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Listed below are the parties that active in all or most of Italy. Regional parties are listed on a separate page.
See also:
The new (1993) electoral law forced the creation of larger political coalitions.
It is worth noticing that the coalitions and some new parties have adopted symbols based on the Italian flag. The Left coalition (for the 1994 elections) symbol was a white circle with red-white-green strips and the word Progressisti (Progressives). In the Middle coalition symbol there are the red-white-green strips tied together. The bigger (and newer) party in the Right coalition is identified by a variation on the Italian flag: the white strip is oblique and narrow and they add the words Forza Italia (Cheer up Italy).
I think all the assemblages use the national colors because:
Some older parties also have used the national flag in
their symbols. Curiously they are left- or right-oriented parties,
not middle. In the PCI's (Italian Communist Party) symbol there
was a national flag mostly hidden by a red sickle-and-hammer
flag: I suppose it meant the communist ideology superimposed over
the national identity. Today Rifondazione
Comunista (neo-communist party) still has the red flag
but the national one is represented as a half-circle in the
bottom of the symbol, therefore the superimposition is not so
evident. In the MSI's (neo-fascist party) symbol there was a
green-white-red flame. PLI (Italian Liberal Party) directly used
the national flag with the three letters P L I over the three
strips. Both of them are conservative parties: they used national
flag and colors to emphasize patriotism. In fact in Italian
culture patriotism is considered a conservative idea.
Giuseppe Bottasini, 1995
The current system of political parties in Italy is
complicated due to the great number of parties, their frequent
fissions and fusions and name changes, and the electoral system
urging the parties to form bigger coalitions and sub-coalitions
for the elections. I will try to give an overview of the current
(2001/2002) system of parties and coalitions.
There are basically five groups of parties in Italy:
1. The parties that came together to form the right-wing coalition
Casa delle Libertà for the 2001 elections.
2. The parties that came together to form the left-wing coalition L'Ulivo for the 2001 elections.
3. The Rifondazione Comunista (Communist Refoundation).
4. Regionalist parties.
5. Other parties.
1.
Casa delle Libertà (House of Liberties)
coalition. This currently joins together five parties or
sub-coalitions:
1.1. FI
Forza Italia (Go, Italy)
1.2. AN
Alleanza Nazionale (National Alliance)
1.3.
Lega Nord (Northern League)
1.4. UDC
Unione Democristiana e di Centro (Christian-Democratic Union and of Center) sub-coalition, a.k.a Biancofiore The UDC is a sub-coalition of the Casa delle Libertà
joining together parties claiming heritage of the old DC
Democrazia Cristiana
(Christian Democracy). The more left-wing fission products of the DC belong to
L'Ulivo, sub-coalition
Margherita (see below 2.2)
1.4.1. CCD Centro Cristiano Democratico (Christian Democratic Centre)
1.4.2. CDU Cristiani Democratici Uniti (United Christian Democrats).
1.4.3. DE Democrazia Europea (European Democracy)
1.4.4. PDC Partito Democratico Cristiano (Christian Democratic Party)
1.5. NPSI or Nuovo PSI Nuovo Partito Socialista
Italiano (New Italian Socialist Party).
2.
L'Ulivo (Olive tree) coalition This currently
joins together four parties and sub-coalitions. After the 2001
election the Girasole sub-coalition split into its constituents,
the
SDI and the Verdi; recently several deputies of the
UDEUR
left the
Margherita group to form an own parliamentary group of
the UDEUR.
2.1. DS Democratici di Sinistra (Democrats of the Left)
2.2.
Margherita (Democrazia è libertà) - La
Margherita (Democracy is Freedom - The White
Ox-Eye). The Margherita is a sub-coalition of the
L'Ulivo coalition joining
together parties claiming heritage of the old DC
Democrazia Cristiana
(Christian Democracy). The more right-wing
fission products of the DC belong to
Casa delle Libertà, sub-coalition
UDC
(see above 1.4)
2.2.1. PPI
Partito Popolare Italiano (Italian
People's Party)
2.2.2. Democratici Democrats
2.2.3.
