The Network ( it, La Rete), whose complete name was Movement for Democracy – The Network (''Movimento per la Democrazia – La Rete''),
was 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 a ...
led by
Leoluca Orlando.
History
The party was formed on 24 January 1991 by
Leoluca Orlando,
mayor of Palermo
The mayor of Palermo is an elected politician who, along with the Palermo's city council, is accountable for the strategic government of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. The current mayor is Roberto Lagalla, who took office on 20 June 2022.
Overview ...
and member of the
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 democrati ...
,
who had broken with this party in 1991 due to its relations with the
Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
.
The party was
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
-inspired,
while including several former members of the
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy.
The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...
(
Diego Novelli,
Alfredo Galasso, etc.), anti-Mafia
and anti-
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption ...
.
It proposed an end to
parliamentary immunity
Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which politicians such as president, vice president, governor, lieutenant governor, member of parliament, member of legislative assembly, member of legislative council ...
, greater judicial powers to tackle Mafia, and a parliament with fewer lawmakers.
Describing itself as a movement rather than a party, the party aimed to be a loose "civic movement" without formal memberships or rigid party structure.
The party succeeded in gaining elected office in
Sicily
Sicily ( it, Sicilia , ) is the list of islands in the Mediterranean, largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. The Strait of Messina divides it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. I ...
, including five seats in the
1991 regional election (thanks to 7.4% of the vote) and, again, the mayorship of
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...
in 1993. In the
1992 national election, the party won 1.9% (nationally), 12 deputies and 3 senators, who teamed up with those of the
Federation of the Greens
The Federation of the Greens ( it, Federazione dei Verdi, FdV), frequently referred to as Greens (''Verdi''), was a green political party in Italy. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the Federation of Green Lists and the Rainbow Greens.
Th ...
.
It later participated in the
Alliance of Progressives, which included the
Democratic Party of the Left
The Democratic Party of the Left ( it, Partito Democratico della Sinistra, PDS) was a democratic socialist and social-democratic political party in Italy. Founded in February 1991 as the post-communist evolution of the Italian Communist Party ...
, the
Democratic Alliance, the
Federation of the Greens
The Federation of the Greens ( it, Federazione dei Verdi, FdV), frequently referred to as Greens (''Verdi''), was a green political party in Italy. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the Federation of Green Lists and the Rainbow Greens.
Th ...
, the
Communist Refoundation Party
The Communist Refoundation Party ( it, Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, PRC) is a communist political party in Italy that emerged from a split of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1991. The party's secretary is Maurizio Acerbo, who replac ...
, 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 the
Social Christians
The Social Christians ( it, Cristiano Sociali) are a Christian social-democratic faction within the Democratic Party, a political party in Italy. Before that, they were a party (1993–1998) and a faction of the Democrats of the Left (1998–2007) ...
. The coalition unsuccessfully contested the
1994 general election against
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 ...
's centre-right coalitions, the
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 Governme ...
and the
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 ...
, and the party had 1.9% of the vote, 6 deputies and 6 senators.
In the
1996 general election the party was part of
The Olive Tree coalition and elected in
single-member district
A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner v ...
s five deputies, who divided themselves between the
Democrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left ( it, Democratici di Sinistra, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy.
The DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger of t ...
and a sub-group named "Italy of Values", and one senator. After the election, Orlando stated the aim of creating a "Democratic Party"
modelled on 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
* ...
of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
and the party changed its name to The Network for the Democratic Party. In 1999 it was absorbed by
The Democrats of
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 Pri ...
. Before that, some of its members had joined
Antonio Di Pietro
Antonio Di Pietro (; born 2 October 1950) is an Italian politician, lawyer and magistrate. He was a minister in government of Romano Prodi, a Senator, and a Member of the European Parliament. He was a prosecutor in the ''Mani Pulite'' corruptio ...
's
Italy of Values
Italy of Values ( it, Italia dei Valori, IdV) is a populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party was founded in 1998 by former ''Mani pulite'' prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who entered politics in 1996 and finally left the par ...
, which was also merged into The Democrats.
After The Democrats (1999–2002), Orlando would later be active in
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy ( it, Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita, DL), commonly known simply as The Daisy (''La Margherita''), was a centrist political party in Italy. The party was formed from the merger of three parties with ...
, Italy of Values and
The Network 2018.
Election results
Italian Parliament
European Parliament
Literature
*
References
External links
Official website of Leoluca Orlando – Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Network (political party)
Political parties established in 1991
Political parties disestablished in 1999
Antimafia
Defunct political parties in Italy
1991 establishments in Italy
1999 disestablishments in Italy
Christian democratic parties in Italy
Catholic political parties
Anti-corruption parties