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The Valdostan Union (french: Union valdôtaine, UV), also Valdostian Union or Valdotanian Union is a regionalist and
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 l ...
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It represents mainly the Arpitan-speaking minority in the region. Former leader
Erik Lavévaz Erik Lavévaz (born 15 February 1980) is an Italian politician and entrepreneur. He became the president of Aosta Valley on 21 October 2020, after being president of Valdostan Union The Valdostan Union (french: Union valdôtaine, UV), also Vald ...
has been the President of Aosta Valley since October 2020. The UV has been steadily represented in 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 transitiona ...
since 1976 and, due to the disappearance 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 democratic ...
party in the early 1990s, it has become the
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 ...
of the region, similarly to the
South Tyrolean People's Party The South Tyrolean People's Party (german: Südtiroler Volkspartei, SVP) is a regionalist and autonomist political party in South Tyrol, an autonomous province with a German-speaking majority in northern Italy. Founded on 8 May 1945, the SVP ha ...
in
South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...
. The party steadily increased its share of vote from the 11.6% of 1973 to the 47.2% of 2003, then it started a decline and was riven by splits. However, it has led the regional government almost with no interruption since 1974.


History


Early years

The UV was founded by Valdostan elements of the
Italian resistance movement The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...
on 3 September 1945. The party was originally a close ally 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 democratic ...
(DC), with which it shared government between 1946 and
1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
under Severino Caveri (UV). After that, the party distanced itself from the DC, while approaching the left-wing. After a five years' spell in opposition, the UV won the 1959 regional election in coalition with 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). ...
(PCI) and 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, ...
(PSI) with 51.6% against the 48.6% of an alternative coalition comprising the DC, 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 party ...
(PLI), the
Italian Democratic Socialist Party The Italian Democratic Socialist Party (, PSDI), also known as Italian Social Democratic Party, was a minor social-democratic political party in Italy. The longest serving partner in government for Christian Democracy, the PSDI had been an im ...
(PSDI) and 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 ...
(PRI). The UV–PCI–PSI coalition, led by UV's Oreste Marcoz (1959–1963) and then, again, Caveri (since 1963), governed until 1966, when the Socialists decided to switch sides and to enter in coalition with the DC, as they had done at the country-level three years before. This caused the split of UV's
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 ...
faction, which established the Valdostan Rally (RV), in order to support the coalition led by DC's Cesare Bondaz. In the 1968 regional election the UV received a mere 16.7% of the vote (the RV got 5.4%), while in 1973 Valdostan regional election, after the split of 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 ...
faction, the Progressive Valdostan Union (UVP), it was reduced at 11.6% (the UPV obtained 6.7% and the RV 1.6%, while the
Popular Democrats The Popular Democrats (''Democratici Popolari'', DP) was a Christian-leftist Italian political party active in the Aosta Valley of Italy. Its leading members included Cesare Dujany, Maurizio Martin and Angelo Pollicini. The party emerged by a ...
, a left-wing split of the DC, won 22.4%). After that low point, the UV was ready to surge again.


Resurgence

The UV returned to government in 1974 at the head of a UV–UVP–RV regionalist coalition led by Mario Andrione. In the 1978 regional election the UV returned to be the largest party with 24.7% of the vote and Andrione formed a government with the DC and the DP. In 1984 Andrione was replaced by
Augusto Rollandin Augusto Arduino Rollandin (born 13 June 1949 in Brusson, Aosta Valley, Italy) is an Italian politician and veterinarian. He is a member of the Valdostan Union, a center-right, pro-autonomy Italian political party active in the Aosta Valley. Caree ...
at the head of the government, which included the DC and the
Progressive Democratic Autonomists The Progressive Democratic Autonomists (french: Autonomistes démocrates progressistes, ADP) was a social-liberal and Christian-leftist Italian political party active in Aosta Valley. Its leading members included Cesare Dujany, Maurizio Martin ...
(ADP), born by the merger of the DP and the UVP. During the 1980s the UV strengthened its role as largest party in the region: 27.1% in
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
and 34.2% in
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
. Since the 1970s the UV was steadily represented in 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 transitiona ...
:
Pierre Fosson Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
was a member of 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 ...
from 1976 to 1987, while
Luciano Caveri 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) ...
(scion of the party's left-wing) represented the UV 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 ...
from 1987 to 2001. Caveri served also as undersecretary in
D'Alema II Cabinet The second D'Alema government was the government of Italy from 22 December 1999 to 26 April 2000. Following the exit from the majority of the United Christian Democrats led by Rocco Buttiglione and of the Union for the Republic led by Francesco ...
and as
member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
from 2000 to 2003. After having been excluded from government for three years and from the leadership of the region for three years, the UV was back in government in 1992 and, after the 1993 regional election, UV's
Dino Viérin Dino may refer to: Prefix * dino-, a common prefix in taxonomy, meaning "terrible", "formidable" **Dinosaur People * Dino (given name), a masculine given name and a nickname * Dino (surname), a surname found in Albania and Turkey * Diño, a sur ...
formed a centre-left cabinet with 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, ...
(PDS), the Greens and the ADP (since 1994). The coalition was continued in 1998–2006 by the UV and 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 th ...
(DS), while Rollandin served as senator in 2001–2006. Despite its ties with the parties of the centre-left, the UV contested the 2006 general election in competition with The Union (rallied in the
Autonomy Liberty Democracy Autonomy Liberty Democracy (''Autonomie Liberté Démocratie'', ALD) was a centre-left coalition in Aosta Valley, Italy. It took part to three Italian general elections and elected representatives in both houses of the Italian Parliament. History ...
list), as part of the regionalist coalition named
Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...
, causing the split of the Valdostan Renewal (RV), but lost and was no more represented in Parliament. This was however a turning point in regional politics: the UV dismissed the DS as coalition partners and formed a regionalist three-party coalition with
Edelweiss EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signals ...
(SA) and the
Autonomist Federation The Autonomist Federation (french: Fédération Autonomiste, FA) was a regionalist, centrist, Italian political party active in Aosta Valley. Social-liberal and social-democratic, the party's ideology lately tilted toward Christian democracy. T ...
(FA).


