Popular Alternative

Popular Alternative
Alternativa Popolare
PresidentPaolo Alli
CoordinatorStefano Bandecchi
FounderAngelino Alfano
Founded18 March 2017
Preceded byNew Centre-Right
HeadquartersVia Arcione 71, Rome
IdeologyConservatism
Christian democracy[1]
Political positionCentre[2][3] to centre-right[4][5]
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
Chamber of Deputies
0 / 400
Senate
0 / 200
European Parliament
0 / 73
Regional
Councils
0 / 897
Website
www.alternativapopolare.it

Popular Alternative (Italian: Alternativa Popolare, AP) is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy that was founded on 18 March 2017 after the dissolution of New Centre-Right (NCD),[6] one of the two parties that emerged at the break-up of The People of Freedom (PdL, the main Italian centre-right party from 2008 to 2013). "Popular" is a reference to popolarismo, the Italian variety of Christian democracy. The party has been a member of the European People's Party (EPP) since its foundation, having inherited the membership of the NCD.

The party's founder was Angelino Alfano, a former protége of Silvio Berlusconi and secretary of PdL (2011–2013) who has served as Minister of Justice (Berlusconi IV Cabinet, 2008–2011), Interior (Letta and Renzi Cabinets, 2013–2016) and Foreign Affairs (Gentiloni Cabinet, 2016–2018). In December 2017 Alfano announced that he would not stand in the 2018 general election and the party suffered the split of a large centre-right faction, whose members wanted to re-align with the centre-right coalition. The rump of the party continued its alliance with the Democratic Party, by formally entering the centre-left coalition, and, with Alfano's backing, Beatrice Lorenzin, Minister of Health since 2013, became AP's de facto leader until she left to join the Democratic Party in 2019.[7]

The party has been led by Stefano Bandecchi since 2022, but has failed to gain any national or regional representation, though it is still active at the local levels.[8]

  1. ^ Parties and Elections in Europe. Books on Demand. 2021. p. 315. ISBN 9783754355848.
  2. ^ Italy's Former PM Renzi Loses More Allies as Election Nears
  3. ^ Alfano says Torrisi must quit committee post or AP
  4. ^ Political Handbook of the World 2020-2021. CQ Press. 2021. ISBN 9781544384733.
  5. ^ Alfano 'not obliged' to tell Renzi he won't run for re-election
  6. ^ "Ncd finisce, nasce Alternativa Popolare – Politica". 18 March 2017.
  7. ^ f.ridolfi (17 December 2017). "Alleanza Popolare, Gentile neo coordinatore nazionale "Beatrice Lorenzin è la nostra leadership di riferimento"". Il Quotidiano del Sud.
  8. ^ valentina.puteri (16 June 2022). "Stefano Bandecchi nuovo Coordinatore Nazionale". Alternativa Popolare (in Italian). Retrieved 13 June 2024.