Good Government The Clubs of Good Government (''Circoli del Buon Governo'') were a grassroots organization within The People of Freedom, a political party in Italy. The Clubs are led by Marcello Dell'Utri, one of the seven founding members of Forza Italia along ...

Marcello Dell'Utri Marcello Dell'Utri (born 11 September 1941) is a former Italian politician and senior advisor to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Formerly Senator in the Italian Senate.

, the

Liberal Populars The Liberal Populars (''Popolari Liberali'') were a short-lived Christian-democratic political party in Italy (2008–2009), which currently functions as an internal faction of Identity and Action (IdeA). History Originally a faction within the U ...

(a splinter group from the UDC) of

Carlo Giovanardi Carlo Amedeo Giovanardi (born 15 January 1950, in Modena) is an Italian politician, former member of the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate, and leader of the social conservatism, socially conservative wing of the New Centre-Right party. ...

, the

Christian Democracy for the Autonomies Christian Democracy for the Autonomies ( it, Democrazia Cristiana per le Autonomie, DCA) was a minor Christian-democratic political party in Italy. History DCA was founded on 25 October 2004 by a split from the Union of Christian and Centre Dem ...

Gianfranco Rotondi Gianfranco Rotondi (born 25 July 1960) is an Italian politician and a member of the Chamber of Deputies. Biography Rotondi was born in Avellino, Campania. Political career Graduated in law, he was first elected in the Chamber of Deputies in 20 ...

, the

Pensioners' Party Pensioners' Party or Party of Pensioners is a name commonly adopted by political organizations composed primarily of people who have a pension (generally elderly retirees) and who are interested in issues affecting their demographic group. However, ...

Carlo Fatuzzo Carlo Fatuzzo (born 14 March 1944 in Genoa) is an Italian politician, leader of the Pensioners' Party. His daughter Elisabetta, a lawyer, is also an exponent of the Pensioners' Party. Biography In 1979 Fatuzzo founded the ''Christian Party of ...

Liberal Reformers Liberal Reformers ( it, Riformatori Liberali, RL) was a minor liberal, libertarian and liberist political party in Italy led by Benedetto Della Vedova, a former President of the Italian Radicals. History RL was founded in 2005 by a split from ...

Benedetto Della Vedova Benedetto Della Vedova (Sondrio, 3 April 1962) is an Italian people, Italian politician. A keen pro-Europeanism, pro-Europeanist, Della Vedova is currently president of Forza Europa (2017), Forza Europa (FE) and secretary of More Europe (+EU), t ...

, 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 histo ...

Francesco Nucara Francesco Nucara (3 April 1940 – 12 May 2022)

, the

New Italian Socialist Party The New Italian Socialist Party or New PSI ( it, Nuovo Partito Socialista Italiano or ''Nuovo PSI'', NPSI), more recently styled as Liberal Socialists – NPSI, is a political party in Italy which professes a social-democratic ideology and claims t ...

Stefano Caldoro Stefano Caldoro (born 13 December 1960 in Campobasso, Molise) is an Italian politician. He is the current leader of the New PSI. Biography Stefano Caldoro was born on 3 December 1960 in Campobasso. His father was the former socialist deputy Ant ...

, the Liberal Democrats (a splinter group from

The Daisy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

) of

Daniela Melchiorre Daniela Melchiorre (born 12 May 1970 in Rome) is an Italian magistrate and politician. Biography Daughter of a general of the Guardia di Finanza, Daniela Melchiorre is married and mother of a daughter. She obtained the classical maturity at th ...

Decide! Decide! (''Decidere!'') was an Italian libertarian political association established and led by Daniele Capezzone. The group was sometimes also referred to as ''Decidere.net'', in reference to its official website. It was one of the founding memb ...

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 T ...

Italians in the World Italians in the World (''Italiani nel Mondo'', InM) was a political party in Italy, founded in September 2006 by Senator Sergio De Gregorio, a former Socialist elected in the lists of Italy of Values. The party had previously existed as a politi ...

of Sergio De Gregorio,

Social Action In sociology, social action, also known as Weberian social action, is an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or ' agents'). According to Max Weber, "Action is 'social' insofar as its subjective meaning takes ac ...

Alessandra Mussolini Alessandra is a female given name of Italian origin, meaning ''defender of men''. It is the Italian form of the female given name Alexandra and the female form of the male given name Alessandro. Alessandra may refer to: * Alessandra Ambrosio (bo ...

, the

Libertarian Right Right-libertarianism,Rothbard, Murray (1 March 1971)"The Left and Right Within Libertarianism" ''WIN: Peace and Freedom Through Nonviolent Action''. 7 (4): 6–10. Retrieved 14 January 2020.Goodway, David (2006). '' Anarchist Seeds Beneath the ...

(a splinter group from The Right) of

Luciano Buonocore Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of ''Lucius'' ("Light"). The French form is ''Lucien'', while the Basque form is ''Luken''. Single name * Luciano (rapper) ...

and the Reformist Socialists of Donato Robilotta. In the 2008 general election, the PdL won 37.4% of the vote, getting elected 276

deputies A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

and 146 senators and becoming the Italian largest party. The PdL was also the first party since

Christian Democracy 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 ...

in the 1979 general election to get more than 35% of the popular vote. On 27–29 March 2009, the new party held its first congress in

and was officially founded. Berlusconi was elected president, while

Ignazio La Russa Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician who is serving as President of the Senate of the Republic since 13 October 2022. He is the first politician with a neo-fascist background to hold the position of Presid ...

and

Denis Verdini Denis Verdini (born 8 May 1951) is an Italian politician, banker, and convicted felon. Biography Born in Fivizzano, he graduated in Political Sciences and later became president of the local cooperative bank Credito Cooperativo Fiorentino. A l ...

were appointed national coordinators,

organizational secretary and

spokesperson. In the

2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making th ...

, the party won 35.2% of the national vote, returning 29 MEPs. In the big round of regional elections of 2010, the PdL retained

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

with

(in coalition with LN), gained

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

with

Renata Polverini Renata Polverini (born 14 May 1962 in Rome) is an Italian politician and trade unionist. She was President of the Lazio region and was formerly Secretary General of the General Labour Union (UGL); she resigned on 24 September 2012 after an ex ...

(a former leader of the General Labour Union),

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

with

(a leading

Socialist 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 e ...

) and

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

with

Giuseppe Scopelliti Giuseppe Scopelliti (born 21 November 1966 in Reggio Calabria, Italy) is an Italian politician. Mayor of Reggio Calabria He was elected Mayor of Reggio Calabria in 2002. According to investigations of anti-mafia investigators in 2016, Scopelliti ...

(a former AN member). The PdL was also instrumental in the centre-right victories in

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

and

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, where two Presidents of LN,

Luca Zaia Luca Zaia (born 27 March 1968) is a Venetian and Venetist politician, who has been President of Veneto since 2010. Prior to that, Zaia was President of the Province of Treviso from 1998 to 2005, Vice President of Veneto from 2005 to 2008 and M ...

and

Roberto Cota Roberto Cota (born 13 July 1968 in Novara) is an Italian politician, President of Piedmont from 2010 to 2014. After a degree in law, Cota joined the party in 1990. In 2000 he was elected to the Regional Council of Piedmont and was President of ...

respectively, were elected.

Berlusconi vs. Fini

Between 2009 and 2010

, former leader of the conservative AN and President of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

, became a vocal critic of the leadership of Berlusconi. Fini departed from party's majority line on

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

research,

end of life End-of-life may refer to: * End-of-life (product), a term used with respect to terminating the sale or support of goods and services * End-of-life care, medical care for patients with terminal illnesses or conditions that have become advanced, prog ...

issues,

advance health care directive Advance commonly refers to: *Advance, an offensive push in sports, games, thoughts, military combat, or sexual or romantic pursuits *Advance payment for goods or services *Advance against royalties, a payment to be offset against future royalty pay ...

and

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

, but, most of all, he was a proponent of a more structured party organisation. His criticism was aimed at the leadership style of Berlusconi, who tended to rely on his personal charisma to lead the party from the centre and supported a lighter form of party, which in his mind was to be a movement-party active only at election times (as the original FI and, on some respects, parties in the United States). Although some ''Finiani'', such as

Italo Bocchino Italo Bocchino (born 6 July 1967) is an Italian politician and journalist. Biography Bocchino was born in Naples, and in his youth, he was a member of the Italian Social Movement (a post-fascist formation) and worked as a spokesman for the mem ...

