Alliance for Italy ( it, Alleanza per l'Italia; ApI) was a

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the ...

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 party, which was described in its manifesto as "democratic, liberal, popular" as opposed both to "

right-wing populism Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Estab ...

" and the "

social-democratic 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 ...

left", described as "an experience with high and memorable value, yet by now run out", was launched on 11 November 2009 by

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

, senator for the Democratic Party (PD) and former leader of Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy (DL). The core of the party was composed by the Free Democrats, the faction Rutelli launched some months before leaving the PD. Most of the early party members were liberals and Christian democrats coming from the PD, including Linda Lanzillotta,

Gianni Vernetti Gianni Vernetti (born 27 November 1960) is a writer and Italian politician. Early life Gianni Vernetti was born in Torino, Italy. In 1985 he graduated in Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Turin. In 1987 he was awarded a PhD in Urban ...

and Donato Mosella or disgruntled centrists from Italy of Values, like Pino Pisicchio. The party was officially disbanded by the end of 2016.

History

Background

, who, as leader of Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy, was instrumental in the foundation of the Democratic Party (PD), became soon uncomfortable with it because he saw as too stretched on the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album '' Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * ...

. In September 2009, when he was a guest at a party convention of the Union of the Centre (UdC) of Pier Ferdinando Casini, he told the press that he was interested in an alliance with the new party Casini was organizing through the UdC. Rutelli's critical view of the PD was reinforced by the election of

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 ...

as party leader in a

primary election 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 25 October 2009. On 27 October, after months of speculation, Rutelli hinted that was leaving the PD. The core idea of Rutelli was that Italy needed a new "political proposal" in a time when the country was on the verge of splitting in two, 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 offici ...

more than ever confident in the North and the possible emergence of the Party of the South: a scenario that could mean complete marginalization for the centre-left and its failure as a national political force.

Foundation

On 28 October Rutelli presented a "Manifesto for Change and Good Government" (''Manifesto per il Cambiamento e il Buongoverno'') along with other ten founding members. These included, among others, Lorenzo Dellai (President of the

Province of Trento Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous regi ...

and leader of the Union for Trentino), Massimo Cacciari, (Mayor of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

), Linda Lanzillotta (former Minister of Regional Affairs),

Bruno Tabacci Bruno Tabacci (born 27 August 1946) is an Italian politician and member of the Chamber of Deputies. He is the president of the Democratic Centre. In the past, he was member of Christian Democracy and served as the president of Lombardy from 19 ...

and

Elvio Ubaldi Elvio is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Elvio Banchero (1904–1982), Italian football player * Elvio Jiménez (born 1940), Dominican baseball player * Elvio Martínez (born 1982), Argentine football player * Elvio van Over ...

. While Cacciari and Lanzillotta have been members of DL and then of the PD, Tabacci and Ubaldi are members of

White Rose The White Rose (german: Weiße Rose, ) was a Nonviolence, non-violent, intellectual German resistance to Nazism, resistance group in Nazi Germany which was led by five students (and one professor) at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, ...

, a small outfit that was part of the Union of the Centre (UdC), led by Pier Ferdinando Casini. For some days Rutelli lingered on whether he was leaving the PD or not because the strategic goal of his initiative was a stable alliance between the UdC and the Democrats, with Tabacci instrumental in that. However, on 31 October, through an interview to ''

Corriere della Sera The ''Corriere della Sera'' (; en, "Evening Courier") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average daily circulation of 410,242 copies in December 2015. First published on 5 March 1876, ''Corriere della Sera'' is one of I ...

'', Rutelli announced that it was his intention to leave the PD immediately. In the interview he remarked how in his view

social democracy 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 s ...

was "a historical experience that has no chance to speak to present-day people" and that his goal was to "unite democratic, liberal and popular forces" in order to "build, in some years time, the largest oliticalforce of the country". On 8 December Tabacci left the UdC after that Casini had met with Berlusconi to discuss of justice reform and of an alliance between The People of Freedom and UdC in some regions. Tabacci, who said he was going to assemble his fellow members of the White Rose, explained that the new party would be "distant and alternative to the populism of Berlusconi and of the

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

" but open to centre-right voters. Casini soon foresaw a likely alliance between his party and ApI.

Early times

On 11 November 2010, along with many others, Rutelli presented the name and the provisional logo of the party. On 11–12 December ApI organized its first assembly in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...

. During the convention, which was attended by

François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has presided over the Democratic Movement (MoDem) since he founded it in 2007. A centrist, he was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 presidential elections ...

