Jump to content

Liberalism and radicalism in Italy

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromLiberalism in Italy)
Part ofa serieson
Liberalism
Schools
Principles
History
Philosophers
Politicians
Organizations
Regional variants
Related topics
Part ofa serieson
Radicalism
History
Ideas
People
Groups
By region
Related

Liberalismandradicalismhave played a role in the political history ofItalysince the country'sunification,started in 1861 and largely completed in 1871, and currently influence several leading political parties.

During the first decades of Italy as a united country, the main parliamentary parties included liberals, but it was not until 1877 that the left-wingRadical Partywas established as the first organized liberal party. The more centristLiberal Unionfollowed in 1913. Most liberal and radical parties were banned in 1926 underBenito Mussolini'sFascistgovernment.

AfterWorld War IIand the establishment of theItalian Republicthere have been frequent changes in the configuration of political parties and, for the most part, the representation of liberal and radical views has been split among a number of parties that may also espouse other views. These parties have often been part of governingcoalitions.

During the so-called "First Republic"three minor liberal parties were active: theItalian Liberal Party(centre-right), theItalian Republican Party(centre-left) and the modern-dayRadical Party(left-wing). More recently, liberals have been split primarily among the centre-rightThe People of Freedom/Forza Italiaand the centre-leftDemocratic Party.

Overview[edit]

In the 19th century both early Italian political groupings, theHistorical Rightand theHistorical Left,were composed ofmonarchistliberals and functioned mainly as looseparliamentary groups,while radicals organised themselves as theRadical Party,and republicans, who were influenced also bysocialism,as theItalian Republican Party.These two parties had in fact been part ofThe Extreme,which included also theItalian Socialist Partyand its predecessors.

In 1913 the liberals aroundGiovanni Giolittijoined forces in theLiberal Unionand in 1922 theItalian Liberal Partyis formed. In that period, other liberal parties emerged: theConstitutional Democratic Party,theDemocratic Liberal Party(merger of the Radicals with other liberal groups), and theItalian Social Democratic Party.

WhenBenito Mussolini'sNational Fascist Partycame to power in 1922, some Liberals and Radicals flirted with Fascism, but, ultimately, aFascistregime was established and all the parties, notably including the Italian Liberal Party and the Italian Republican Party, were banned.

After the end ofWorld War II,both Liberals and Republicans reorganised themselves, followed by more liberal parties in the upcoming decades (notably including the newRadical Party), and, despite their modest results in elections, they were often part of the Italian government, in alliance withChristian Democracy.In the 1940s, during theresistance movementand the writing of therepublican Constitution,an important role was played by theAction Party,a social-liberal, republican andliberal-socialistoutfit, successor of theJustice and Freedommovement. In this phase the Liberals adhered toconservative liberalismand Republicans tosocial liberalism.

Since 1992–1994, following theTangentopoliscandals, the subsequentMani puliteinquiries and the resulting shake-up of the Italian party system, the liberal movement has been strongly divided. As a result, a broad group of parties, not all included here, started to use the "liberal" label.[1]

Italian liberals are basically divided between the centre-rightForza Italia(successor of the formerForza Italia,itself primarily a merger of liberal and Christian-democratic forces, andThe People of Freedom,which integrated the more conservativeNational Alliance) and the centre-leftDemocratic Party(a merger of social democrats, progressive Christian democrats and social liberals, the latter two mainly organised inDemocracy is Freedom – The Daisyin the early 2000s).

Minor liberal parties include, among others,Civic Choice,theItalian Radicals(ALDE PartyandLiberal Internationalmember), the aforementioned Italian Republican Party (which stretched a long way from the far-left to the centre-right of thepolitical spectrum), andAct to Stop the Decline(a party which is the standard-bearer of a moreclassical- andlibertarian-oriented form of liberalism). Also the centrist-populistItaly of Valueswas a member of the ALDE Party, but it is hardly a liberal party.

From 1994 on, most Liberals and several Republicans joined Forza Italia and the other parties of theHouse of Freedomscoalition. This is the reason why the term "liberal" is more often used when speaking of the centre-right than the centre-left. A newItalian Liberal Partywas launched in 1997, but, as the Italian Republican Party, it survives as a very minor party. The former two, Civic Choice, Act to Stop the Decline and minor groups joined forces inEuropean Choice,with disappointing results, in 2014.

Timeline of parties[edit]

The Italian Liberal Party[edit]

The historical Radical Party[edit]

The Italian Republican Party[edit]

From the Radical Party to the Italian Radicals[edit]

Forza Italia, The People of Freedom and back to Forza Italia[edit]

From Democratic Alliance to the Democratic Party[edit]

Minor liberal, social-liberal and libertarian parties[edit]

Liberal leaders[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Pridham, Geoffrey (1988-11-03), Kirchner, Emil J. (ed.),"Two roads of Italian liberalism: the Partito Repubblicano Italiano (PRI) and the Partito Liberale Italiano (PLI)",Liberal Parties in Western Europe(1 ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 29–61,doi:10.1017/cbo9780511521843.006,ISBN978-0-521-32394-9,retrieved2023-08-28
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liberalism_and_radicalism_in_Italy&oldid=1212847684"