Federation of Liberals

Federation of Liberals
Federazione dei Liberali
LeadersRaffaello Morelli
Valerio Zanone
Founded6 February 1994
Dissolvedc. 2014[1]
Preceded byItalian Liberal Party[2]
HeadquartersVia Laurina 20 - 00187 Rome
IdeologyLiberalism
Social liberalism
Political positionCentre-left

The Federation of Liberals (Italian: Federazione dei Liberali, FdL) was a minor liberal political party in Italy.

The party was founded on 6 February 1994 as the legal successor of the Italian Liberal Party (PLI):[3] Alfredo Biondi, incumbent president of the PLI, was elected president and Raffaello Morelli coordinator.[4][5] In the 1994 general election most FdL members supported Patto Segni, while Biondi (and some of the Liberals gathered in the Union of the Centre) were elected with Forza Italia. The FdL failed to file lists for the subsequent European Parliament election.

In 1995 the party was joined by the Liberal Democratic Union,[6] whose leader Valerio Zanone was elected president,[7] replacing Antonio Baslini.[8]

In the 1996 general election Zanone and Morelli sided the FdL with The Olive Tree[7] and, more specifically, with Democratic Union.[9] In the 1999 European Parliament election the party formed a joint list with the Italian Republican Party.[10] In both cases no Liberals were elected.

In the 2001 general election the FdL sided with Democracy is Freedom (DL). Zanone, a keen supporter of that alliance, joined DL's national board in 2002[11][12] and was elected to the Senate in the 2006 general election,[13][14] while Morelli was more critical. The majority of the party sided with the latter, but the final fracture with Zanone happened only in 2005. In the meantime, in the 2004 European Parliament election the FdL had formed joint lists with the Federation of Liberal Democrats.

After that, the party, which is still active and more recently took part in European Choice for the 2014 European Parliament election,[15][16] has suffered a steady decline.

  1. ^ Parties and Elections in Europe. Books on Demand. 2021. p. 318. ISBN 9783754355848.
  2. ^ Luciano Bardi; Piero Ignazi (1998). "The Italian Party System: The Effective Magnitude of an Earthquake". In Piero Ignazi; Colette Ysmal (eds.). The Organization of Political Parties in Southern Europe. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-275-95612-7.
  3. ^ "ANCHE IL PLI SI SCIOGLIE – la Repubblica.it" (in Italian). Ricerca.repubblica.it. 1994-02-07. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  4. ^ "Pli A Congresso ' Non C' E' Solo Forza Italia ... ' – La Repubblica.It" (in Italian). Ricerca.repubblica.it. 1994-07-24. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  5. ^ "Il Nuovo Partito Liberale Morelli Eletto Segretario – La Repubblica.It" (in Italian). Ricerca.repubblica.it. 1994-07-25. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  6. ^ "Unione Liberaldemocratica (ULD) – Europe Politique" (in French). Europe-politique.eu. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  7. ^ a b "' I LIBERALI STANNO CON ROMANO' – la Repubblica.it" (in Italian). Ricerca.repubblica.it. 1995-02-06. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  8. ^ "Addio a Baslini, " padre " del divorzio". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  9. ^ "I LIBERALI SI DIVIDONO ANCORA – la Repubblica.it" (in Italian). Ricerca.repubblica.it. 1996-03-03. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  10. ^ "La Malfa e Zanone in coppia alla consultazione del 13 giugno". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  11. ^ "'+'". Web.tiscali.it. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  12. ^ "Valerio Zanone nell'Enciclopedia Treccani". Treccani.it. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  13. ^ "Zanone a Rutelli: lo Stato non è etico, deve essere laico". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  14. ^ "Scheda di attività di Valerio ZANONE – XV Legislatura". senato.it. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  15. ^ "Ecco la lista arcobaleno degli ultra liberal-europeisti che (con Prodi e montiani doc) sfidano Popolari e Socialisti". Formiche. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  16. ^ "ESCLUSIVA Enrico (Ali): "Europee, sostegno a Scelta civica se si rappresentano i liberali"". 25 March 2014.