Regionalist coalition

In the 2008 regional election the UV won 44.4% of the vote and 17 regional councillors (out of 35), while the regionalist coalition won 62.0% and a large majority, composed of 22 regional councillors.
Augusto Rollandin Augusto Arduino Rollandin (born 13 June 1949 in Brusson, Aosta Valley, Italy) is an Italian politician and veterinarian. He is a member of the Valdostan Union, a center-right, pro-autonomy Italian political party active in the Aosta Valley. Caree ...
, who had made a comeback to regional politics, was the most voted regional councillor with 13,836 preference votes, while incumbent President
Luciano Caveri 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) ...
was only seventh with 2,770 votes (down from 7,313). Rollandin was thus sworn in as new President of the Region. Contextually, UV's
Antonio Fosson Antonio Fosson (born 11 October 1951) is an Italian politician. Antonio was elected president of Aosta Valley from 10 December 2018 to 16 December 2019. Antonio is a member of the Pour Notre Vallée Party. Biography Antonio was born in Ivrea, ...
had been elected to the Senate for the regionalist coalition: Fosson joined the
For the Autonomies For the Autonomies ( it, Per le Autonomie, Aut) is a heterogeneous mostly centrist to centre-left and originally regionalist parliamentary group, which has been active, with slightly different names and different composition, in the Italian Se ...
group and abstained from the vote of confidence on
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 ...
. Both 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 ...
and the 2010 Aosta municipal election the UV formed an alliance with
The People of Freedom The People of Freedom ( it, Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL, launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including Forza Italia a ...
(PdL). That alliance was however short-lived. In the 2013 general election UV's Albert Lanièce was elected to the Senate with support from the PdL. In the 2013 regional election the UV, which had suffered the split of the new Progressive Valdostan Union (UVP), obtained 33.5% of the vote (–10.9pp from 2008) and 13 seats, and the regionalist coalition retained a narrow majority in the Regional Council. Rollandin was the most voted politician with 10,872 preference votes (2,964 less than five years before) and was re-elected president. In July 2015 the government was enlarged to the centre-left
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 ...
(PD). In June 2016, after months of negotiations, the government was joined also by the UVP. In November 2016 two regional councillors, including former senator Fosson, left the party in disagreement with Rollandin and launched
For Our Valley For Our Valley (''Pour Notre Vallée'', PNV) is a centrist political party active in Aosta Valley, Italy. In November 2016 two regional councillors, former senator Antonio Fosson and Claudio Restano, left the Valdostan Union (UV) in disagreeme ...
(PNV). In March 2017 the UVP, SA (which had suffered the split of the
Valdostan Autonomist Popular Edelweiss The Valdostan Autonomist Popular Edelweiss ( it, Edelweiss Popolare Autonomista Valdostano, EPAV) was a centrist political party active in Aosta Valley, Italy. The party was originally named Autonomist Popular Edelweiss (''Stella Alpina Popolare Aut ...
(EPAV), PNV and
Autonomy Liberty Participation Ecology Autonomy Liberty Participation Ecology (french: Autonomie, Liberté, Participation, Écologie, ALPE) was a regionalist political party active in Aosta Valley, Italy, whose progressive ideology mixes elements of social democracy and green politic ...
(ALPE) formed a new government without the UV, under President
Pierluigi Marquis Pierluigi Marquis (born 30 May 1964) is an Italian politician, and the President of Aosta Valley since 10 March until 11 October 2017. References 1964 births Living people Presidents of Aosta Valley Politicians of Aosta Valley {{ ...
(SA). In October Marquis resigned and was replaced by
Laurent Viérin Laurent Viérin (born 7 August 1975) is an Italian politician who served as president of Aosta Valley from 13 October 2017 to 27 June 2018. He is the co-founder of the Progressive Valdostan Union party. Early life Viérin was born in Aosta on ...
(UVP) at the head of a coalition composed of the UV, the UVP, the EPAV and the PD.


