List of political parties in Italy explained

This is a list of political parties in Italy since Italian unification in 1861.

Throughout history, numerous political parties have been operating in Italy. Since World War II no party has ever gained enough support to govern alone; thus, parties form political alliances and coalition governments.

In the 2022 general election, four groupings obtained most of the votes and most of the seats in the two houses of the Italian Parliament: the "centre-right coalition" composed of the Brothers of Italy, Lega, Forza Italia and minor allies; the "centre-left coalition" composed of the Democratic Party and minor allies; the populist Five Star Movement; and the liberal Action – Italia Viva (also known as "Third Pole").

Coalitions of parties for regional elections can be slightly different from those for general elections, due to different regional conditions (for instance, in some regions the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement are in coalition, but not in others; same for the Democratic Party and the Third Pole) and the presence of several regional parties, some of which active only at regional level.

History

The first modern political party in Italy was the Italian Socialist Party, established in 1892.[1] Until then, the main political groupings of the country, the Historical Right and the Historical Left, were not classifiable as parties, but as simple groups of notables, each with their own electoral fiefdom, that joined together according to their own ideas.[2] From time to time, in the context of the Historical Far Left, other parties emerged: the Italian Republican Party, established in 1895,[3] and the Italian Radical Party, established in 1904.[4]

The Italian Socialist Party envisaged itself as a mass party, a form of party that would dominate throughout the 20th century. It was followed a few years later by the Italian People's Party, established in 1919. Both parties achieved electoral success until the advent of fascism, contributing decisively to the loss of strength and authority of the old liberal ruling class, which had not been able to structure itself into a proper party: the Liberal Union, launched in 1913, was not a coherent one and the Italian Liberal Party, formed in 1922, came too late. The beginning of 1921 saw the foundation of the Communist Party of Italy, born from a split of the Italian Socialist Party. Also in 1921, Benito Mussolini gave birth to the National Fascist Party, and the next year, through the March on Rome, he was appointed Prime Minister. In 1926, through the so-called leggi fascistissime, all parties were dissolved except the National Fascist Party, which thus remained the only legal party in the Kingdom of Italy until the fall of the regime in July 1943. Meanwhile, following the dissolution of the Comintern in May 1943, the Communist Party of Italy was rebranded Italian Communist Party. The following September, six anti-fascist parties – the Christian Democracy, the Italian Socialist Party, the Italian Communist Party, the Italian Liberal Party, the Action Party and the Labour Democratic Party — formed the joint National Liberation Committee, which gained official recognition as the representative of the Italian resistance movement (the Committee recognised the monarchy, thus the Italian Republican Party stayed out because of its full loyalty to republican principles). The parties of the Committee then formed, in various combinations, the governments of Italy from the liberation of Rome in 1944 until 1947, when the Socialists and the Communists were ejected.

In 1946, through a referendum, Italy became a republic and a Constituent Assembly wrote the republican Constitution. Between 1948 and 1992, the party system was dominated by two major parties: the Christian Democracy, the structural party of government, and the Italian Communist Party, the main opposition party.[5] Another stable opposition party was the post-fascist Italian Social Movement. For about half a century, following a so-called conventio ad excludendum of the Italian Communist Party,[6] the governments were led by the Christian Democracy, that chose its coalition partners among smaller parties situated either to its left or right: the Italian Socialist Party, the Italian Democratic Socialist Party, the Italian Liberal Party and the Italian Republican Party.[7] Between 1981 and 1991, the Christian Democrats formed coalition governments named Pentapartito with all four of them.[8] That was the time when several northern regional parties, whose policy themes were federalism and autonomism, were established. In 1991 they federated themselves into Lega Nord, which became the country's fourth largest party in the 1992 general election.[9]

Between 1992 and 1994, the established party system was shaken by a series of corruption scandals known collectively as Tangentopoli. These events led to the disappearance of the five parties of government.[10] Consequently, the Italian Communist Party, which had evolved to become the Democratic Party of the Left in 1991, with the exit of the Communist Refoundation Party, and the post-fascists, who had launched National Alliance in 1994, gained strength. On the contrary, the Christian Democracy, which changed its name to Italian People's Party in 1994, lost its centrality in the Italian party system. Following the 1994 general election, media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi became Prime Minister at the head of a government composed mainly of his brand-new Forza Italia party, joined by several members of the defunct mainstream parties, National Alliance and Lega Nord.[11]