Guy Verhofstadt Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who was the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from 2009 to 2019, and has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium ...

and Will Marshall, Rutelli confirmed that the new party is headed to merge with UdC some day and opened to an alliance with

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 ...

, the 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 ...

who is increasingly uncomfortable with his party, The People of Freedom, and

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...

. On 22 December the logo of the party was presented by Rutelli, Tabacci and the other ApI leading members during a press conference. By January 2010 parliamentary groups of the party were formed 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 ...

and the

. In March Rutelli announced for April a national convention, in which the party would have been enlarged to greens and liberals. Between March and April Christian Democratic Refoundation party of Publio Fiori, a group of liberals led by

Valerio Zanone Valerio Zanone (22 January 1936 – 7 January 2016) was an Italian politician, who was formerly secretary and president of the Italian Liberal Party (''Partito Liberale Italiano''; PLI). He was also a senator for the Democratic Party (''Partito De ...

, a former leader of the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was a liberal and conservative political party in Italy. The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor part ...

, Democratic senator and leader of

Liberal PD Liberal PD ( it, Liberal PD) is a social-liberal faction within the Democratic Party (PD), a political party in Italy. The aim of the group is to promote liberal ideas within the party and elect liberal candidates. The faction, through the Italian ...

, and a group of greens led by Camillo Piazza, a former

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

deputy, joined the Alliance. In late March 2010 regional elections the party run joint lists with the UdC in most regions and run its own lists in only four regions:

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

(where it gained 2.0% of the vote and one regional councillor),

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

(3.0% and no councillors),

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

(4.2% and one councillor), and

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

(2.2% and no councillors). The result was a little bit disappointing and the party had no real presence in the North. This situation came into criticism by the Northern branches of the party, especially Union for Trentino (UpT) and Alliance for Veneto (ApV), launched by

Massimo Calearo Massimo Calearo Ciman (born 23 November 1955 in Vicenza) is an Italian entrepreneur and former politician from Veneto. Chairman of Calearo Antenne spa, the family company producing antennas. Before entering politics he held several leadership role ...

as a competitor of

Liga Veneta Liga Veneta ( vec, Łiga Vèneta; en, Venetian League; abbr. LV), whose complete name is ( en, Venetian League for Salvini Premier), is a regionalist political party active in Veneto. The LV, whose ideology combines Venetian nationalism and ...

–

. Giorgio Lunelli, leading member of UpT, spoke for many Northern party members when he criticized the party's lack of interest for the North, called for Rutelli's resignation and proposed a confederal structure for the party. In September 2010 Calearo left ApI and ApV was disbanded.

New Pole for Italy

On 15 December 2010 ApI was a founding member of the

New Pole for Italy The New Pole for Italy ( it, Nuovo Polo per l'Italia, NPI), better known as the Third Pole (') and less frequently as Pole of the Nation ('), was a centrist coalition of parties in Italy active from late 2010 to sometime in 2012. The NPI was fou ...

(NPI) along with the Union of the Centre (UdC), Future and Freedom (FLI) and some minor parties. Also in December Enrico Boselli, long-time leader of the

Italian Democratic Socialists The Italian Democratic Socialists ( it, Socialisti Democratici Italiani, SDI) were a social-democratic political party in Italy. The party was the direct continuation of the Italian Socialists, the legal successor of the historical Italian Social ...

and founder of the revived

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 189 ...

, who had left active politics after his 2008 defeat, joined ApI and was soon appointed vice president of the party. In November 2011 the party was joined by Santo Versace, a former Socialist coming from The People of Freedom (PdL). In January 2012

Luigi Fabbri Luigi Fabbri (1877–1935) was an Italian anarchist, writer, and educator, who was charged with defeatism during World War I. He was the father of Luce Fabbri. Selected works *''Life of Malatesta'', translated by Adam Wight (originally pub ...

, also a former Socialist passed through the PdL joined. In February

Cristina De Luca Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American s ...

replaced a deceased Democratic senator, but, instead joining the PD's group, she joined ApI. With Versace, Fabbri and De Luca the party had seven deputies and seven senators. In May 2012 the party obtained notable results in

: 17.5% in Torre Annunziata, 4.6% in

Torre del Greco Torre del Greco (; nap, Torre d' 'o Grieco; "Greek man's Tower") is a '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples in Italy, with a population of c. 85,000 . The locals are sometimes called ''Corallini'' because of the once plentiful ...

