Sardinian nationalism
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Sardinian nationalism or also Sardism (''Sardismu'' in Sardinian; ''Sardismo'' in Italian) is a social, cultural and political movement 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, after ...
calling for the
self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
of the
Sardinian people The Sardinians, or Sards ( sc, Sardos or ; Italian and Sassarese: ''Sardi''; Gallurese: ''Saldi''), are a Romance language-speaking ethnic group native to Sardinia, from which the western Mediterranean island and autonomous region of Italy deri ...
in a context of national
devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...
, further
autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...
in Italy, or even outright independence from the latter. It also promotes the
protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
of the island's environment and the preservation of its
cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...
. Even though the island has been characterized by periodical waves of ethnonationalist protests against
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 ...
,Pala, C. 2015. ''Sardinia''. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism. 1–3
Abstract
/ref> the Sardinian movement has its origins 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 * L ...
of the political spectrum; regionalism and attempts for Sardinian
self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
historically countered in fact the Rome-centric
Italian nationalism Italian nationalism is a movement which believes that the Italians are a nation with a single homogeneous identity, and therefrom seeks to promote the cultural unity of Italy as a country. From an Italian nationalist perspective, Italianness is ...
and
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
(which eventually managed to contain the autonomist and separatist tendencies''La Sardegna durante il ventennio fascista'', Università di Tor Vergata
/ref>). Over the years many Sardist parties from different ideological backgrounds have emerged (even on the right and the centre), all being in the minority, and with some of them making government coalitions of variable geometry with the statewide Italian parties. For instance, that also happened in the
2014 Sardinian regional election The Sardinian regional election of 2014 took place on 16 February 2014. Francesco Pigliaru of the Democratic Party defeated incumbent Ugo Cappellacci of Forza Italia. The combined score of the highly fragmented Sardist parties was 26%. The Fi ...
, where the combined result of all the nationalist parties had been 26% of the votes.


History

In 1720, the
Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
was definitely ceded by Spain to the
House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
after a plurisecular period of Spanish rule and a short-lived reconquest, abiding by the treaty of London that followed the
War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
. The Savoyard kings, who were forced to accept this island in place of the much more populated and profitable
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, were not pleased with the exchange to the point of making them want to dispose of what Cavour called "the third Ireland" later, according to
Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...
who denounced part of the plot, by repeatedly trying to sell it to either
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
or France. For a long time, Sardinia would be ruled in the same way as it was during the Spanish period, with its own parliament and government being composed exclusively of men from the Mainland. The only exception to this has been a series of revolutionary outburst (known collectively as "Sardinian Vespers") against the local Piedmontese notables in 1794, later led by
Giovanni Maria Angioy Giovanni Maria Angioy (; sc, Juanne Maria Angioy, italics=no ; 21 October 1751, Bono – 22 February 1808, Paris) was a Sardinian politician and patriot and is considered to be a national hero by Sardinian nationalists. Although best known fo ...
, which ended only in the first years of the 19th century but did not succeed and were ultimately suppressed. In 1847, a segment of the Sardinian elites from
Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
and
Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...
, led by the unionist Giovanni Siotto Pintor, demanded the so-called
Perfect Fusion The Perfect Fusion ( it, Fusione perfetta) was the 1847 act of the Savoyard king Charles Albert of Sardinia which abolished the administrative differences between the mainland states ( Savoy and Piedmont) and the island of Sardinia, in a fashion ...
,Onnis, Omar (2015). La Sardegna e i sardi nel tempo, Arkadia, Cagliari, p.172 making it so that Sardinia could get the liberal reforms that were not available for the island because of its separate legal system, and that «the culture and civilization of the Italian Mainland would be transplanted, without any reserves and obstacles, to Sardinia»; some Sardinian deputies in the minority, such as Federico Fenu, Giorgio Asproni and Giovanni Battista Tuveri, strongly protested against the Savoyard policies and warned against the ramifications which Sardinia could face. In the end, the king
Charles Albert Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independence ...
agreed to the request from
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
; by doing so, he dissolved what political bodies remained that could exert a modicum of control on the king's decisions over the island. Moreover, the later enlargement moves in the Peninsula on the Savoyards' part, starting with the
First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence ( it, Prima guerra d'indipendenza italiana), part of the Italian Unification (''Risorgimento''), was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other ...
, further aggravated the island's political and cultural marginalization with respect to the Mainland: Sardinia ended up being an even less significant overseas departement of the Savoyard domains, whose seat of power had always been located on the Italian peninsula. The episode would lead most of the Sardinian unionists, including Pintor himself, to regret having made that proposal (''Errammo tutti'', "we all made a mistake"), and would raise the "Sardinian Question" (''questione sarda'') from then on, a broad term used to cover a wide variety of issues regarding the difficult relationship between Sardinia and the mainland. It was in 1848 that the Sardinian intellectuals started to speak of "colonialism" in Sardinia. The Savoyard kings proceeded to expand their domains through the
Unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...
: Sardinia, being already part of the Piedmontese Kingdom from the very beginning, automatically joined the new polity, which changed its name to become the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
in 1861.


