Italian Liberal Party Partito Liberale Italiano
Former Italian National Party
Political ideology	Liberalism, Conservative liberalism, Liberal conservatism
Membership	50,327 (1991) max: 173,722 (1958) [1]
Official newspaper	L'Opinione
See also	Politics of Italy Political parties in Italy Elections in Italy Image File history File links Italian_Liberal_Party. ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Liberal conservatism is a variant of conservatism that combines the classical conservative concern for established tradition, respect for authority and (sometimes) religious values with liberal ideas, especially on economic issues (see economic liberalism, which advocates free market capitalism). ... Politics of Italy takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... Political parties in Italy are organized into two dominant political coalitions. ... Elections in Italy gives information on election and election results in Italy. ...

The Italian Liberal Party (Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was an Italian liberal party. Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ...

History

Early years

The party was founded in 1943 by Benedetto Croce, a prominent intellectual and MP whose international recognition allowed him to remain a free man during Fascism, despite being an anti-fascist himself. Various groups had claimed the label "Liberal" before, but had never organized themselves as a party. 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Benedetto Croce (February 25, 1866 - November 20, 1952) was an Italian critic, idealist philosopher, and politician. ... An intellectual is a person who uses his or her intellect to work, study, reflect, speculate on, or ask and answer questions with regard to a variety of different ideas. ... Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology and mass movement that seeks to place the nation, defined in exclusive biological, cultural, and historical terms, above all other loyalties, and to create a mobilized national community. ...

After the end of World War II, the Liberal Enrico De Nicola became "temporary chief of state" (not President of the Republic, as the general elections had not yet been held) and another one, Luigi Einaudi (who, as minister of economics and Governor of the Bank of Italy between 1945 and 1948, had reshaped Italian economy), first President of Italy. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Enrico De Nicola (Naples, November 9, 1877 - Torre del Greco, Naples, October 1, 1959) was an Italian jurist, journalist, politician, and the first provisional Head of State of the newborn republic in 1946-1948. ... This is the list of Presidents of the Italian Republic with the title since 1948. ... Luigi Einaudi (1874 - 1961) was an Italian political figure. ... Please see: Banca dItalia is the Italian Central Bank. ...

The first electoral result of the PLI (as National Democratic Union), was 6.8% in the 1946 election for the Constituent Assembly, which was somewhat below expectations. Indeed PLI was supported by all the survivors of the Italian political class before the rise of Fascism, from Vittorio Emanuele Orlando to Francesco Saverio Nitti. Vittorio Orlando Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (May 19, 1860 - December 1, 1952) was an Italian diplomat and political figure. ... Francesco Saverio Vincenzo de Paola Nitti (Melfi, July 19, 1868 - Rome, February 20, 1953) was an Italian economist and political figure. ...

In the first years the party was led by Leone Cattani, member of the internal left, and then by Roberto Lucifero, a monarchist-conservative. This fact caused the exit of the group of Cattani, so that Bruno Villabruna, a moderate, was elected secretary in 1948 in order to re-unite all Liberals under a single banner.

Giovanni Malagodi

Under Giovanni Malagodi the party moved further to the right on economic issues. In particular the party opposed the new Centre-Left Coalition and presented itself as the main conservative party in Italy. This caused in 1956 the exit of left-wing liberals (among whom Eugenio Scalfari and Marco Pannella) who founded the Radical Party of Liberals and Democrats, later shortened in Radical Party. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Marco Pannella Giacinto Pannella, better known as Marco Pannella (born May 2, 1930) is an Italian politician. ... See Italian Radicals (disambiguation). ...

Malagodi managed initially to draw some votes from the Italian Social Movement, attracting their hostility, and managing to substantially increase the party's support to a historical record of 7,0% in the 1963. After his resignation from party leadership in 1972, Liberals were defeated with a humiliating 1.3% in the 1976. The Italian Social Movement (Movimento sociale italiano ) (MSI) was a neo-Fascist party formed 1946 in the post-World War II period by supporters of the executed dictator Benito Mussolini under the lead of Giorgio Almirante. ... The Italian general elections of 1963 were held on 1963-04-28. ...