Centre-left coalition

In the 2018 general election, Lanièce was narrowly re-elected to the Senate, but the four-party coalition forming the regional government lost several votes and the seat in the Chamber. In the 2018 regional election the UV did even worse, obtaining 19.2% of the vote (–14.3pp from 2013) and seven seats: its worst result in 45 years. After the election, the Regional Council elected Nicoletta Spelgatti of
Lega Nord Valle d'Aosta Lega may refer to: Geography * Lega (river) in Poland * Lega, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province * Lega, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, town in north Poland * Lega, an earlier name for Street, Somerset, a village in England People * Lega (su ...
(LNVdA) as President, at the head of a broad left-right coalition (including one defector from UV's ranks, outgoing regional minister Emily Rini), and the UV was once again excluded from the regional government. However, in December the government fell down and was replaced by a new one led by
Antonio Fosson Antonio Fosson (born 11 October 1951) is an Italian politician. Antonio was elected president of Aosta Valley from 10 December 2018 to 16 December 2019. Antonio is a member of the Pour Notre Vallée Party. Biography Antonio was born in Ivrea, ...
(ex UV, then PNV), at the head of a coalition composed of the UV, the UVP, ALPE, SA and PNV. In December 2019 Fosson resigned from President and was replaced by his Vice President, UV's
Renzo Testolin Renzo Testolin (born 28 March 1968) is an Italian politician and accountant from the Valdostan Union party, current President of Aosta Valley. Testolin served as acting President of Aosta Valley following the resignation of Antonio Fosson. He ...
, as acting president. In the
2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peopl ...
the UV was part of a five-party regionalist joint list, which had a technical agreement with the PD and obtained a mere 13.9% of the vote. A few months later, the party also suffered the split by former President Rollandin and his followers, who formed
For Aosta Valley For Aosta Valley (french: Pour la Vallée d'Aoste, PVdA) was a social-liberal and Christian-leftist Italian political party active in Aosta Valley. It was founded in 1993 by Cesare Dujany, former leader of the Popular Democrats, and Ilario Lani ...
. In the 2020 regional election, the UV was reduced to 15.8%, its second worst result ever, while the LNVdA came a stronger first. However, after the election, UV leader
Erik Lavévaz Erik Lavévaz (born 15 February 1980) is an Italian politician and entrepreneur. He became the president of Aosta Valley on 21 October 2020, after being president of Valdostan Union The Valdostan Union (french: Union valdôtaine, UV), also Vald ...
formed a government composed of the PD,
Civic Network Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government * Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a com ...
, the Valdostan Alliance (AV) (formed by the merger of ALPE and UVP), SA and
Mouv' ''Mouv '' (formerly ''Le Mouv'') is a French youth-oriented radio station which began broadcasting on 17 June 1997. As part of Radio France, it is a public radio station. The station primarily plays youth-oriented music, centered on urban music ...
.


Electoral results


Regional Council


Leadership

*President: Severino Caveri (1945–1974), Mario Andrione (1974–1975), Jean-Claude Perrin (1975–1984), Alexis Bétemps (1984–1996),
Carlo Perrin Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...
(1996–1998),
Augusto Rollandin Augusto Arduino Rollandin (born 13 June 1949 in Brusson, Aosta Valley, Italy) is an Italian politician and veterinarian. He is a member of the Valdostan Union, a center-right, pro-autonomy Italian political party active in the Aosta Valley. Caree ...
(1998–2001), Aurelio Marguerettaz (2001–2003), Manuela Zublena (2003–2006), Guido Césal (2006–2008), Ego Perron (2008–2013), Ennio Pastoret (2013–2018),
Erik Lavévaz Erik Lavévaz (born 15 February 1980) is an Italian politician and entrepreneur. He became the president of Aosta Valley on 21 October 2020, after being president of Valdostan Union The Valdostan Union (french: Union valdôtaine, UV), also Vald ...
(2018–2021),
Cristina Machet 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 ...
(2021–present)


References


Sources


Regional Council of Aosta Valley – History of Aosta ValleyRegional Government of Aosta Valley – Governments since 1946Regional Government of Aosta Valley – ElectionsCattaneo Institute – Archive of Election DataMinistry of the Interior – Historical Archive of Elections


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Political parties in Aosta Valley 1945 establishments in Italy Political parties of minorities Political parties established in 1945 Christian democratic parties in Italy Catholic political parties