20th century

Sardism, which had been previously confined to the island's intellectuals, made its political debut for the first time on the occasion of Ireland's independence (1921) with Lussu's theories and the
Sardinian Action Party The Sardinian Action Party ( sc, Partidu Sardu, it, Partito Sardo d'Azione, PSd'Az or PSdA) is a Sardinian nationalist, regionalist and separatist political party in Sardinia. While being traditionally part of the Sardinian centre-left, the p ...
or PSd'Az (one of the oldest parties in Europe advocating for regional self-determination), which got 36% of the popular vote in 1921 regional election.Hepburn, Eve. ''The Ideological Polarisation and Depolarisation of Sardinian Nationalism'', Regional and Federal Studies Vol. 19, No.5. (2010) Sardinian nationalism thus established itself as the most important mass movement in Sardinia, and the Psd'Az a political force that
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
eventually banned in 1926; the overt Sardists would then be forced into hiding and some of them participated in the main European fronts of
anti-fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
(like
Emilio Lussu Emilio Lussu (4 December 1890 – 5 March 1975) was an Italian soldier, politician, anti-fascist and writer. Biography The soldier Lussu was born in Armungia, province of Cagliari (Sardinia) and graduated with a degree in law in 1914. Lussu ma ...
, and Dino Giacobbe and Giuseppe Zuddas in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
), while others decided to join the
Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...
, hoping that by adhering to the regime Sardinia would get autonomy in exchange (a demand facing an immediate rejection) or at least some attention from the Mainland (which they eventually got through some moderate funding concentrated in Cagliari for the local infrastructures). Overall, rural Sardinia showed little interest in the Fascist state, let alone consent, while the bourgeois segments from the urban settlements were among the staunchest supporters of the regime on the island. Following the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the Psd'Az, already weakened by the loss of many of its key members during the conflict, suffered a first split between the moderate wing and a much more radical one, led by Sebastiano Pirisi, which developed into another party (''Lega Sarda'', "Sardinian League") but ultimately got poor results in the 1946 Italian general election. The return of democracy coincided with the comeback of the previously cracked-down autonomist and separatist claims. A regional chamber to draft the Statute was created on 9 April 1945, but did not operate until as late as 26 April 1946, because of the slow pace of negotiations at each round of the talks. Lussu and the Sardinian Action Party championed in fact a solution that saw the island as a state associated with a federal country, rather than being assimilated like an ordinary Italian region within a unitary framework, but such demands were met with strong opposition from the Italian statewide parties:Cardia, Mariarosa (1992). ''La nascita della regione autonoma della Sardegna'', Franco Angeli 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 democratic ...
(DC), around which the majority of the island's notables were then gathered, supported in fact a generic regional framework with some devolution, geared towards accommodation for the central government in Rome; the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
(PLI) advocated for what little autonomy was needed to carry out only the administrative functions, without the capacity to create any regional laws; the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
(PCI), which shut down the Communist Party of Sardinia two years earlier, was hostile to the idea of giving Sardinia any autonomy at all, the Italian Communists considering it a reactionary tool that stood in the way of a transformation towards a single Italian Communist society; the right-wing parties and the
Common Man's Front The Common Man's Front ( it, Fronte dell'Uomo Qualunque, UQ), also translated as Front of the Ordinary Man, was a short-lived right-wing populist, monarchist and anti-communist political party in Italy. It was formed shortly after the end of the ...
were against the idea of Sardinian autonomy as well, because of Italian nationalism. In the end, the line prevailing was the one supported by the DC that, claiming to be willing to avoid "serious institutional conflicts", ditched the federal hypothesis in favour of a binary system of governance agreed upon the region and the central state. As much as some important authors in the field of Sardinian studies regard the granted Statute as Italy's definite acknowledgment of a distinct historical, geographic, social, ethnic and linguistic status, the "Sardinian specialty" as a criterion for political autonomy ended up being specified just on the grounds of a couple of socio-economic issues devoid of any of the aforementioned considerations. As time was pressing, the Sardinian regional Statute was eventually written by the