The Eighties

After Valerio Zanone took over in 1976, the party moved to the centre. The new secretary opened to the Socialists, hoping to put in action a sort of Lib-Lab cooperation, similar to that experimented in the United Kingdom from 1977 to 1979 between Labour and Liberals. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Lib-Lab Pact has been the term used to describe a working arrangement between the UKs political parties of the Liberals (later Liberal Democrats) and the Labour Party. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the principal political party of the left in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the historic Liberal Party. ...

In 1983 the PLI finally entered in the government coalition with the Christian Democracy (DC), the Socialist party (PSI), and the smaller Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI) and Italian Republican Party (PRI); the coalition was dubbed for a long time pentapartito, or "five-parties". Christian Democracy, (Democrazia Cristiana), the Christian democratic party of Italy, commonly called the democristiani or DC, dominated government for nearly half a century until its demise amid a welter of corruption allegations in 1992-94. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Italian Democratic Socialists (Italian: Socialisti Democratici Italiani), or SDI, is a small social democratic party of moderate-left policies, heir of the old Italian Socialist Party and led by Enrico Boselli. ... The Italian Republican Party (Partito Repubblicano Italiano) is an old left liberal party in Italy, with roots to Giuseppe Mazzini. ...

In the Eighties the party was also led by Renato Altissimo and Alfredo Biondi, then justice minister in the first Berlusconi Government and president of Forza Italia's National Council. Alfredo Biondi was Secretary of the Italian Liberal Party from 1985 to 1986, and later president of the same party. ...   (born September 29, 1936) is an Italian politician, entrepreneur, and media proprietor. ... Forza Italia (Forward Italy) is an Italian party. ...

Corruption Scandals and Aftermath

With the uncovering of the corruption system nicknamed Tangentopoli by the Mani Pulite investigation, many government parties experienced a rapid loss of their support. In the first months, the Liberal party seemed immune to investigation. However, as the investigations further unraveled, PLI turned out to be part of the corruption scheme. Bettino Craxi, viewed by many as the symbol of Tangentopoli, leader of the Italian Socialist Party, is greeted by a salvo of coins as a sign of loathing by protesters contesting him. ... Mani pulite (Italian for clean hands) was a nationwide Italian police investigation into political corruption held in the 1990s, following the scandal of Banco Ambrosiano in 1982, which implicated mafia, Vatican Bank and P2. ...

A Liberal, minister of Public Health Francesco De Lorenzo, was one of the most loathed politicians in Italy for his corruption, that involved stealing funds from the sick, and allowing commercialisation of medicines based on bribes. De Lorenzo later pretended to have a nervous breakdown to be released from jail, appearing in court dirty and unshaved; a short time after he was granted parole on medical grounds, he was photographed shaved, clean and smiling at a restaurant (ironically named The two thieves). It was later found he had used his brief time out of jail to burn a large quantity of documents that could have been used as evidence against him in court. The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... medicines, see medication and pharmacology. ... Bribery is the practice of offering a professional money or other favours in order to circumvent ethics in a variety of professions. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Parole can have different meanings depending on the area and judiciary system. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ...

The party was disbanded in 1994 and there were at least five splinter groups: 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ...

• the Union of Centre (Unione di Centro, UdC), led by Alfredo Biondi, Raffaele Costa and Enrico Nan, which was a close ally of Forza Italia and joined it in 1998;
• the Liberal Party (Partito Liberale, PL), led by Stefano De Luca, Ernesto Caccavale and Luigi Calligaris, which was too a close ally of Forza Italia, but, differently from the Union of Centre, its members joined also Forza Italia itself (anyway, when in 1998 UdC members joined Forza Italia, PL members started to distance themselves from it, as it was perceived as too much christian-democratic);
• a group led by Antonio Martino, Giancarlo Galan and Paolo Romani joined suddenly to Forza Italia, perceived as a liberal mass party;
• the Italian Liberal Right (Destra Liberale Italiana, DLI), led by Gabriele Pagliuzzi and Giuseppe Basini, joined National Alliance;
• the Federation of Italian Liberals (Federazione dei Liberali Italiani, FdL), led by Raffaello Morelli and Valerio Zanone, first joined the Patto Segni, then joined the centre-left as part of Democratic Union).