Carmelo Briguglio Carmelo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Carmelo Anthony (born 1984), American basketball player * Carmelo Antrone Lee (born 1977), Puerto Rican basketball player * Carmelo Bene (1937-2002), Italian director, actor, philo ...

and

Fabio Granata Fabio is a given name descended from Latin ''Fabius'' and very popular in Italy and Latin America (due to Italian migration). Its English equivalent is Fabian (name), Fabian. The name is written without an accent in Italian and Spanish, but is usu ...

, shared Fini's views on moral issues and immigration, many others, including

Andrea Ronchi Andrea Ronchi (born 3 August 1955) is an Italian politician, former Italian Minister of European Affairs.

and
Adolfo Urso Adolfo Urso (born 12 July 1957 in Padua, Veneto) is an Italian politician and journalist. Biography Son of Sicily, Sicilian parents, after studying in Acireale and Catania, Urso graduated in sociology at the Sapienza University of Rome, "La Sa ...
, were traditionalist. In fact most ''Finiani'' were
Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
conservatives who opposed Berlusconi's firm alliance with LN, federal reform and
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 ...
's economic policy. Fini made inroads among the liberal and centrist ranks of the former FI, but he lost the support of most leading members of the former AN, notably including
Ignazio La Russa Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician who is serving as President of the Senate of the Republic since 13 October 2022. He is the first politician with a neo-fascist background to hold the position of Presid ...
,
Maurizio Gasparri Maurizio Gasparri (Rome, 18 July 1956) is an Italian politician. Gasparri was member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. During the course of his career he has served as Minister of Communications (2001 to 2005 in the Ber ...
and
Altero Matteoli Altero Matteoli (8 September 1940 – 18 December 2017) was an Italian politician. Political career Born in Cecina, he has been a member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 19 ...
, who became close allies of Berlusconi. Others, including
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 ...
and
Alfredo Mantovano Alfredo Mantovano (born 14 January 1958) is an Italian politician and magistrate. Biography Born in Lecce on 14 January 1958, he graduated in law at the Sapienza University of Rome in 1981. In 1983 he began his career as a magistrate. He has ...
, found common ground with the party's Christian democrats. On 15 April 2010 Bocchino launched an association named
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 ...
in order to better represent Fini's views within the party. Five days later 52 MPs (39 deputies and 13 senators) signed a document in support of Fini and his theses, while other 74 MPs former members of AN, including La Russa, Gasparri, Matteoli and
Giorgia Meloni Giorgia Meloni (; born 15 January 1977) is an Italian politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Italy since 22 October 2022, the first woman to hold this position. A member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2006, she has led the ...
, plus Alemanno, mayor of Rome, signed an alternative document in which they reasserted their loyalty to the party and Berlusconi. On 22 April 2010 the national council of the PdL convened in Rome for the first time in a year. The conflict between Fini and Berlusconi was covered live on television. At the end of the day a resolution proposed by Berlusconi's loyalists was put before the assembly and approved almost unanimously. Following then, clashes between Fini and Berlusconi became even more frequent and reached their height in late July, when Fini questioned the morality of some party bigwigs under investigation. On 29 July 2010 the executive committee released a document (voted by 33 members out of 37) in which Fini was described as "incompatible" with the political line of the PdL and unable to perform his job of President of the Chamber of Deputies in a neutral way. Berlusconi asked Fini to step down and the executive proposed the suspension from party membership of Bocchino, Briguglio and Granata, who had harshly criticized Berlusconi and accused some party members of criminal offences. As response, Fini and his followers formed their own groups in both chambers under the name of
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 ...
(FLI). It was soon clear that FLI would leave the PdL and become an independent party. On 7 November, during a convention in
Bastia Umbra Bastia Umbra () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 15 km southeast of Perugia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 20,523 and an area of 27.6 km2.All demograph ...
, Fini asked Berlusconi to step down as Prime Minister and proposed a new government including the Union of the Centre (UdC). A few days later, the four FLI members in the government resigned. On 14 December FLI voted against Berlusconi in a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies, a vote won by Berlusconi by 314 to 311.

Re-organisation and discontents
In May 2011 the party suffered a big blow in local elections. Particularly painful was the loss of Milan, Berlusconi's hometown and party stronghold, where the outgoing PdL mayor
Letizia Moratti Letizia Maria Moratti (née Brichetto Arnaboldi; Milan, 26 November 1949) is an Italian businesswoman and politician. She was president of RAI (1994–1996), minister of Education, University and Research (2001–2006), mayor of Milan (2006–20 ...
was defeated by
Giuliano Pisapia Giuliano Pisapia (; born 20 May 1949) is an Italian lawyer, politician, former mayor of Milan, former member of the Italian Parliament and member of the European Parliament. As a politician, he has been a member of two left-wing parties, first P ...
, a left-wing independent close to
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 ...
's
Left Ecology Freedom Left Ecology Freedom ( it, Sinistra Ecologia Libertà, SEL) was a democratic socialist political party in Italy whose bulk was formed by former members of the Communist Refoundation Party. The party's leader was Nichi Vendola, a former President ...
party. In response to this and to crescent fibrillation within party ranks (especially among ''
Scajoliani Scajoliani refers to the faction around Claudio Scajola, a leading member of The People of Freedom (PdL), a political party in Italy. The group wielded particular influence within Forza Italia (FI), the main precursor of PdL. Scajola and his allies ...
'' and ex-AN members),
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 ...
, then minister of Justice, was chosen as national secretary in charge of re-organising and renewing the party. The appointment of 40-year-old Alfano, a former
Christian Democrat 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 ...
who had later been leader of FI in
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, was unanimously approved by the party executive. However, economy minister
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 ...
expressed his concerns that the nominee would "make us lose votes in the North". On 1 July the national council modified the party's constitution and Alfano was elected secretary with little opposition. Alfano led the party through a huge membership drive and, on 1 November, announced that more than one million individuals had joined the party. He also drove the party in a Christian-democratic direction. The factions which benefited most from the effort were those of
Roberto Formigoni Roberto Formigoni (born 30 March 1947) is a former Italian politician born in Lecco, Italy. He was the President of Lombardy from 1995 to 2013. He is the former unofficial political spokesperson of the Communion and Liberation movement. On 21 Fe ...
(
Network Italy Network Italy (''Rete Italia'') is a Christian-democratic association connected to Popular Alternative (AP), a political party in Italy, and earlier to The People of Freedom. Most of its members, including its long-time leader Roberto Formigoni, are ...
),
Ignazio La Russa Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician who is serving as President of the Senate of the Republic since 13 October 2022. He is the first politician with a neo-fascist background to hold the position of Presid ...
(
Protagonist Italy Protagonist Italy (''Italia Protagonista'') is a national conservative foundation and think tank connected to Forza Italia (formerly PdL), a political party in Italy. Founded in 2009 by Maurizio Gasparri, it can be seen as a continuation of Prota ...
) and
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 ...
(''
Liberamente ''Liberamente'' (which literally means "freely", but is also a play on words meaning "free mind") is a liberal-centrist foundation and think-tank within Forza Italia (FI), a political party in Italy. Its main leader is Mariastella Gelmini and, previ ...
''). The Christian-democratization of the party and the perceived marginalization of liberals and social democrats led some to leave the party. One of these,
Carlo Vizzini Carlo Vizzini (born 28 April 1947 in Palermo) is an Italian politician. Political life Vizzini was secretary of the Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI) from 1992 to 1993, during which time he founded (along with Bettino Craxi of the Itali ...
, declared: "It seems to me that the PdL is set to become the Italian section of the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...