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
in Rome, followed by a rapid review of each section and without further debate. Some unique articles appeared in the final version, mentioning state-funded plans (going by the Italian ''piani di rinascita'' "rebirth plans") for the heavy industrial development of the island. One hundred years had passed since the Perfect Fusion, when Sardinia became an autonomous region of Italy. However, the Statute upon which the autonomy was effectively based fell short of many Sardists' expectations. Upon viewing the draft of the Statute, Lussu's laconic comment was «this autonomy might as well fit into the family of federalism like a cat into the lion's». The lawyer Gonario Pinna went as far as stating «the form of autonomy being currently promulgated is far from providing the island with a serious and organic capacity of self-rule, but rather hollows out its fundamental principles and shall lead to harsh disappointments whenever translated into practice». The Psd'Az suffered another serious split in July, when Lussu left and founded the short-lived Sardinian Socialist Action Party. The Sardist movement experienced a new wave of support at the end of the '60s, when the Sardinian society started becoming aware that its cultural heritage had been gradually vanishing; growing inequality was also being produced by a dual-economic structure, with the labour and resources being moved to the sector focused on the
petrochemical industry The petrochemical industry is concerned with the production and trade of petrochemicals. A major part is constituted by the plastics (polymer) industry. It directly interfaces with the petroleum industry, especially the downstream sector. Compan ...
(particularly fostered by the PCI) and the Italian, NATO and U.S. military installations. By the '70s, Sardist claims were widespread with the support of many springing
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 ...
organisations; they ranged from supporting of the Sardinian Action Party to having harshly critical views towards it, and were also ideologically diverse: for example, the catholic ''Unione Democratiga pro s'Indipendentzia de sa Sardigna'' ("Democratic Union for Sardinian Independence") and the socialist ''Liga de Unidade Nazionale pro s'Indipendentzia de sa Sardigna e su Socialismu'' ("League of National Union for Sardinian Independence and Socialism"), competing with each other based on their beliefs, were both founded in 1967.Cultura e identitade – Sardinna, ghennalzu – aprile 2002 Some cultural circles, like ''Città-Campagna'' and ''Su Populu Sardu'', also drew militants from the extra-parliamentary groups based on the island, and saw many Sardinian university students joining in. The youth wings in the town of
Orgosolo Orgosolo ( sc, Orgòsolo) is a '' comune'' (municipality) located in the Province of Nuoro, in the autonomous region of Sardinia, at about north of Cagliari and about south of Nuoro. The municipality is famous for its murals. These politica ...
were particularly active against land dispossession and the militarization of the grazing lands. In 1978, the movement ''Sardenya y Llibertat'' ("Sardinia and Freedom") was founded by Carlo Sechi and Rafael Caria in the city of
Alghero Alghero (; ca, label= Alguerese, L'Alguer ; sc, S'Alighèra ; sdc, L'Aliera ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ...
. The Psd'Az experienced another comeback in the 1980s. In the 1984 regional election the party peaked at 30% in
Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
and over 20% in
Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...
and
Oristano Oristano (; sc, Aristanis ) is an Italian city and ''comune'', and capital of the Province of Oristano in the central-western part of the island of Sardinia. It is located on the northern part of the Campidano plain. It was established as the pr ...
, gaining overall 13.8% of the vote: therefore, due to its pivotal role in the newly elected Regional Council, Sardist Mario Melis was
President of Sardinia This is the list of presidents of Sardinia since 1949. ;Elected by the Regional Council (1949–1994) ;Directly-elected presidents (since 1994) {{DEFAULTSORT:Presidents of Sardinia * Politics of Sardinia Government of Sardinia Sar ...
from 1984 to 1989, when it managed to get 12.5% of the vote. Ever since, that result has not been repeated yet by the Sardinian Action Party, let alone any of the splinter groups emerging from it.