Between 1996 and 2008, the political parties were organised into two big coalitions, which took turns in government: the centre-right Pole for Freedoms, which was renamed House of Freedoms after the re-entry of Lega Nord in 2000, and The Olive Tree, lately part of a broader coalition named The Union, on the centre-left.[12] As for the centre-left, the Democratic Party of the Left changed its name again in 1998, becoming Democrats of the Left,[13] while in 2002 a new party called Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy was founded by the merger of some centrist parties (including the Italian People's Party). In 2008, following the fall of the centre-left government led by Romano Prodi, the Democratic Party (established in 2007 upon the merger of the Democrats of the Left and The Daisy) decided to break the alliance with the Communist Refoundation Party and other minor left-wing parties. Contextually, on the centre-right of the political spectrum, Forza Italia and National Alliance merged to form The People of Freedom,[14] which continued the alliance with Lega Nord and prevailed in the 2008 general election.[15]

In the 2013 general election, the party system was fragmented in four groupings: the centre-left alliance led by the Democratic Party; the traditional centre-right alliance between the People of Freedom, Lega Nord and the newly-founded Brothers of Italy (a right-wing split of the People of Freedom, formed mainly by former members of National Alliance); Beppe Grillo's Five Star Movement; and a new centrist coalition around the outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti's Civic Choice party.[16] In November 2013, the national council of People of Freedom, at the behest of Berlusconi, suspended all party activities, to relaunch Forza Italia,[17] which would experience multiple splits. In the 2018 general election, the major groupings were reduced to three: the centre-right coalition, composed of Lega (Lega Nord's evolution on a countrywide scale), Forza Italia, Brothers of Italy and minor allies; the Five Star Movement (which was the single most voted party); and the centre-left coalition, composed of the Democratic Party and minor allies.[18] The centre-right coalition won a full majority in the 2022 general election, leading to a government led by Brothers of Italy's leader Giorgia Meloni (the first since 2008 to be formed by a coalition of parties having fought the election together), while the opposition was fragmented in three segments: the Democratic Party-led centre-left coalition; the Five Star Movement; and a centrist alliance between Action and Italia Viva (both splinter groups of the Democratic Party).

Active parties

Parties represented in the Italian or European Parliament

PartyFoundedIdeologyLeaderDeputiesSenatorsMEPsAssociate parties
Brothers of Italy
Italian: Fratelli d'Italia
2012National conservatism
Right-wing populism
Giorgia Meloni
Democratic Party
Italian: Partito Democratico
2007Social democracyElly SchleinDemoS
CD
CpE
Lega2017Right-wing populism
Conservatism
Matteo Salvini
Five Star Movement
Italian: Movimento 5 Stelle
2009Populism
Green politics
Giuseppe Conte
Forza Italia2013Liberal conservatism
Christian democracy
Antonio TajaniNPSI
Action
Italian: Azione
2019LiberalismCarlo Calenda
Italia Viva2019LiberalismMatteo Renzi
Green Europe
Italian: Europa Verde
2021Green politicsAngelo Bonelli
Us Moderates
Italian: Noi Moderati
2022Liberal conservatism
Christian democracy
Maurizio LupiCP
Italian Left
Italian: Sinistra Italiana
2017Democratic socialism
Eco-socialism
Nicola Fratoianni
South Tyrolean People's Party
German: Südtiroler Volkspartei
1945Regionalism
German-speaking minority interests
Dieter Steger
More Europe
Italian: +Europa
2017Liberalism
Pro-Europeanism
Emma BoninoRI
FE
Associative Movement of Italians Abroad
Italian: Movimento Associativo Italiani all'Estero
2008Italians abroad interestsRicardo Antonio Merlo
Coraggio Italia2021Liberal conservatismLuigi Brugnaro
Union of the Centre
Italian: Unione di Centro
2002Christian democracy
Social conservatism
Lorenzo Cesa
South calls North
Italian: Sud chiama Nord
2022Regionalism
Populism
Cateno De Luca
Animalist Movement
Italian: Movimento Animalista
2017Animal rightsMichela Vittoria Brambilla
Progressive Party
Italian: Partito Progressista
2017ProgressivismMassimo Zedda
Valdostan Union
French: Union Valdôtaine
1945Regionalism
French-speaking minority interests
Cristina Machet
Campobase2022RegionalismMicheal Rech
Notes