hich already was Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
I come from another tradition: I have been secretary of the PSDI and I was one of the founders of the
Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus Norway and the United Kingdom ...
. When I joined Forza Italia there were Liberals,
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 ...
,
Radicals Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
. Now everything has changed." In the midst of the
European sovereign debt crisis The European debt crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis or the European sovereign debt crisis, is a multi-year debt crisis that took place in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until the mid to late 2010s. Several eurozone membe ...
, on 14 October, following calls by
Claudio Scajola Claudio Scajola (; born 15 January 1948 in Imperia (city), Imperia) is an Italian politician, current Mayor of Imperia (city), Imperia. Career A long-time Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democrat, he was Mayor of Imperia (city), Imperia ...
and
Giuseppe Pisanu Giuseppe "Beppe" Pisanu (born 2 January 1937 in Ittiri, province of Sassari) is an Italian politician, longtime member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Christian Democracy (1972–1992) and then for Forza Italia (1994–2006). Biography Pis ...
for a new government, two deputies close to Scajola,
Giustina Destro Giustina Mistrello Destro (Padua, 9 June 1945) is an Italian politician and entrepreneur. An entrepreneur by profession, Destro joined politics relatively late in her life. In 1999 she formed a list for Padua municipal election and ran as an ind ...
and
Fabio Gava Fabio Gava (born 26 October 1949 in Godega di Sant'Urbano) is an Italian politician from Veneto. A member of the Italian Liberal Party (PLI) since 1967, he joined Forza Italia (FI) in 1993 following his long-time friend Giancarlo Galan. Elected ...
, voted against Berlusconi during a vote of confidence and left the party altogether. On 2 November, Destro and Gava, along with
Roberto Antonione The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
,
Giorgio Stracquadanio Giorgio Clelio Stracquadanio (22 March 1959 – 31 January 2014) was an Italian politician and journalist. Biography Born in Milan, Stracquadanio began his political career in the 1980s as an activist for the Radical Party in Milan with the mun ...
,
Isabella Bertolini Isabella Bertolini (born 21 July 1963) is an Italian politician. Biography She started her political activity in the youth organization of the Italian Liberal Party. Bertolini ran with Forza Italia in the 1994 general election in the "Modena - S ...
and
Giancarlo Pittelli Giancarlo is an Italian given name meaning "John Charles". It is one of the most common masculine given names in Italy and is often short for "Giovanni Carlo". Notable people with the name include: List A * Giancarlo Agazzi (1933–1995), Italia ...
(who had left the party along with
Santo Versace Santo Domenico Versace (; born 16 December 1944) is an Italian businessman and politician who is the president and co-chief executive officer of Gianni Versace SpA, based in Milan, Italy. Since 2008 he has been elected as Member of the Chambe ...
in September), promoted an open letter in which they asked Berlusconi to step down. Contextually, Antonione announced that he was leaving the party. In the following days three more deputies, Alessio Bonciani, Ida D'Ippolito and
Gabriella Carlucci Gabriella may refer to: * Gabriella (given name), a feminine given name * ''Gabriella di Vergy'', an opera seria by Gaetano Donizetti (1826, revised 1838), and an opera by Mercadante (1828), based on the tragedy ''Gabrielle de Vergy'' by Dormont De ...
, left to join the UdC. In three months, the PdL had lost 15 deputies and 4 senators, including the 7 deputies and 3 senators who 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 ...
under
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 ...
.

Berlusconi's resignation
On 7 November 2011 Lega Nord's then-leader
Umberto Bossi Umberto Bossi (born 19 September 1941) is an Italian politician and former leader of Lega Nord (Northern League), a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy or Padania. He is married to the Sicilian Manuela Marrone, and has fou ...
proposed
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 ...
as Berlusconi's successor. On 8 November, during a key vote on a financial statement in the Chamber was approved thanks to the abstention of opposition parties, but Berlusconi got just 308 votes, 8 short of an absolute majority. Subsequently, Berlusconi announced that he intended to step down after the passage of the budget bill. Days of turmoil followed. Not only the party was highly divided, but its numerous factions and groups were divided too. As the appointment of
Mario Monti Mario Monti, (born 19 March 1943) is an Italian economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a technocratic government in the wake of the Italian debt crisis. Monti served as a European Commiss ...
, an independent economist and former
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
er, looked very likely, some in the party wanted to support the new possible government (and some even wanted to join it), while others were resolutely against and preferred an early election instead. Alfano, in his capacity of secretary, had to mediate. Among the party's Christian democrats,
Roberto Formigoni Roberto Formigoni (born 30 March 1947) is a former Italian politician born in Lecco, Italy. He was the President of Lombardy from 1995 to 2013. He is the former unofficial political spokesperson of the Communion and Liberation movement. On 21 Fe ...
,
Maurizio Lupi Maurizio Lupi (born 3 October 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of infrastructure and transport between 28 April 2013 and 20 March 2015. Early life and education Lupi was born in Milan, Italy, on 3 October 1959. He has a deg ...
and
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 ...
(
Network Italy Network Italy (''Rete Italia'') is a Christian-democratic association connected to Popular Alternative (AP), a political party in Italy, and earlier to The People of Freedom. Most of its members, including its long-time leader Roberto Formigoni, are ...
),
Claudio Scajola Claudio Scajola (; born 15 January 1948 in Imperia (city), Imperia) is an Italian politician, current Mayor of Imperia (city), Imperia. Career A long-time Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democrat, he was Mayor of Imperia (city), Imperia ...
(
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 ...
), and
Giuseppe Pisanu Giuseppe "Beppe" Pisanu (born 2 January 1937 in Ittiri, province of Sassari) is an Italian politician, longtime member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Christian Democracy (1972–1992) and then for Forza Italia (1994–2006). Biography Pis ...
(hence '' Pisaniani'') supported Monti, while
Gianfranco Rotondi Gianfranco Rotondi (born 25 July 1960) is an Italian politician and a member of the Chamber of Deputies. Biography Rotondi was born in Avellino, Campania. Political career Graduated in law, he was first elected in the Chamber of Deputies in 20 ...
(
Christian Democracy for the Autonomies Christian Democracy for the Autonomies ( it, Democrazia Cristiana per le Autonomie, DCA) was a minor Christian-democratic political party in Italy. History DCA was founded on 25 October 2004 by a split from the Union of Christian and Centre Dem ...
) and
Carlo Giovanardi Carlo Amedeo Giovanardi (born 15 January 1950, in Modena) is an Italian politician, former member of the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate, and leader of the social conservatism, socially conservative wing of the New Centre-Right party. ...
(
Liberal Populars The Liberal Populars (''Popolari Liberali'') were a short-lived Christian-democratic political party in Italy (2008–2009), which currently functions as an internal faction of Identity and Action (IdeA). History Originally a faction within the U ...
) did not. Within ''
Liberamente ''Liberamente'' (which literally means "freely", but is also a play on words meaning "free mind") is a liberal-centrist foundation and think-tank within Forza Italia (FI), a political party in Italy. Its main leader is Mariastella Gelmini and, previ ...
'' and among the party's
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 ...
,
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 ...
(who threatened to leave the party) and
Fabrizio Cicchitto Fabrizio Cicchitto (born 26 October 1940) is an Italian politician, whose career has followed a trajectory from radical socialism to centre-right reformism. Biography Fabrizio Cicchitto entered politics in the early 1960s, supporting the Ricc ...
were in favour, while
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and, covertly,
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 ...
were against. The vast majority of ex-AN members (
Ignazio La Russa Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician who is serving as President of the Senate of the Republic since 13 October 2022. He is the first politician with a neo-fascist background to hold the position of Presid ...
,
Maurizio Gasparri Maurizio Gasparri (Rome, 18 July 1956) is an Italian politician. Gasparri was member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. During the course of his career he has served as Minister of Communications (2001 to 2005 in the Ber ...
,
Altero Matteoli Altero Matteoli (8 September 1940 – 18 December 2017) was an Italian politician. Political career Born in Cecina, he has been a member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 19 ...
,
Giorgia Meloni Giorgia Meloni (; born 15 January 1977) is an Italian politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Italy since 22 October 2022, the first woman to hold this position. A member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2006, she has led the ...
, etc.) was against, while a minority (mainly
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 ...
) was in favour. On 12 November Berlusconi finally tendered his resignation to President
Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
. The executive of the PdL decided to support a government led by Monti under some conditions, the first being that it should not include politicians but only technocrats. The
Monti Cabinet The Monti government was the sixty-first government of Italy and was announced on 16 November 2011. This Experts' cabinet was composed of independents, three of whom were women and was formed as an interim government. The government ran the cou ...
took office on 16 November. In the subsequent votes of confidence in the two houses of Parliament, the PdL voted largely for Monti. However, some party members, including
Antonio Martino Antonio Martino (22 December 1942 – 5 March 2022) was an Italian politician, who was the minister of foreign affairs in 1994 and minister of defense from 2001 to 2006. He was a founding member of Forza Italia. Life and career Born in Mess ...
, Gianfranco Rotondi and
Alessandra Mussolini Alessandra is a female given name of Italian origin, meaning ''defender of men''. It is the Italian form of the female given name Alexandra and the female form of the male given name Alessandro. Alessandra may refer to: * Alessandra Ambrosio (bo ...
, deserted the party. Subsequently, LN broke its ties with the PdL at the national level.