, and 7.3% in San Giorgio a Cremano. The result was however grim for the NPI as a whole and Pier Ferdinando Casini, leader of UdC, the coalition's largest party, hinted that the alliance was out-of-date. As a result, in June 2012 two heavyweights, Linda Lanzillotta and

, left the party. According to the former, ApI had become a "personal party". In July also Versace left the party, but his exit was counterbalanced by the entry of Giuseppe Vatinno, who had switched from Italy of Values (IdV).

To the centre-left and back

In September 2012 Rutelli started to re-position the party within the centre-left coalition, aiming at making the ApI its liberal and centrist component. Rutelli also stated that he aimed to represent a "new environmentalism". In October 2012 Riccardo Milana, a leading centrist, left in order to join the UdC. In November 2012, Tabacci, a leading member of the ApI and Christian democrat, ran in the centre-left primary election for becoming the Prime Minister candidate of the centre-left. On 28 December 2012, in the run-up to the

2013 Italian general election The 2013 Italian general election was held on 24 and 25 February 2013 to determine the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate of the Republic for the 17th Italian Parliament. The centre-left alliance I ...

, Tabacci announced an agreement with Rights and Freedom, a splinter group from IdV, and the formation of Democratic Centre (CD) as centrist wing of the

Italy. Common Good Italia. Bene Comune (Italy. Common Good, IBC) was a centre-left political list and electoral alliance in Italy created to stand at the 2013 Italian general election. It ''de facto'' ended on 28 April 2013, with PD's new leader Enrico Letta forming ...

coalition. Rutelli and other party's bigwigs were present at first press conference of the new electoral list. Subsequently, the ApI's sub-group in the Chamber changed its name to "Democratic Centre". Most leading members and incumbent MPs of ApI (Tabacci, Pino Bicchielli,

Francesco Bruno Francesco Bruno (born 15 June 1978) is an Italian sport shooter. He won a gold medal at the 2005 Mediterranean Games, and competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 2004. He was born in Foggia. He s ...

, Vincenzo Iovine, Vilma Mazzocco, Donato Mosella, Pino Pisicchio, Giacinto Russo, etc.) joined CD, while Rutelli chose not to be a candidate and announced that ApI would return for the

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

. Lorenzo Dellai, former member and coordinator of ApI, became a leading supporter and the practical leader 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 Commi ...

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 pol ...

(SC). In the election, Tabacci, Pisicchio, Bruno and Roberto Capelli (ApI regional leader in

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, aft ...

) were elected for CD, while Dellai and Lanzillotta were elected for SC. Of the four elects for CD, only Bruno chose to remain within ApI and, consequently, did not join the CD sub-group in the Chamber of Deputies.

2014 EP election and current inactivity

After the 2013 election, Rutelli started to re-organize the party, along with the sole vice president left, Enrico Boselli, and the only MP, Franco Bruno. Through the European Democratic Party (EDP), of which Rutelli is co-president, and an alliance with the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

(ALDE Party), the ApI planned to field a liberal, green and Europeanist list for the

. This list did not emerge; however Democratic Centre was part of the ALDE-supporting

European Choice European Choice ( it, Scelta Europea, SE) was a pro-European and primarily liberal electoral alliance of political parties in Italy formed to contest the 2014 European election on a platform influenced heavily by the Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt ...

list for the election, which received 0.7% of the vote and failed to win any seats in the European Parliament. In the 2015 regional elections the party fielded candidates, within larger electoral lists, in

and

. The party was officially disbanded by the end of 2016.

Leadership

*President:

(2009–2016) **Vice President: Pino Pisicchio (2010–2013), Enrico Boselli (2010–2016) *Coordinator: Lorenzo Dellai (2009–2013) *President of the National Council:

(2010–2013) *Spokesperson:

(2009–2010), Linda Lanzillotta (2010–2012) *Party Leaders in the

(2010–2011), Pino Pisicchio (2011–2013) *Party Leaders in the

: Giacinto Russo (2010–2011),

(2011–2013) *Party Leader in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

: Vincenzo Iovine (2010–2013)

References

External links

Alliance for Italy
{{Historical Italian political parties Defunct political parties in Italy Centrist parties in Italy Liberal parties in Italy Catholic political parties Christian democratic parties in Italy Democratic Party (Italy) breakaway groups 2009 establishments in Italy 2016 disestablishments in Italy Political parties established in 2009 Political parties disestablished in 2016