21st century

The Sardinian nationalist movement is in fact rather disjointed and lacking in unity nowadays:Michela Murgia, la scrittrice si candida a guidare la Sardegna. L'eterno ritorno dell'indipendentismo sardo – L'Huffington Post
/ref> it is composed mostly of several local and scattered grassroots organisations across the island that do not have a clear central policy-making authority, and besides, the different nationalist subgroups often disagree with each other on many key issues. Sardinian nationalists address a number of issues, such as the
environmental damage Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defin ...
caused by the military forces (in fact, 60% of such bases in Italy are located on the island), the financial and economic exploitation of the island's resources by the Italian state and mainland industrialists, the lack of any political representation both in Italy and 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 ...
(due to an unbalanced electoral constituency that still remains to this day, Sardinia has not had its own MEP since 1994), the nuclear power and
waste Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste prod ...
(on which a referendum was proposed by a Sardist party, being held in 2011) and the ongoing process of depopulation and Italianization that would destroy the Sardinian indigenous culture. Sardinian nationalism is a pacific movement that does not advocate violent revolution, proposing instead to achieve its goals within a liberal democratic framework. However, as an exception to the rule, there had been some issues in the past strictly related to separatist tendencies, the most worth mentioning being essentially three. First, the actions planned in 1968 by
Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Giangiacomo Feltrinelli (; 19 June 1926 – 14 March 1972) was an influential Italian publisher, businessman, and political activist who was active in the period between the Second World War and Italy's Years of Lead. He founded a vast library o ...
to turn the island into the
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
of the Mediterranean and "liberate it from colonialism" by making contact with several local nationalist groups; in the end, the attempt of the famous
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
thinker to strengthen the pro-independence militant lines, divided into the
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 ...
''Fronte Nazionale de Liberazione de sa Sardigna'' (FNLS) and the rightist ''Movimentu Nazionalista Sardu'' (MNS), was nullified by the Italian secret military intelligence. Secondly, there had been in the 1980s the question of the so-called "separatist conspiracy", a secret plan apparently set up by some local activists to reach the island's independence in collaboration with
Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
's
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
; according to some reconstructions of the facts, the supposed Sardinian separatist conspiracy might have been a machination of the Italian secret services seeking to discredit the rising nationalist wave in the island. There were also separatist militant groups,Paola Sirigu, ''Il codice barbaricino'', La Riflessione (Davide Zedda Editore), 2007, pp.225–234 like the ''Movimento Armato Sardo'' (
Sardinian Armed Movement The Sardinian Armed Movement was a short-lived terrorist movement advocating socialism and political independence for the island of Sardinia. It mainly operated in Sardinia, but also in the Italian mainland, from 1983 to 1985. The group has been ...
), claiming assassinations and several kidnappings.Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. "Sardinian Autonomy Movement" (MAS)
/ref> Finally, it should be mentioned the case of a number of bombings, the most notable of which being that in 2004 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 ...
in his visit to Porto Rotondo (
Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age, ...
) with
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
; the responsibility has been apparently claimed by some unknown anarcho-separatist militant groups, the presence of which has not been seen again. In 2012, a vote in the Sardinian Assembly to pass an independence referendum bill failed by one vote. In 2017, a Sardinian independence campaigner going by the name of Salvatore (''Doddore'' in Sardinian) Meloni died after a two-month hunger and thirst strike while imprisoned at Uta.


