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List of political parties in Italy
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List of political parties in Italy
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.
The first modern political party in Italy was the Italian Socialist Party, established in 1892. 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. From time to time, in the context of the Historical Far Left, other parties emerged: the Italian Republican Party, established in 1895, and the Italian Radical Party, established in 1904.
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 Liberals' grouping, 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 (lit. 'very fascist laws'), 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. 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, 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. Between 1981 and 1991, the Christian Democrats formed coalition governments named Pentapartito with all four of them. 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.
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. 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.
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List of political parties in Italy
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.
The first modern political party in Italy was the Italian Socialist Party, established in 1892. 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. From time to time, in the context of the Historical Far Left, other parties emerged: the Italian Republican Party, established in 1895, and the Italian Radical Party, established in 1904.
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 Liberals' grouping, 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 (lit. 'very fascist laws'), 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. 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, 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. Between 1981 and 1991, the Christian Democrats formed coalition governments named Pentapartito with all four of them. 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.
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. 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.
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