Forza Italia

For the current Italian political party launched in 2013, see Forza Italia (2013). For the 1977 documentary, see Forza Italia! (film).

Forza Italia
AbbreviationFI
PresidentSilvio Berlusconi
Vice President
FounderSilvio Berlusconi
Founded18 January 1994
Dissolved27 March 2009
Merged intoThe People of Freedom
HeadquartersVia dell'Umiltà 36, Rome
Student wingStudents for the Freedoms
Youth wingForza Italia – Young People for Freedom
Membership (2007)400,000[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right[2]
National affiliation
European affiliationEuropean People's Party (1999–2009)
European Parliament group
Colours  Azure
Anthem"Forza Italia"

Forza Italia[nb 1] (FI; lit. 'Forward Italy' or 'Come on Italy' or 'Let's Go Italy')[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] was a centre-right[2] liberal-conservative[3][13][14][15] political party in Italy, with Christian democratic,[16][2][17] liberal[16][2][17][18] (especially economic liberalism),[19] social democratic[16] and populist[20][21][22] tendencies. It was founded by Silvio Berlusconi, who served as Prime Minister of Italy four times.

The party was founded in December 1993 and won its first general election soon afterwards in March 1994. It was the main member of the Pole of Freedoms/Pole of Good Government, Pole for Freedoms and House of Freedoms coalitions. Throughout its existence, the party was characterised by a strong reliance on the personal image and charisma of its leader (it has been called a "personality party"[23][24] or Berlusconi's "personal party"),[25][26][27] and the skillful use of media campaigns, especially via television.[28] The party's organisation and ideology depended heavily on its leader, so much so that its appeal to voters was based on Berlusconi's personality more than on its ideology or programme.[29]

In November 2008, the national council of the party, presided by Alfredo Biondi, voted to merge Forza Italia into The People of Freedom (PdL),[30] Berlusconi's new political vehicle, whose official foundation took place in March 2009. A new Forza Italia was established by Berlusconi as PdL's legal successor in 2013.

  1. ^ ""Forza Italia ha raggiunto quota 400mila iscritti"". Il Giornale. 10 March 2007. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Maurizio Cotta; Luca Verzichelli (12 May 2007). Political Institutions of Italy. Oxford University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-19-928470-2. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  3. ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram. "Italy". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  4. ^ Michael J. Romano (4 October 2010). CliffsNotes AP European History with CD-ROM. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 231–. ISBN 978-0-470-55100-4.
  5. ^ Bertrand Badie; Dirk Berg-Schlosser; Leonardo Morlino (7 September 2011). International Encyclopedia of Political Science. SAGE Publications. pp. 1796–. ISBN 978-1-4522-6649-7.
  6. ^ Thomas Jansen; Steven Van Hecke (2011). At Europe's Service: The Origins and Evolution of the European People's Party. Springer. p. 63. ISBN 978-3-642-19414-6.
  7. ^ Tom Lansford (24 March 2015). Political Handbook of the World 2015. SAGE Publications. pp. 3066–. ISBN 978-1-4833-7155-9.
  8. ^ Donatella M. Viola (14 August 2015). Routledge Handbook of European Elections. Routledge. pp. 115–. ISBN 978-1-317-50363-7.
  9. ^ Stephen Gundle; Simon Parker (1 November 2002). The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi. Routledge. pp. 135–. ISBN 978-1-134-80791-8.
  10. ^ Peter Mair; Wolfgang C Müller; Fritz Plasser (9 June 2004). Political Parties and Electoral Change: Party Responses to Electoral Markets. SAGE Publications. pp. 144–. ISBN 978-0-7619-4719-6.
  11. ^ Stephen P. Koff (7 March 2013). Italy: From the 1st to the 2nd Republic. Routledge. pp. 44–. ISBN 978-1-134-64369-1.
  12. ^ J. Colomer (5 January 2016). The Handbook of Electoral System Choice. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 244–. ISBN 978-0-230-52274-9.
  13. ^ Ruzza; Fella (2009). Re-inventing the Italian Right. p. 128.
  14. ^ Orsina, Giovanni (2014). Berlusconism and Italy: A Historical Interpretation. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 169.
  15. ^ Svante Ersson; Jan-Erik Lane (1999). Politics and Society in Western Europe. SAGE. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7619-5862-8. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  16. ^ a b c Chiara Moroni, Da Forza Italia al Popolo della Libertà, Carocci, Rome 2008
  17. ^ a b Carol Diane St Louis (2011). Negotiating Change: Approaches to and the Distributional Implications of Social Welfare and Economic Reform. Stanford University. p. 132. STANFORD:RW793BX2256. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  18. ^ Oreste Massari, I partiti politici nelle democrazie contempoiranee, Laterza, Rome-Bari 2004
  19. ^ "The state of the right: Italy". fondapol.
  20. ^ Woods, Dwayne (2014). The Many Faces of Populism in Italy: The Northern League and Berlusconism. Emerald Group. pp. 28, 41–44. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  21. ^ Ruzza; Fella (2009). Re-inventing the Italian Right. pp. 136–140, 217–218.
  22. ^ von Beyme, Klaus (2011). Representative democracy and the populist temptation. Cambridge University Press. pp. 59, 64–65. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  23. ^ Seisselberg, Jörg (1996). "Conditions of success and political problems of a 'media-mediated personality-party': The case of Forza Italia". West European Politics. 19 (4): 715–743. doi:10.1080/01402389608425162.
  24. ^ Ginsborg, Paul (2005). Silvio Berlusconi: Television, Power and Patrimony. Verso. p. 86.
  25. ^ Calise, Mauro (2000). Il partito personale. Laterza.
  26. ^ McDonnell (2013). "Silvio Berlusconi's Personal Parties". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  27. ^ Blondel, Jean; Conti, Niccolò (2012). Italy. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 88. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  28. ^ Mazzoleni, Gianpietro (2006). TV Political Advertising in Italy: When Politicians Are Afraid. SAGE. p. 251. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  29. ^ Woods, Dwayne (2014). The Many Faces of Populism in Italy: The Northern League and Berlusconism. Emerald Group. pp. 42–43. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  30. ^ "Forza Italia si scioglie, ora è Pdl Berlusconi: "Dal '94 nulla è cambiato"". Corriere della Sera. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2010.


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