Rinnovamento Italiano (Italian Renewal),
a.k.a. Liste Dini
2.2.4. UDEUR
Unione Democratici per l'Europa (Union
Democrats for Europe)
2.3. Girasole (Sunflower) sub-coalition
2.3.1. Verdi
Federazione dei Verdi (Federation of
the Greens)
2.3.2. SDI
Socialisti Democratici Italiani (Italian
Democratic Socialists)
2.4. PdCI
Partito dei Comunisti Italiani (Party of
the Italian Communists), a.k.a. Comunisti Italiani
3. Rifondazione Comunista (Communist Refoundation Party)
4. Regionalist parties
4.1. SVP Südtiroler Volkspartei (South Tyrolian
People's Party)
4.2. Union Valdôtaine (Aosta Valley Union)
4.3. Partito Sardo d'Azione (Sardinian Action Party)
4.4. Fronte Nazionale Siciliano Sicilia Indipendente (Sicilian National Front
Independent Sicily)
4.5. Autonomisti Trentini (Trentine Autonomists)
4.6. Fronte Giuliano (Julian Front)
4.7. Liga dei Veneti (League of the Venetians)
4.8. Movimento per l'Autonomia della Romagna
(Movement for the Autonomy of the Romagna)
4.9. Lega per l'autonomia lombarda (League for the Lombardian Autonomy)
4.10.
Lega Sud Ausonia (Southern League Ausonia)
4.11. Lega Sannitica (Samnite League)
4.12. Liga Fronte Veneto (League Front Veneto)
5. Other parties
5.1. Left-wing
5.1.1. PSDI
Partito Socialista Democratico Italiano (Party of the Italian Social Democrats)
5.1.2. Radicali di Sinistra (Radicals of the Left)
5.1.3. Partito della Rifondazione Socialista (Party
of the Socialist Refoundation)
5.1.4. PU Partito Umanista Italiano (Italian
Humanist Party)
5.1.5. PUDI Partito Umanista Democratico Italiano (Italian Democratic Humanist Party)
5.1.6. PMLI
Partito Marxista-Leninista Italiano (Italian Marxist-Leninist Party)
5.2. Center
5.2.1. Partito Liberale (Liberal Party)
5.2.2. PRI
Partito Repubblicano Italiano (Italian
Republican Party)
5.2.3. F.d.L.
Federazione dei Liberali (Federation
of the Liberals)
5.2.4.
Radicali Italiani (Italian Radicals), a.k.a. Partito
Radicale or Lista Emma Bonino or Lista Pannella
5.2.5.
Lista di Pietro - Italia dei Valori (List di
Pietro - Italy of the Values)
5.2.6.
Partito Pensionati (Pensioners' Party)
5.2.7.
Verdi Federalisti (Federalist Greens)
5.3. Right-wing
5.3.1. MSFT
Movimento Sociale Fiamma Tricolore (Social Movement Tricolour Flame)
5.3.2.
Movimento Italia Sociale (Movement Social
Italy)
5.3.3.
Fronte Sociale Nazionale (National Social
Front)
5.3.4.
Forza Nuova (New Force)
Main sources:
- [fwa02], and earlier editions of
it
- website of the Camera dei Deputati , the lower house of the Parliament
at www.camera.it
- website of the Senato , the upper house of the Parliament at www.senato.it
- websites of the different parties (will be cited with the more
detailed discussion of the party)
M. Schmöger, 16 July 2002
Additional sources I use for describing the Italian parties
(history and programmatics):
- www.riccati.it/ita_rep
- www.iic-berlino.de
- www.grandinotizie.it
- www.cronologia.it
- www.pericles.it
- guide.supereva.it/partiti
- Paolo Carusi (2001) I partiti politici italiani dall'Unità ad
oggi. Roma (Edizioni Studium).
- Simona Colarizi (1996) Storia dei partiti nell'Italia
repubblicana. Roma (Editori Laterza).
- Girogio Galli (1994) I partiti politici in Italia, 1944-1994.
Torino (UTET Libreria).
- A page with all the election emblems of the 2001 election
cedweb.mininterno.it:8890
- Election results 2001:
cedweb.mininterno.it:8890/camera/B000000.htm, C000000.htm
and senato/S000000.htm
M. Schmöger, 27 July 2002