Popularity

In the 1970s, around 38% of the Sardinian population expressed a favourable view on independence. In 1984, another poll made by the second most widespread Sardinian newspaper
La Nuova Sardegna ''La Nuova Sardegna'' is an Italian regional daily newspaper for the island of Sardinia. History and profile ''La Nuova Sardegna'' was founded in 1891 by Enrico Berlinguer, grandfather and namesake of Enrico Berlinguer, national secretary of th ...
also reported frustrations with the Italian central government in Sardinia, with the regionalist opinion being split across a spectrum ranging from calls for more autonomy in Italy to total independence from Italy. According to a 2012 survey conducted in a joint effort between the
University of Cagliari The University of Cagliari ( it, Università degli Studi di Cagliari) is a university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties. History The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 alon ...
and that of
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, 41% of
Sardinians The Sardinians, or Sards ( sc, Sardos or ; Italian and Sassarese: ''Sardi''; Gallurese: ''Saldi''), are a Romance language-speaking ethnic group native to Sardinia, from which the western Mediterranean island and autonomous region of Italy deri ...
would be in favour of independence (with 10% choosing it from both Italy and the European Union, and 31% only from Italy with Sardinia remaining in the EU), whilst another 46% would rather have a larger autonomy within Italy and the EU, including fiscal power; 12% of people would be content to remain part of Italy and the EU with a Regional Council without any fiscal powers, and 1% in Italy and the EU without a Regional Council and fiscal powers.The Scottish referendum: the view from Italy and Sardinia, Ilenia Ruggiu, Scottish Affairs 23.3 (2014): 407–414
/ref> Besides, the same survey reported a
Moreno Moreno may refer to: Places Argentina *Moreno (Buenos Aires Metro), a station on Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro *Moreno, Buenos Aires, a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina *Moreno Department, a depatnent of Santiago del Estero Province, A ...
question giving the following results: (1) Sardinian, not Italian, 26%; (2) more Sardinian than Italian, 37%; (3) equally Sardinian and Italian, 31%; (4) more Italian than Sardinian, 5%; (5) Italian, not Sardinian, 1%. A 2017 poll by the Ixè Institute found that 51% of those questioned identified as Sardinian (as opposed to an Italian average of 15% identifying by their region of origin), rather than Italian (19%), European (11%) and/or citizen of the world (19%). All these numerical data have been exposed by researchers like Carlo Pala, a
political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...
at the
University of Sassari The University of Sassari ( it, Università degli Studi di Sassari, UniSS) is a university located in Sassari, Italy. It was founded in 1562 and is organized in 13 departments. The University of Sassari earned first place in the rankings for t ...
. Even other polls, published by professional organizations for public opinion research, contribute to corroborating, to a varying degree, these findings and their accuracy. However, this support has heretofore failed to translate into electoral success for pro-sovereignty Sardinian forces and a vigorous political action. In fact, this strong sense of regional identity does not seem to benefit any regional party at all, as it is also combined with lack of political engagement and a general distrust in institutions and parties, including those putting emphasis on Sardinian identity; moreover, the nationalist movement has a well-documented history of fractionalization: all attempts to unify the nationalist subgroups have so far failed; thus, the Sardist movement still suffers from being highly fragmented into a large number of political subgroups pushing different policies. All the Sardist parties put together usually win around 10–20% of the vote in regional elections, with not a single one managing to emerge as a serious competitor to the statewide parties. Such disconnect between societal views and political capitalization is called by some scholars, like Pala, the "disorganic connection of the regionalist actors" (''connessione disorganica degli attori regionalisti''). Unlike other European regions with nationalist tendencies, even the local branches of statewide parties have incorporated regionalist elements in their political agenda, thus undermining the once distinctive Sardist demands: it is to be mentioned, for example,
Francesco Cossiga Francesco Maurizio Cossiga (; sc, Frantziscu Maurìtziu Còssiga, ; 1928 – 2010)
.
was an Italian pol ...
's constitutional bill n. 352 to reform the Sardinian Statute, which ended up being eventually rejected by the Italian Parliament and aimed to recognize the island as a distinct nation within Italy, and to grant it the right to self-determination. The nationalist parties have disjointedly responded to the long-term accommodation strategy promoted by the statewide ones: some refused to team up, while others tried to work with the pro-Italian parties as coalition partners, in the hopes of applying further pressure from within to favour increased devolution; either choice has been met with diffidence by the Sardinian electorate, leading the various Sardist parties to play a marginal role in Sardinian politics. In the 2014 regional election, for instance, more than a dozen Sardist parties of different connotations took part to the electoral competition, but yet again, because of their number and political fragmentation,Galassia sardista al 26 per cento – La Nuova Sardegna
/ref> they did not manage to win as many seats as they were initially supposed to, some think even because of a tactical mistake by the ProgReS-sponsored list, which was then led by the novelist
Michela Murgia Michela Murgia (born 3 June 1972) is an Italian novelist, playwright and radio personality. She is a winner of the Premio Campiello and the Mondello International Literary Prize. Biography Michela Murgia was born in Cabras, Sardinia on 3 June 1 ...
. Despite the combined result of all of the nationalist parties being around 26%, as estimated by
La Nuova Sardegna ''La Nuova Sardegna'' is an Italian regional daily newspaper for the island of Sardinia. History and profile ''La Nuova Sardegna'' was founded in 1891 by Enrico Berlinguer, grandfather and namesake of Enrico Berlinguer, national secretary of th ...
(dropping to 18% for the pro-independence forces), they won only eight seats in the Sardinian regional council.Tèrratrem en Sardenha – Jornalet, Gaseta Occitana d'informacions
/ref> In February 2019 the secretary of the separatist Sardinian Action Party was elected President of the Autonomous Region with 47.82% of votes.