2013 general election
After long deliberation, on 24 October 2012, Berlusconi finally announced that he would not run again for Prime Minister in the 2013 general election. In a written press release, the PdL leader also hinted that the party would select his successor through an
open primary 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 ...
on 16 December. Berlusconi, who praised Monti, seemed to aim at a new centre-right led by Monti and a PdL led by Alfano. On 25 November eight candidates filed the required number of signature in support of their bid: Angelino Alfano,
Giorgia Meloni Giorgia Meloni (; born 15 January 1977) is an Italian politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Italy since 22 October 2022, the first woman to hold this position. A member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2006, she has led the ...
,
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 ...
(who renounced right after),
Guido Crosetto Guido Crosetto (born 19 September 1963) is an Italian businessman and politician, who has been serving as Italian Minister of Defence, Minister of Defence since 22 October 2022 in the government of Giorgia Meloni. A former Christian-democrat, C ...
,
Daniela Santanchè Daniela Garnero Santanchè (; born 7 April 1961) is an Italian entrepreneur and a politician. Between 2010 and 2011 she served as Undersecretary to the Ministry for the Implementation of the Government Program in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. She ...
,
Michaela Biancofiore Michaela Biancofiore (born 28 December 1970) is an Italian politician. Early life and career Born in Bolzano to an Apulian father and a Roman mother, she graduated from the "Gregorio Elladio" school in Spoleto, where she lived in boarding school ...
, Giampiero Samorì and Alessandro Cattaneo. However, on 28 November, after Berlusconi had expressed doubts on its success, the primary was cancelled altogether. On 6 December Alfano announced that Berlusconi would run again for Prime Minister. As soon as 12 December Berlusconi backtracked and stated that if Monti were to run for Prime Minister as the leader of a united centre-right (including also
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (; born 31 August 1947) is an Italian businessman, former Chairman of Ferrari, and formerly Chairman of Fiat S.p.A. and President of Confindustria and FIEG. He comes from an aristocratic family from the region of Piedm ...
's
Future Italy Future Italy (''Italia Futura'', IF) was an Italian liberal-centrist think tank, formed in 2009 by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, chairman of Alitalia (since 2014) and former chairman of Ferrari (1991–2014), FIAT (2004–2010) and Confindustria (2 ...
) he would stand aside and support him. The move appeased the pro-Monti majority of the party, while disappointing other party wings. On 16 December the centrist majority of the party, consisting of several leading factions (''
Liberamente ''Liberamente'' (which literally means "freely", but is also a play on words meaning "free mind") is a liberal-centrist foundation and think-tank within Forza Italia (FI), a political party in Italy. Its main leader is Mariastella Gelmini and, previ ...
'',
Network Italy Network Italy (''Rete Italia'') is a Christian-democratic association connected to Popular Alternative (AP), a political party in Italy, and earlier to The People of Freedom. Most of its members, including its long-time leader Roberto Formigoni, are ...
,
Reformism and Freedom Reformism and Freedom (''Riformismo e Libertà'', ReL) is a "reformist" and mainly social-democratic think tank in Italy. ReL, whose president is Fabrizio Cicchitto,
,
Liberal Populars The Liberal Populars (''Popolari Liberali'') were a short-lived Christian-democratic political party in Italy (2008–2009), which currently functions as an internal faction of Identity and Action (IdeA). History Originally a faction within the U ...
, New Italy, ''
FareItalia FareItalia (translation: MakeItaly) was an Italian conservative political association. The group was founded in April 2011 by Adolfo Urso, Andrea Ronchi and Giuseppe Scalia as a "moderate" faction within Future and Freedom (FLI) in opposition to ...
'', etc.), rallied in Rome under the "Popular Italy" banner: in presence of Alfano, the bulk of the party expressed its support for Monti and Berlusconi. On the very same day, a group of anti-Monti reformers, led by Crosetto and Meloni, organized a separate rally and espoused opposite views. On 17 December
Ignazio La Russa Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician who is serving as President of the Senate of the Republic since 13 October 2022. He is the first politician with a neo-fascist background to hold the position of Presid ...
announced he was leaving the PdL in order to form "National Centre-Right", aiming at representing not just anti-Monti right-wingers, but also the liberals and Christian democrats around Crosetto. On 21 December La Russa's National Centre-Right and the groups around Crosetto and Meloni joined forces and formed
Brothers of Italy Brothers of Italy ( it, Fratelli d'Italia, FdI) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy. It is led by Giorgia Meloni, the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy and the first woman to serve in the position. Accor ...
. To complete the picture of a highly fragmented centre-right, in the previous months there had already been two minor but significant splits from the PdL: on 3 October
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 ...
left to form the
Labour and Freedom List The Labour and Freedom List (''Lista Lavoro e Libertà'', 3L) was a political party in Italy led by Giulio Tremonti. History In a press conference, on 3 October 2012, Tremonti explained that the party might also be called Forward Together (''Avan ...
, while on 22 November a group of MPs, led by
Isabella Bertolini Isabella Bertolini (born 21 July 1963) is an Italian politician. Biography She started her political activity in the youth organization of the Italian Liberal Party. Bertolini ran with Forza Italia in the 1994 general election in the "Modena - S ...
, formed Free Italy. In early January 2013, after Berlusconi had announced his return as party leader and Monti had refused to join forces with the PdL, the bulk of the party rallied again behind Berlusconi and just a few leading members, notably including
Mario Mauro Mario Mauro (born 24 July 1961) is an Italian politician and a university teacher of history. He is the former Minister of Defense, having served in the Letta Cabinet from 2013 to 2014. From 1999 to 2013, he was a member of the European Parliam ...
, left to join Monti's
Civic Choice Civic Choice ( it, Scelta Civica; SC) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy founded by Mario Monti. The party was formed in the run-up of the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Monti and continue his polit ...
party. Most of the centre-right was regrouped around the PdL, which took part to the February general election in coalition with
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 ...
(including the Labour and Freedom List), Brothers of Italy, The Right, Great South (including the
Movement for the Autonomies The Movement for Autonomy ( it, Movimento per l'Autonomia, MpA) is a regionalism (politics), regionalist, Christian democracy, Christian-democratic list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy, based in Sicily. The MpA, whose found ...
), the
Pensioners' Party Pensioners' Party or Party of Pensioners is a name commonly adopted by political organizations composed primarily of people who have a pension (generally elderly retirees) and who are interested in issues affecting their demographic group. However, ...
, the
Moderates in Revolution Moderates in Revolution ( it, Moderati in Rivoluzione, MIR) is a political association founded in 2012 by the lawyer, banker and entrepreneur Gianpiero Samorì. MIR is currently an associate party of Us with Italy, of whose executive committee Sa ...
and
Popular Agreement Popular Agreement ( it, Intesa Popolare, IP) was a small political party in Italy led by Giampiero Catone. History Popular Agreement was founded in November 2012 by the deputy Giampiero Catone, member of the centre-right parliamentary group Peopl ...
. In the election the PdL obtained 21.6% of the vote (–15.8% from 2008) and the coalition came just 0.3% short of the centre-left. After some inconclusive attempts by
Pier Luigi Bersani Pier Luigi Bersani (; born 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 t ...
, leader of 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 ...
, to form a government, the PdL joined
Enrico Letta Enrico Letta (; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy from April 2013 to February 2014, leading a grand coalition of centre-left and centre-right parties. Since March 2021, Letta has been secretary ...
's
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
of
grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are t ...
, providing five ministers, including Angelino Alfano who was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, two deputy ministers and several under-secretaries.