After some years from the party disbanding, most members migrated to Forza Italia or other parties in the centre-right (e.g.: Alfredo Biondi, Raffaele Costa, Antonio Martino and Giancarlo Galan, members of FI, Enzo Savarese, member of AN, and Manuela Dal Lago, member of LN), while some other joined the centre-left (e.g.: Valerio Zanone, Federico Orlando, Beatrice Rangoni Machivelli and Cinzia Dato, members of DL, Paolo Colla, Raffaello Morelli and Enzo Marzo, members of FdL and of DS. Alfredo Biondi was Secretary of the Italian Liberal Party from 1985 to 1986, and later president of the same party. ... Graduated in jurisprudence and political sciences, he has been elect deputy most numerous times (1976, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2001). ... Forza Italia (Forward Italy) is an Italian party. ... The Italian Liberal Party (Italian: Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) is an Italian free market liberal party. ... Antonio Martino (born December 22, 1942 in Messina) has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. ... Giancarlo Galan (born in Padova on September 10, 1956), after an experience in the Italian Liberal Party, joined Forza Italia, as far as it was founded in 1994. ... National Alliance (Italian: Alleanza Nazionale, often shortened to AN) is a right-wing Italian political party. ... The Federation of Italian Liberals (Federazione dei Liberali Italia) is a liberal party in Italy. ... The Democratic Union was a little social-liberal party formed for 1996 elections by Antonio Maccanico (president of the party until 1999), Willer Bordon and Giorgio Benvenuto. ... National Alliance (Italian: Alleanza Nazionale, often shortened to AN) is a right-wing Italian political party. ... Manuela Dal Lago, a former member of the Italian Liberal Party, is President of the Province of Vicenza, Veneto, from 1997. ... The Northern League (Italian: Lega Nord) is an Italian political party founded in 1991 as a federation of several regional parties in Northern Italy, most of which had arisen, and all of which had expanded their share of the electorate, in the 1980s. ... Daisy-Democracy is Freedom (full name in Italian: Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita: Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy) is a centrist political Party in Italy. ... The Federation of Italian Liberals (Federazione dei Liberali Italia) is a liberal party in Italy. ... The Democrats of the Left (Italian: Democratici di Sinistra, often referred to as DS) is the main Italian left-wing political party, part of the Ulivo electoral coalition. ...

Re-foundation of the party

In 2004 the party was re-founded by Stefano De Luca (the new national secretary, who was MEP for Forza Italia from 1994 to 1999 and leader of the Liberal Party from 2001 to 2004), Renato Altissimo, Carla Martino (sister of Antonio, minister of Defence, and new president of the party), Giuseppe Basini, Attilio Bastianini, Savino Melillo, Salvatore Grillo, Arturo Diaconale, Gian Nicola Amoretti. This new party gathers some of the Italian right-wing liberals. See Italian Liberal Party. Forza Italia (Forward Italy) is an Italian party. ... The Italian Liberal Party (Italian: Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) is an Italian free market liberal party. ... Antonio Martino (born December 22, 1942 in Messina) has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. ... The Italian Liberal Party (Italian: Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was an Italian free market liberal party. ...

Leadership

Secretaries

• Giovanni Cassandro (1944)
• Manlio Brosio (1944–1945)
• Leone Cattani (1945–1946)
• Giovanni Cassandro (1946–1947)
• Roberto Lucifero (1947–1948)
• Bruno Villabruna (1948–1954)
• Alessandro Leone di Tavagnasco (1954)
• Giovanni Malagodi (1954–1972)
• Agostino Bignardi (1972–1976)
• Valerio Zanone (1976–1985)
• Alfredo Biondi (1985–1986)
• Renato Altissimo (1986–1993)
• Raffaele Costa (1993–1994)

Manlio Brosio (1897-1980) was an Italian diplomat and politician. ... Alfredo Biondi was Secretary of the Italian Liberal Party from 1985 to 1986, and later president of the same party. ... Graduated in jurisprudence and political sciences, he has been elect deputy most numerous times (1976, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2001). ...

Presidents

• Benedetto Croce (1944–1954)
• Raffaele De Caro (1954–1962)
• Gaetano Martino (1962–1972)
• Giovanni Malagodi (1972–1985)
• Valerio Zanone (1985–1986)
• Alfredo Biondi (1986–1994)