Party support

Here is a summary of the results of the regionalist parties participating in the regional elections and promoting stances ranging from increased autonomy to independence: ; 1949 party support ; 1953 party support ; 1957 party support ; 1961 party support ; 1965 party support ; 1969 party support ; 1974 party support ; 1979 party support ; 1984 party support ; 1989 party support ; 1994 party support ; 1999 party support ; 2004 party support ; 2009 party support ; 2014 party support ; 2019 party support


See also

*
Corsican nationalism Corsican nationalism is a nationalist movement in Corsica that advocates more autonomy for the island, if not outright independence from France. Political support The main separatist party, Corsica Libera, achieved 9.85% of votes in the 2 ...
*
Sardinian people The Sardinians, or Sards ( sc, Sardos or ; Italian and Sassarese: ''Sardi''; Gallurese: ''Saldi''), are a Romance language-speaking ethnic group native to Sardinia, from which the western Mediterranean island and autonomous region of Italy deri ...
*
Sardinian language Sardinian or Sard ( , or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Many Romance linguists consider it the language that is closest to Latin among all its genealogica ...
*
Nuragic civilization The Nuragic civilization, also known as the Nuragic culture, was a civilization or culture on Sardinia (Italy), the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, which lasted from the 18th century BC (Middle Bronze Age) (or from t ...
*
Politics of Sardinia The Politics of Sardinia ( Sardinia, Italy) takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democracy, whereby the President of Regional Government is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power ...
* Republic of Mal di Ventre


References


Bibliography

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