Revival of Forza Italia
On 28 June 2013 Berlusconi announced the revival of the defunct
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 ...
and the transformation of PdL into a centre-right coalition. On 1 August 2013 Berlusconi was convicted for tax evasion and sentenced to four years of imprisonment, the last three being automatically
pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
ed. On 18 September, when discussing the enactment of a related six-year public office ban, as required by the "Severino law", the Senate committee in charge of elections refused to endorse a PdL resolution relinquishing Berlusconi's ban, as both the PD and the M5S disagreed. On the same day Berlusconi launched the
new 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, Italy ...
(FI) and pledged to stay on as its leader in any case. The would-be PdL coalition might include the new FI,
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 ...
and other parties. In fact, in disagreement with the new FI's
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 ...
, some members led by former mayor of Rome
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 ...
, who left the PdL in October 2013, might form a
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 ...
party modelled on the late National Alliance (AN), along with
Brothers of Italy Brothers of Italy ( it, Fratelli d'Italia, FdI) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy. It is led by Giorgia Meloni, the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy and the first woman to serve in the position. Accor ...
and other minor right-wing parties, and eventually join the coalition. After months of bickering within the party between "doves", supporting Letta's government, and "hawks", very critical of it, on 28 September Berlusconi asked to the five ministers of the party (
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 ...
,
Maurizio Lupi Maurizio Lupi (born 3 October 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of infrastructure and transport between 28 April 2013 and 20 March 2015. Early life and education Lupi was born in Milan, Italy, on 3 October 1959. He has a deg ...
,
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 ...
,
Beatrice Lorenzin Beatrice Lorenzin (born 14 October 1971) is an Italian politician belonging to the Democratic Party (Italy), Democratic Party, former leader of Popular Alternative, and former Italian Minister of Health, Minister of Health from 28 April 2013 to ...
and
Nunzia De Girolamo Nunzia De Girolamo (born 10 October 1975) is an Italian lawyer and politician who served as the minister of agricultural, food and forestry policies from late April 2013 to 26 January 2014. Early life and education De Girolamo was born on 10 Oc ...
) to resign from the government over a tax hike. The ministers obeyed, but made clear that they dissented from the decision; Quagliariello and Lorenzin announced that they might not join the new FI, while Alfano described himself "differently ''berlusconiano''". The party's moderates, mainly Christian democrats as Alfano and Lupi (
Roberto Formigoni Roberto Formigoni (born 30 March 1947) is a former Italian politician born in Lecco, Italy. He was the President of Lombardy from 1995 to 2013. He is the former unofficial political spokesperson of the Communion and Liberation movement. On 21 Fe ...
,
Carlo Giovanardi Carlo Amedeo Giovanardi (born 15 January 1950, in Modena) is an Italian politician, former member of the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate, and leader of the social conservatism, socially conservative wing of the New Centre-Right party. ...
, etc.) and social democrats (
Fabrizio Cicchitto Fabrizio Cicchitto (born 26 October 1940) is an Italian politician, whose career has followed a trajectory from radical socialism to centre-right reformism. Biography Fabrizio Cicchitto entered politics in the early 1960s, supporting the Ricc ...
,
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 ...
, etc.), sided with the ministers, while the hawks led by
Daniela Santanchè Daniela Garnero Santanchè (; born 7 April 1961) is an Italian entrepreneur and a politician. Between 2010 and 2011 she served as Undersecretary to the Ministry for the Implementation of the Government Program in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. She ...
, most of whom liberals (
Antonio Martino Antonio Martino (22 December 1942 – 5 March 2022) was an Italian politician, who was the minister of foreign affairs in 1994 and minister of defense from 2001 to 2006. He was a founding member of Forza Italia. Life and career Born in Mess ...
,
Denis Verdini Denis Verdini (born 8 May 1951) is an Italian politician, banker, and convicted felon. Biography Born in Fivizzano, he graduated in Political Sciences and later became president of the local cooperative bank Credito Cooperativo Fiorentino. A l ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Sandro Bondi Sandro Bondi (born 14 May 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of culture from 2008 to 2011, in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. Biography Bondi was born in Fivizzano, province of Massa-Carrara, Italy. He first attended school at Lau ...
,
Niccolò Ghedini Niccolò Ghedini (22 December 1959 – 17 August 2022) was an Italian lawyer and politician who was the lawyer of the former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Ghedini was born in Padua on 22 December 1959. A member of the Italian Liberal Par ...
,
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 T ...
, etc.), supported the exit from the government. On 2 October a confidence vote, called by Prime Minister Letta, revealed the division within party ranks, to the extent that around 70 PdL lawmakers were ready to split in order to support the government, in case Berlusconi and the party had decided not to do the same. Faced by this ultimatum, Berlusconi made a U-turn few minutes ahead of the vote and subsequently tried a reconciliation process within the party to avoid the split. The outcome was a clear victory for the doves and the "ministerial faction" of the PdL, who continued to serve in the government.
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 ...
, Christian democrat and leader of the self-proclaimed "loyalists" (the party's mainstream, including
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 ...
,
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 ...
, etc.), supported by Galan and Bondi, announced his disagreement with Alfano's political line and proposed a congress to decide the party's positionment, while the floor leaders,
Maurizio Gasparri Maurizio Gasparri (Rome, 18 July 1956) is an Italian politician. Gasparri was member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. During the course of his career he has served as Minister of Communications (2001 to 2005 in the Ber ...
,
Altero Matteoli Altero Matteoli (8 September 1940 – 18 December 2017) was an Italian politician. Political career Born in Cecina, he has been a member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 19 ...
,
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 others came out as "mediators". On 25 October the PdL's executive committee voted to suspend all the party's activities and proposed the transformation of the current party into the new FI. Consequently, all the leadership roles in the PdL were temporarily revoked and a national council was summoned for 16 November. In order to approve the executive's proposal over the party's future, a 2/3 majority among voting delegates at the national council was required. On 16 November 2013 PdL was formally dissolved and replaced by the new FI, while a day earlier a group of dissidents, led by Alfano and including all five PdL ministers, had announced the formation of separate parliamentary groups, called
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 ...
(NCD).

Ideology and factions
The PdL aimed at combining together the traditions of its two main predecessors,
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) and National Alliance (AN), as well as their smaller partners, among them
Liberal Populars The Liberal Populars (''Popolari Liberali'') were a short-lived Christian-democratic political party in Italy (2008–2009), which currently functions as an internal faction of Identity and Action (IdeA). History Originally a faction within the U ...
,
Christian Democracy for the Autonomies Christian Democracy for the Autonomies ( it, Democrazia Cristiana per le Autonomie, DCA) was a minor Christian-democratic political party in Italy. History DCA was founded on 25 October 2004 by a split from the Union of Christian and Centre Dem ...
,
New Italian Socialist Party The New Italian Socialist Party or New PSI ( it, Nuovo Partito Socialista Italiano or ''Nuovo PSI'', NPSI), more recently styled as Liberal Socialists – NPSI, is a political party in Italy which professes a social-democratic ideology and claims t ...
,
Liberal Reformers Liberal Reformers ( it, Riformatori Liberali, RL) was a minor liberal, libertarian and liberist political party in Italy led by Benedetto Della Vedova, a former President of the Italian Radicals. History RL was founded in 2005 by a split from ...
, and
Social Action In sociology, social action, also known as Weberian social action, is an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or ' agents'). According to Max Weber, "Action is 'social' insofar as its subjective meaning takes ac ...
. FI, launched in 1994 by
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 ...
, was joined mainly by former
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 tea ...
,
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 ...
, and Liberals who had seen their parties disappear amid the ''
Tangentopoli ''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 ...
'' scandals. AN, successor of the post-
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 ...

Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement ( it, Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national ...
(MSI), had become a respectable conservative party under the leadership of
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 ...
. FI and AN started to cooperate and were the pillars of the centre-right
Pole of Good Government The Pole of Good Government ( it, Polo del Buon Governo) was a centre-right electoral, and later political alliance in Italy, launched at the 1994 general election by Silvio Berlusconi. Its counterpart in Northern Italy was the Pole of Freedo ...
,
Pole of Freedoms The Pole of Freedoms ( it, Polo delle Libertà) was a centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy, launched at the 1994 general election by Silvio Berlusconi. Its counterpart in central and southern Italy was the Pole of Good Governmen ...
and
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 ...
coalitions. The "Charter of Values" of the PdL underlined the "Christian" and "liberal" character of the party, presenting it as a defender of traditional values as well as of individual responsibility and self-determination. The document stressed the adherence of the party to the values and the platform of the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
(EPP), its support for
European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
and the transformation of Italy into a
federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
. The PdL was a classic example of
catch-all party A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a term used in reference to a political party's policy of permitting or encouraging a broad spectrum of views among its members. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined i ...
. The party's main cultural strains were
Christian democracy 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 ...
and
liberal conservatism Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
, but it is not to be underestimated the weight of those coming from the right-wing AN and the relevant role played by former Socialists, who were disproportionately represented in
Berlusconi IV Cabinet The fourth Berlusconi government was the 60th government of Italy, in office from 8 May 2008 to 16 November 2011. It was the fourth government led by Silvio Berlusconi, who then became the longest-serving Prime Minister of Italy of the Italian Re ...
. Four leading ministers (
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
) hailed from the old
PSI Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviation ...
, while another Socialist,
Fabrizio Cicchitto Fabrizio Cicchitto (born 26 October 1940) is an Italian politician, whose career has followed a trajectory from radical socialism to centre-right reformism. Biography Fabrizio Cicchitto entered politics in the early 1960s, supporting the Ricc ...
, was the party leader in the Chamber of Deputies. This is not to say that all former Socialists were actually social democrats; for instance, while Tremonti was an outspoken critic of
globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
and is not enthusiastic about
labour market flexibility The degree of labour market flexibility is the speed with which labour markets adapt to fluctuations and changes in society, the economy or production. This entails enabling labour markets to reach a continuous equilibrium determined by the inter ...
, Brunetta was a free-market liberal and frequently clashed with Tremonti over economic and fiscal policy. Moreover, internal alliances were often not consistent with the previous affiliation of party members. On issues such as
end of life End-of-life may refer to: * End-of-life (product), a term used with respect to terminating the sale or support of goods and services * End-of-life care, medical care for patients with terminal illnesses or conditions that have become advanced, prog ...
, Sacconi, a former Socialist who still claimed to be a social democrat, sided with the party's Christian democrats and the social-conservative wing of the former AN, while several members hailing from the MSI found themselves in alliance with the liberal wing of the former FI. This is no surprise, as the late MSI also had a strong
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
tradition, while FI was home to both social conservatives and uncompromising social liberals. On the economy, ex-FI Tremonti was often at odds with ex-FI liberals like
Antonio Martino Antonio Martino (22 December 1942 – 5 March 2022) was an Italian politician, who was the minister of foreign affairs in 1994 and minister of defense from 2001 to 2006. He was a founding member of Forza Italia. Life and career Born in Mess ...
and
Benedetto Della Vedova Benedetto Della Vedova (Sondrio, 3 April 1962) is an Italian people, Italian politician. A keen pro-Europeanism, pro-Europeanist, Della Vedova is currently president of Forza Europa (2017), Forza Europa (FE) and secretary of More Europe (+EU), t ...
, and was attacked by
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 ...
for being a "socialist". Traditional values and the
social market economy The social market economy (SOME; german: soziale Marktwirtschaft), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system alon ...
grew of importance in the rhetoric of the new party, partly replacing the
small government Libertarian conservatism, also referred to as conservative libertarianism and conservatarianism, is a political and social philosophy that combines conservatism and libertarianism, representing the libertarian wing of conservatism and vice ver ...
and
libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
ideals expressed by FI. In this respect, Sacconi summarised the economic propositions of the PdL with the slogan "less state, more society"; however, in the PdL there was still some room for
Reaganomics Reaganomics (; a portmanteau of ''Reagan'' and ''economics'' attributed to Paul Harvey), or Reaganism, refers to the neoliberal economic policies promoted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. These policies are commonly associat ...
, with Berlusconi often making the case for lower taxes and Tremonti for
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
and against
red tape Red tape is an idiom referring to regulations or conformity to formal rules or standards which are claimed to be excessive, rigid or redundant, or to bureaucracy claimed to hinder or prevent action or decision-making. It is usually applied to g ...
.