Parties represented within other parties in the Italian or European Parliament

PartyFoundedIdeologyLeaderDeputiesSenatorsMEPsAffiliation
Italy in the Centre
Italian: Italia al Centro
2022Liberal conservatismGiovanni TotiNM
Populars Europeanists Reformers
Italian: Popolari Europeisti Riformatori
2023Christian democracy
Liberalism
Elena BonettiA
Solidary Democracy
Italian: Democrazia Solidale
2014Christian leftPaolo CianiPD
Cantiere Popolare2012Christian democracy
Regionalism
Francesco Saverio RomanoNM
Christian Democracy with Rotondi
Italian: Democrazia Cristiana con Rotondi
2023Christian democracyGianfranco RotondiFdI
Democratic Centre
Italian: Centro Democratico
2012Christian left
Social liberalism
Bruno TabacciPD
Italian Radicals
Italian: Radicali Italiani
2001Liberalism
Libertarianism
Matteo Hallissey+E
New Italian Socialist Party
Italian: Nuovo Partito Socialista Italiano
2001Social democracy
Liberalism
Stefano CaldoroFI
Centrists for Europe
Italian: Centristi per l'Europa
2017Christian democracy
Pro-Europeanism
Pier Ferdinando CasiniPD
Fassa Association
Italian: Associazione Fassa
2008Ladin-speaking minority interests
Christian democracy
Luca GuglielmiLega
Diventerà Bellissima2014Regionalism
Conservatism
Nello MusumeciFdI
Notes

Parties represented only in Regional Councils

Countrywide parties

PartyFoundedIdeologyLeader Regional Council
Italian Socialist Party
Italian: Partito Socialista Italiano
2007Social democracyEnzo MaraioCampania
Basilicata
Sardinia
Possible
Italian: Possibile
2015Social democracy
Green politics
Francesca DruettiPiedmont
Sardinia
Populars for Italy
Italian: Popolari per l'Italia
2014Christian democracy
Liberal conservatism
Mario Mauro
Us of the Centre
Italian: Noi di Centro
2021Christian democracyClemente MastellaCampania
Vita2022Populism
Anti-establishment
Sara CunialTrentino-Alto Adige

Regional parties

PartyFoundedIdeologyLeader Regional Council
Civic Network
Italian: Rete Civica
2019RegionalismFabio ProtasoniAosta Valley
Edelweiss
Italian: Stella Alpina
2001Regionalism
Christian democracy
Ronny Bobey Aosta Valley
For Our Valley
French: Pour Notre Vallée
2019Regionalism
French-speaking minority interests
Fabio GradiAosta Valley
For Autonomy
French: Pour l'autonomie
2020Regionalism
French-speaking minority interests
Aldo Di MarcoAosta Valley
Mouv'2017Regionalism
Autonomism
Damien CharranceAosta Valley
Valdostan Alliance
French: Alliance Valdôtaine
2019Regionalism
Progressivism
Albert ChatrianAosta Valley
Autonomy House
Italian: Casa Autonomia.eu
2022Regionalism
Christian democracy
Paola Demagri
Michele Dallapiccola
Trentino-Alto Adige
Die Freiheitlichen1992Separatism
German-speaking minority interests
Dietmar Zwerger
bgcolor=For South Tyrol with Widmann
German: Für Südtirol mit Widmann
2023Regionalism
Christian democracy
Thomas WidmannTrentino-Alto Adige
2018Regionalism
Social democracy
Nicola SerraTrentino-Alto Adige
Greens
Italian: Verdi–German: GrüneVërc
1978Green politicsFelix Wohlgemuth
Marlene Pernstich
JWA List
German: JWA Liste
2023Right-wing populism
Separatism
Jürgen Wirth AnderlanTrentino-Alto Adige
The Civic List
Italian: La Civica
2019RegionalismMattia Gottardi
Popular Autonomists
Italian: Autonomisti Popolari
2017Regionalism
Christian democracy
Walter Kaswalder Trentino-Alto Adige
South Tyrolean Freedom
German: Süd-Tiroler Freiheit
2007Separatism
German-speaking minority interests
Eva Klotz
2018Regionalism
Liberalism
Paul KöllenspergerTrentino-Alto Adige
Trentino Project
Italian: Progetto Trentino
2008Regionalism
Christian democracy
Silvano Grisenti
Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party
Italian: Partito Autonomista Trentino Tirolese
1988Regionalism
Christian democracy
Simone Marchiori
1998Regionalism
Venetian nationalism
Fabrizio ComenciniVeneto
FVG Project
Italian: Progetto FVG
2018RegionalismSergio BiniFriuli-Venezia Giulia
Pact for Autonomy
Italian: Patto per l'Autonomia
2015RegionalismSergio CecottiFriuli-Venezia Giulia
Slovene Union
Slovenian: Slovenska Skupnost
1963Slovene-speaking minority interestsPeter MočnikFriuli-Venezia Giulia
Building Democracy
Italian: Costruire Democrazia
2009RegionalismMassimo RomanoMolise
Italy Is Popular
Italian: L'Italia è Popolare
2017Christian democracyGiuseppe De MitaCampania
Popular Apulia
Italian: Puglia Popolare
2017Regionalism
Christian democracy
Massimo CassanoApulia
Christian Democracy Sicily
Italian: Democrazia Cristiana Sicilia
2020Christian democracySalvatore CuffaroSicily
Movement for Autonomy
Italian: Movimento per l'Autonomia
2005Regionalism
Christian democracy
Raffaele LombardoSicily
Future Left
Italian: Sinistra Futura
2023Regionalism
Democratic socialism
Luca PizzutoSardinia
Sardinia 20Twenty
Italian: Sardegna 20Venti
2013RegionalismStefano TunisSardinia
Sardinia Alliance
Italian: Alleanza Sardegna
2023Regionalism
Liberalism
Gerolamo SolinaSardinia
Sardinian Action Party
Italian: Partito Sardo d'Azione
1921Regionalism
Sardinian nationalism
Christian SolinasSardinia
Sardinian Reformers
Italian: Riformatori Sardi
1993Regionalism
Liberal conservatism
Michele CossaSardinia
Shared Horizon
Italian: Orizzonte Comune
2023RegionalismFranco CuccuredduSardinia

