The Animalist Movement ( it, Movimento Animalista, MA) is a sister party of and, practically, a faction within Forza Italia (FI), a

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

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 ...

. MA's aim is to protect

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

. Its leader is Michela Brambilla, Minister of Tourism (2009–2011) in

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 ...

's fourth government), although Berlusconi is also a member. During the party's founding event, Berlusconi stated that the MA could gain 20% of the vote in the next Italian general election and Brambilla stressed that the party was attracting people from several cultural and political backgrounds. Supporters/members include Fiona Swarovski, Rita Dalla Chiesa, Marina Ripa di Meana, Andrea Roncato, and Carla Rocchi, president of the Animal Protection National Body (ENPA) association and former member of the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitio ...

(elected in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2001) for 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. T ...

, a party she left in 2001 because she perceived it as too leftist (according to her, the party's shift to left caused its decline). On August 10, Rinaldo Sidoli, the Italian Green Party's Spokesperson on Animal Issues joined Brambilla's new party, becoming 'Responsabile centro studi Movimento Animalista'. He stated his decision: "Is the only party advocated for animal protection and is a great example of how politics can take a lead on animal welfare. Greens have made the wrong decision looking too much forwards left and forgetting the meaning of transversal politics". He resigned on June 26: "is not anymore a transversal party".Dopo il 4 marzo il Movimento (animalista) si è frantumato. Una mappa"
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References

{{Forza Italia (2013) factions Political party factions in Italy Political parties established in 2017 Animal advocacy parties 2017 establishments in Italy Green conservative parties