Factions (as of November 2011)
The party was home to a wide range of factions, groups and associate parties, whose ideology ranged from
social democracy 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 ...
to
national conservatism National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, ...
. As of November 2011, the factions, listed by political ideology, were as follows: *
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 tea ...
. The core of the former
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) plus some minor groups (
Network Italy Network Italy (''Rete Italia'') is a Christian-democratic association connected to Popular Alternative (AP), a political party in Italy, and earlier to The People of Freedom. Most of its members, including its long-time leader Roberto Formigoni, are ...
, ''
Scajoliani Scajoliani refers to the faction around Claudio Scajola, a leading member of The People of Freedom (PdL), a political party in Italy. The group wielded particular influence within Forza Italia (FI), the main precursor of PdL. Scajola and his allies ...
''/
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 ...
, '' Pisaniani'',
Christian Democracy for the Autonomies Christian Democracy for the Autonomies ( it, Democrazia Cristiana per le Autonomie, DCA) was a minor Christian-democratic political party in Italy. History DCA was founded on 25 October 2004 by a split from the Union of Christian and Centre Dem ...
,
Liberal Populars The Liberal Populars (''Popolari Liberali'') were a short-lived Christian-democratic political party in Italy (2008–2009), which currently functions as an internal faction of Identity and Action (IdeA). History Originally a faction within the U ...
,
Christian Reformists The Christian Reformists (''Cristiano Riformisti'', CR) are a Christian-democratic faction within New Centre-Right (NCD), a political party in Italy. The group emerged as a faction within National Alliance (AN), a conservative party. Its founders ...
, Federation of Christian Populars, and a plethora of local groups). Many party members hailed from the late
Christian Democracy 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 ...
: they included
Roberto Formigoni Roberto Formigoni (born 30 March 1947) is a former Italian politician born in Lecco, Italy. He was the President of Lombardy from 1995 to 2013. He is the former unofficial political spokesperson of the Communion and Liberation movement. On 21 Fe ...
,
Renato Schifani Renato Maria Giuseppe Schifani (; born 11 May 1950
.) is an Italian politician who has served as the
,
Claudio Scajola Claudio Scajola (; born 15 January 1948 in Imperia (city), Imperia) is an Italian politician, current Mayor of Imperia (city), Imperia. Career A long-time Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democrat, he was Mayor of Imperia (city), Imperia ...
,
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 ...
,
Mario Mauro Mario Mauro (born 24 July 1961) is an Italian politician and a university teacher of history. He is the former Minister of Defense, having served in the Letta Cabinet from 2013 to 2014. From 1999 to 2013, he was a member of the European Parliam ...
and
Maurizio Lupi Maurizio Lupi (born 3 October 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of infrastructure and transport between 28 April 2013 and 20 March 2015. Early life and education Lupi was born in Milan, Italy, on 3 October 1959. He has a deg ...
. *
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 ...
-
centrists 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 ...
. Various groups (''
Liberamente ''Liberamente'' (which literally means "freely", but is also a play on words meaning "free mind") is a liberal-centrist foundation and think-tank within Forza Italia (FI), a political party in Italy. Its main leader is Mariastella Gelmini and, previ ...
'', '' Tremontiani'',
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
, ''
Dellutriani Dellutriani refers to the faction around Marcello Dell'Utri, a leading member of Forza Italia and, later, of The People of Freedom, a political party in Italy. Generally speaking, they had been proponents of a stronger party organization in oppositi ...
'') presided the centre of the party. ''Liberamente'', led by
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
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 ...
, represented the bulk of FI, being composed by liberal loyalists of Berlusconi, and was probably the single largest faction within the party. * Liberals. The liberal factions of the former FI (
Free Foundation The Free Foundation (''Free Foundation'', FREE) is a think tank within Forza Italia (2013), Forza Italia, a List of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy. Although most of its leading members are former members of the Italian Socia ...
,
Popular Liberalism Popular Liberalism (''Liberalismo Popolare'', LP), subsequently known also as Houses of the Citizen (''Case del Cittadino'', CdC), was a liberal faction within Forza Italia, a political party in Italy. The group was basically composed of those Libe ...
) plus some new groupings (mainly Countercurrent). Leading liberals within PdL ranks were
Antonio Martino Antonio Martino (22 December 1942 – 5 March 2022) was an Italian politician, who was the minister of foreign affairs in 1994 and minister of defense from 2001 to 2006. He was a founding member of Forza Italia. Life and career Born in Mess ...
,
Raffaele Costa Raffaele Costa (born 8 September 1936 in Mondovì) is an Italian politician. He was the President of the Province of Cuneo, from June 2004 to June 2009. He was previously a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies representing the Italian Libe ...
,
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 ...
and
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 T ...
. *
Social democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
. The social democrats of the former FI, their organisations (
Reformism and Freedom Reformism and Freedom (''Riformismo e Libertà'', ReL) is a "reformist" and mainly social-democratic think tank in Italy. ReL, whose president is Fabrizio Cicchitto,
,
We Reformers We Reformers (''Noi Riformatori'') was a social-democratic association connected to New Centre-Right (NCD), a political party in Italy. Francesco Colucci is the president of the association, while his son Alessandro, a regional minister of Lombar ...
,
Italian Reformists The Italian Reformists (''Riformisti Italiani'') is a political party/association in Italy. The group was launched on 26 November 2011 by Stefania Craxi, deputy of the centre-right The People of Freedom (PdL) party, undersecretary of Foreign Aff ...
, European Reformists), plus the
New Italian Socialist Party The New Italian Socialist Party or New PSI ( it, Nuovo Partito Socialista Italiano or ''Nuovo PSI'', NPSI), more recently styled as Liberal Socialists – NPSI, is a political party in Italy which professes a social-democratic ideology and claims t ...
. Notably, several leading members of the party started their political career in the
Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...
and some of them still identified themselves as Socialists as members of the PdL: Franco Frattini,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Fabrizio Cicchitto Fabrizio Cicchitto (born 26 October 1940) is an Italian politician, whose career has followed a trajectory from radical socialism to centre-right reformism. Biography Fabrizio Cicchitto entered politics in the early 1960s, supporting the Ricc ...
and
Stefano Caldoro Stefano Caldoro (born 13 December 1960 in Campobasso, Molise) is an Italian politician. He is the current leader of the New PSI. Biography Stefano Caldoro was born on 3 December 1960 in Campobasso. His father was the former socialist deputy Ant ...
. * Liberal conservatives. The bulk of the former National Alliance (AN)'s main factions ( New Alliance,
Protagonist Right Protagonist Right (''Destra Protagonista'') was a national-conservative faction within National Alliance, a political party in Italy. The faction was founded in July 1999 by the followers of Giuseppe Tatarella, one of the party's charismatic leade ...
), as well as people from other parties;
Maurizio Gasparri Maurizio Gasparri (Rome, 18 July 1956) is an Italian politician. Gasparri was member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. During the course of his career he has served as Minister of Communications (2001 to 2005 in the Ber ...
and
Ignazio La Russa Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician who is serving as President of the Senate of the Republic since 13 October 2022. He is the first politician with a neo-fascist background to hold the position of Presid ...
re-organised their faction into
Protagonist Italy Protagonist Italy (''Italia Protagonista'') is a national conservative foundation and think tank connected to Forza Italia (formerly PdL), a political party in Italy. Founded in 2009 by Maurizio Gasparri, it can be seen as a continuation of Prota ...
, while
Altero Matteoli Altero Matteoli (8 September 1940 – 18 December 2017) was an Italian politician. Political career Born in Cecina, he has been a member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 19 ...
launched the
Foundation of Freedom Foundation of Freedom (''Fondazione della Libertà'') was a liberal-conservative think tank connected to The People of Freedom, a political party in Italy. Founded in 2010 by Altero Matteoli, it can be seen as a continuation of New Alliance, a ma ...
. *
National conservatives National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding National identity, national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting Cultural cons ...
. The right-wing of the former AN, which was represented by several groups ( New Italy,
Movement for Italy Movement for Italy (''Movimento per l'Italia'', MpI) was a conservative political party in Italy led by Daniela Santanchè. History In September 2008 Daniela Santanchè, spokeswoman of The Right and candidate for Prime Minister in the 2008 gene ...
,
Libertarian Right Right-libertarianism,Rothbard, Murray (1 March 1971)"The Left and Right Within Libertarianism" ''WIN: Peace and Freedom Through Nonviolent Action''. 7 (4): 6–10. Retrieved 14 January 2020.Goodway, David (2006). '' Anarchist Seeds Beneath the ...
). *
Grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
. Centre-right clubs in the tradition of the early FI (
Promoters of Freedom Promoters of Freedom (''Promotori della Libertà'') was an official grassroots organisation within The People of Freedom, a political party in Italy. The organisation was launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 24 January 2010 and its leader is Michela Vi ...
, National Association Club of Freedom,
Club of Freedom The National Association Club of Freedom (''Associazione Nazionale Circolo della Libertà''), more frequently referred to as Clubs of Freedom (''Circoli della Libertà''), was a grassroots organisation within The People of Freedom, a political party ...
,
Clubs of Good Government The Clubs of Good Government (''Circoli del Buon Governo'') were a grassroots organization within The People of Freedom, a political party in Italy. The Clubs are led by Marcello Dell'Utri, one of the seven founding members of Forza Italia along ...
).