Non-represented parties

Regional and local parties

Notes

Overseas parties

Defunct parties

Defunct parties represented in the Italian or European Parliament

Regional and local parties

Notes

Overseas parties

Defunct parties represented only in Regional Councils

Notes

Defunct non-represented parties

Regional and local parties

Notes

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Maurizio Degl'Innocenti. Geografia e istituzioni del socialismo italiano, 1892–1914. Guida Editori. 1983. 9788870423143.
  2. Book: Ubaldo Comite. Un approccio manageriale alla gestione dei partiti politici. 26. Franco Angeli Edizioni. 2017. 9788891749703.
  3. Book: Corrado Scibilia. Annali della Fondazione Ugo La Malfa XXV – 2010. 2016. Gangemi Editore. 9788849247404.
  4. Book: Francesco Leoni. Storia dei partiti politici italiani. 254. A. Guida. 2001. 9788871884950.
  5. Book: Robert Leonardi. Douglas A. Wertman. Italian Christian Democracy: The Politics of Dominance. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 179. 1989. 9781349088942.
  6. Book: Sondra Z. Koff. Stephen P. Koff. Italy: From the First to the Second Republic. Routledge. 65. 1999. 9780415196642.
  7. Renato Brunetta. Italy's Other Left. Daedalus . 2001 . 130 . 3 . 25–45 . The MIT Press. 20027704 .
  8. Book: Martin J. Bull. The Oxford Handbook of Italian Politics. Oxford University Press. 295. 2015. 9780199669745.
  9. Book: Anna Cento Bull. Social Identities and Political Cultures in Italy. Berghahn Books. 4. 2000. 9781571819444.
  10. Book: Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. 663. 2014. 9781135179328.
  11. Book: Nicola Maggini. Young People's Voting Behaviour in Europe: A Comparative Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 55. 2016. 9781137592439.
  12. Book: Gianfranco Pasquino. Italian Democracy: How It Works. Taylor & Francis. 2019. 9781351401081.
  13. Book: Claire Annesley. A Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe. Taylor & Francis. 2013. 9781135355470.
  14. Book: Erik Jones. Gianfranco Pasquino. The Oxford Handbook of Italian Politics. Oxford University Press. 149. 2015. 9780199669745.
  15. Book: B. Turner. The Statesman's Yearbook 2009. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 705. 2017. 9781349740277.
  16. Book: European Party Politics in Times of Crisis. European University Institute. 118. 2019. 9781108483797.
  17. Book: Gianluca Passarelli. The Presidentialization of Political Parties. Palgrave Macmillan. 2015. 9781137482471.
  18. Book: Carmelo Lombardo. Christian Ruggiero. Edoardo Novelli. La società nelle urne. Franco Angeli Edizioni. 30. 2020. 9788835100645.