Factions (as of October 2013)
A part from the above-mention factions, from 2013 four broad groupings were distinguishable: * Doves (''colombe''). These
centrists 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 ...
, mainly
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 tea ...
and
social democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
, favoured a greater autonomy of the party from
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 ...
, supported the
Letta Cabinet The Letta government was the 62nd government of the Italian Republic. In office from 28 April 2013 to 22 January 2014, it comprised ministers of the Democratic Party (PD), The People of Freedom (PdL), Civic Choice (SC), the Union of the Centre ...
and lead the party from the minority. The doves included
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 ...
,
Maurizio Lupi Maurizio Lupi (born 3 October 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of infrastructure and transport between 28 April 2013 and 20 March 2015. Early life and education Lupi was born in Milan, Italy, on 3 October 1959. He has a deg ...
,
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 ...
,
Beatrice Lorenzin Beatrice Lorenzin (born 14 October 1971) is an Italian politician belonging to the Democratic Party (Italy), Democratic Party, former leader of Popular Alternative, and former Italian Minister of Health, Minister of Health from 28 April 2013 to ...
,
Nunzia De Girolamo Nunzia De Girolamo (born 10 October 1975) is an Italian lawyer and politician who served as the minister of agricultural, food and forestry policies from late April 2013 to 26 January 2014. Early life and education De Girolamo was born on 10 Oc ...
,
Fabrizio Cicchitto Fabrizio Cicchitto (born 26 October 1940) is an Italian politician, whose career has followed a trajectory from radical socialism to centre-right reformism. Biography Fabrizio Cicchitto entered politics in the early 1960s, supporting the Ricc ...
,
Roberto Formigoni Roberto Formigoni (born 30 March 1947) is a former Italian politician born in Lecco, Italy. He was the President of Lombardy from 1995 to 2013. He is the former unofficial political spokesperson of the Communion and Liberation movement. On 21 Fe ...
,
Carlo Giovanardi Carlo Amedeo Giovanardi (born 15 January 1950, in Modena) is an Italian politician, former member of the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate, and leader of the social conservatism, socially conservative wing of the New Centre-Right party. ...
, and, to some extent,
Renato Schifani Renato Maria Giuseppe Schifani (; born 11 May 1950
.) is an Italian politician who has served as the
. * Mediators (''mediatori''). These centrists, including
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 ...
,
Maurizio Gasparri Maurizio Gasparri (Rome, 18 July 1956) is an Italian politician. Gasparri was member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. During the course of his career he has served as Minister of Communications (2001 to 2005 in the Ber ...
,
Altero Matteoli Altero Matteoli (8 September 1940 – 18 December 2017) was an Italian politician. Political career Born in Cecina, he has been a member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 19 ...
,
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 ...
,
Paolo Bonaiuti Paolo Bonaiuti (7 July 1940 – 16 October 2019) was an Italian politician and journalist. Biography Born in Florence, Bonaiuti graduated in Law. He was English teacher and worked as a copywriter in the field of advertising. He was also head of ...
,
Michela Vittoria Brambilla Michela Vittoria Brambilla (born 26 October 1967) is an Italian politician and businesswoman. On 12 May 2008 she was nominated undersecretary (Tourism) in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet; on 8 May 2009 she was appointed Minister of Culture and Tourism ...
,
Osvaldo Napoli Osvaldo may refer to the following people: Given name *Osvaldo Alonso, Cuban football player *Osvaldo Ardiles (born 1952), an Argentine football player and coach *Osvaldo Bagnoli, an Italian football coach *Osvaldo Brandão, a Brazilian football c ...
and
Stefano Caldoro Stefano Caldoro (born 13 December 1960 in Campobasso, Molise) is an Italian politician. He is the current leader of the New PSI. Biography Stefano Caldoro was born on 3 December 1960 in Campobasso. His father was the former socialist deputy Ant ...
, favoured party unity above everything else. * Loyalists (''lealisti''). These supporters of Berlusconi and of the original
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 ...
, including most of the party's liberal conservatives and many Christian democrats, opposed Alfano's line. The loyalists included
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, Mario Mantovani,
Francesco Nitto Palma Benedetto "Nitto" Francesco Palma (born 3 March 1950 in Rome) is an Italian politician and magistrate. From July to November 2011 he served as Minister of Justice in the Berlusconi fourth government. Biography He was Judge instructor in Vice ...
and
Renata Polverini Renata Polverini (born 14 May 1962 in Rome) is an Italian politician and trade unionist. She was President of the Lazio region and was formerly Secretary General of the General Labour Union (UGL); she resigned on 24 September 2012 after an ex ...
. * Hawks (''falchi''). These hard-line liberals, including
Denis Verdini Denis Verdini (born 8 May 1951) is an Italian politician, banker, and convicted felon. Biography Born in Fivizzano, he graduated in Political Sciences and later became president of the local cooperative bank Credito Cooperativo Fiorentino. A l ...
, Daniela Santanché,
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 ...
,
Sandro Bondi Sandro Bondi (born 14 May 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of culture from 2008 to 2011, in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. Biography Bondi was born in Fivizzano, province of Massa-Carrara, Italy. He first attended school at Lau ...
,
Niccolò Ghedini Niccolò Ghedini (22 December 1959 – 17 August 2022) was an Italian lawyer and politician who was the lawyer of the former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Ghedini was born in Padua on 22 December 1959. A member of the Italian Liberal Par ...
and
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 T ...
, are the most loyal supporters of Berlusconi and repeatedly tried to convince him to bring down Letta's government. Most of them could have been considered "loyalists" too. On 15 November, the day before the PdL's dissolution in the new FI, the "doves" left the party to form 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 ...
party.

Associate parties
The PdL granted financial support to several minor parties of the centre-right. They contributed one million Euros to the Liberal Democrats whose deputies were elected on the PdL list in 2008, and left the government camp after some months but returned in April 2011. Other parties who received payments from PdL were the
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 ...
(€300,000),
Christian Democracy for Campania Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...
(€144,000),
Social Action In sociology, social action, also known as Weberian social action, is an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or ' agents'). According to Max Weber, "Action is 'social' insofar as its subjective meaning takes ac ...
(€100,000),
Christian Democracy for the Autonomies Christian Democracy for the Autonomies ( it, Democrazia Cristiana per le Autonomie, DCA) was a minor Christian-democratic political party in Italy. History DCA was founded on 25 October 2004 by a split from the Union of Christian and Centre Dem ...
(€96,000), the Alliance of the Centre (€80,000), the
Movement of National Responsibility The Movement of National Responsibility (''Movimento di Responsabilità Nazionale'', MRN) was a small centrist parliamentary political party in Italy led by Domenico Scilipoti. Background The party was founded on 9 December 2010 by three depu ...
(€49,000) and the Federation of Christian Populars (€40,000).

Popular support
The PdL had its strongholds in
Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
, especially in
Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
,
Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...
and
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, but its power base included also two regions of the
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
,
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
and
Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...
, where the party however suffered the competition of
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 ...
, which controlled the governorships of
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, Lombardy and Veneto. The regions governed by a PdL governor in 2013 were just four (Campania,
Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
,
Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...
, and
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
), far less than 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 ...
and its allies, which controlled twelve. In the 2008 general election the party scored over 40% in Campania (49.1%), in Sicily (46.6%), Apulia (45.6%),
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
(43.5%), and Calabria (41.2%). In the 2013 general election, in which the PdL suffered a dramatic loss of votes, the party ran stronger in Campania (29.0%), Apulia (28.9%), and Sicily (26.5%). The electoral results of the PdL in the
regions of Italy The regions of Italy ( it, regioni d'Italia) are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, five of which have higher autonomy than the rest. U ...
are shown in the table below. As the party was launched in 2007, the electoral results from 1994 to 2006 refer to the combined result of the two main precursor parties,
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 ...
and National Alliance.

Electoral results

Italian Parliament

European Parliament

Leadership
*President:
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 ...
(2008–2013) *Secretary:
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 ...
(2011–2013) *Coordinator:
Sandro Bondi Sandro Bondi (born 14 May 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of culture from 2008 to 2011, in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. Biography Bondi was born in Fivizzano, province of Massa-Carrara, Italy. He first attended school at Lau ...
(2009–2013),
Ignazio La Russa Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician who is serving as President of the Senate of the Republic since 13 October 2022. He is the first politician with a neo-fascist background to hold the position of Presid ...
(2009–2012),
Denis Verdini Denis Verdini (born 8 May 1951) is an Italian politician, banker, and convicted felon. Biography Born in Fivizzano, he graduated in Political Sciences and later became president of the local cooperative bank Credito Cooperativo Fiorentino. A l ...
(2009–2013) **Organisation Secretary:
Maurizio Lupi Maurizio Lupi (born 3 October 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of infrastructure and transport between 28 April 2013 and 20 March 2015. Early life and education Lupi was born in Milan, Italy, on 3 October 1959. He has a deg ...
(2009–2013),
Daniela Santanchè Daniela Garnero Santanchè (; born 7 April 1961) is an Italian entrepreneur and a politician. Between 2010 and 2011 she served as Undersecretary to the Ministry for the Implementation of the Government Program in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. She ...
(2013) **Spokesperson:
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 T ...
(2009–2013) *Party Leader in the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
:
Fabrizio Cicchitto Fabrizio Cicchitto (born 26 October 1940) is an Italian politician, whose career has followed a trajectory from radical socialism to centre-right reformism. Biography Fabrizio Cicchitto entered politics in the early 1960s, supporting the Ricc ...
(2008–2013),
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 ...
(2013) *Party Leader in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
:
Maurizio Gasparri Maurizio Gasparri (Rome, 18 July 1956) is an Italian politician. Gasparri was member of the Italian Social Movement and National Alliance. During the course of his career he has served as Minister of Communications (2001 to 2005 in the Ber ...
(2008–2013),
Renato Schifani Renato Maria Giuseppe Schifani (; born 11 May 1950
.) is an Italian politician who has served as the
(2013) *Party Leader in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
:
Mario Mauro Mario Mauro (born 24 July 1961) is an Italian politician and a university teacher of history. He is the former Minister of Defense, having served in the Letta Cabinet from 2013 to 2014. From 1999 to 2013, he was a member of the European Parliam ...
(2009–2013),
Giovanni La Via Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
(2013)

Symbols
File:The People of Freedom logo.png, Official logo File:People of Freedom logo.PNG, Electoral logo

Literature
* *

References
{{DEFAULTSORT:People of Freedom Defunct political parties in Italy Political parties established in 2009 2009 establishments in Italy Political parties disestablished in 2013 2013 disestablishments in Italy Christian democratic parties in Italy Conservative parties in Italy Social conservative parties Liberal parties in Italy Liberal conservative parties

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