Action Azione | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Secretary | Carlo Calenda |
| President | Elena Bonetti |
| Founded | 21 November 2019; 6 years ago (2019-11-21) |
| Split from | Democratic Party |
| Headquarters | Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 21,Rome |
| Membership(2022) | 30,000[1] |
| Ideology | Liberalism (Italian) |
| Political position | Centre[2][3] |
| National affiliation |
|
| European affiliation | European Democratic Party(2023) ALDE Party(since 2023) |
| European Parliament group | Socialists and Democrats(2019–2021) Renew Europe(2021–2024) |
| Colours | Blue Green |
| Chamber of Deputies | 10 / 400 |
| Senate | 2 / 205 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 76 |
| Regional Councils | 10 / 896 |
| Website | |
| azione.it | |
Action (Italian:Azione, abbr.A orAz) is aliberal[4][5][6][7]political party inItaly. Its founder and leader isCarlo Calenda.[8]
Originally launched asWe Are Europeans (Siamo Europei,SE), it adopted its current name in November 2019 upon becoming a fully-fledged party. Calenda has described his party as "anti-populist" and "anti-souverainist".[9][10][11] He also explained that the party's name is a historical reference to the short-lived post-World War IIAction Party and an allusion toCarlo Rosselli's "liberal socialism".[12] According to Calenda, the party is home to "pure liberals, but also liberal progressives [social liberals, like Calenda] and democratic Catholics [Christian democrats]".[13]
Action was briefly a member of theEuropean Democratic Party[14] and joined theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party in October 2023.[15] In theEuropean Parliament Action's MEPs sat in theSocialists and Democrats group and, later, the liberalRenew Europe group. In the European Committee of the Regions, they sit with theRenew Europe CoR Group.
In the2013 general election Calenda, who had been active withinLuca Cordero di Montezemolo'sFuture Italy, was an unsuccessful candidate for the centristCivic Choice (SC) party. He later served in various capacities (deputy minister, ambassador and minister) in the three governments of the2013–2018 legislative term. In the aftermath of the2018 general election, he officially joined the centre-leftDemocratic Party (PD).[16]
In January 2019, Calenda launched a political manifesto namedWe Are Europeans (Siamo Europei), with the aim of creating a joint list composed of the PD and otherprogressive andpro-Europeanist parties for the upcomingEuropean Parliament election.[17] His proposal was welcomed byNicola Zingaretti, then leader of the PD, but rejected by other parties within thecentre-left coalition, includingMore Europe (+E) andItalia in Comune.[18] In the run-up to the election, Zingaretti and Calenda presented a logo for their joint electoral list including a reference to We Are Europeans and the symbol of theParty of European Socialists.[19] Additionally, they also joined withArticle One, a left-wing party established in 2017 by splinters from the PD, led by former PD secretaryPier Luigi Bersani.[20] The PD–SE joint list gained 22.7% of the vote, coming second after theLeague.[21] Calenda, who ran in theNorth-East constituency, received more than 270,000 votes, thus becoming the most voted candidate of the list,[22] and joined theProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group.
In August 2019, tensions grew within the coalition supporting thefirst government ofGiuseppe Conte, leading to the issuing of a motion of no-confidence by the League.[23] During the followinggovernment crisis, the PD national board officially endorsed the possibility of forming a new cabinet in a coalition with theFive Star Movement (M5S),[24] based onpro-Europeanism,green economy,sustainable development, fight againsteconomic inequality and a new immigration policy.[25] The party also agreed to keep Conte as the head of the new government,[26] and on 29 August, PresidentSergio Mattarella re-appointed Conte as Prime Minister, this time at the head of a centre-left coalition.[27] Calenda strongly opposed the new government, stating that the PD had renounced any representation of the "reformists",[28] and that therefore it became necessary to establish a "liberal-progressive" movement.[29] Calenda left the PD and on 5 September 2019, while Conte'ssecond government was sworn in, announced the transformation of SE into a full-fledged party.[30]
On 10 September 2019,Matteo Richetti, a prominent PD senator with aCatholic political upbringing[31] and a close associate of former Prime MinisterMatteo Renzi, abstained in the vote of confidence on the new government, and subsequently exited the party.[32] He stated that he would join forces with Calenda.[33]
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In November 2019, SE was officially transformed into a new party namedAction (Azione),[34][35] which was organised also at the local level through the so-called "Action Groups" (Gruppi d'Azione).[36] Calenda explained Action's "reformist" nature, while Richetti that "Action would not be a centrist party, but the true progressive pole of the country".[37] Early donors of the party includedAlberto Bombassei andLuciano Cimmino,[38][39] both former MPs elected with SC. Early members of the party includedRaffaele Bonanni (former secretary-general of theItalian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions),Vincenzo Camporini (formerChief of the Defence Staff),Mario Raffaelli (former long-time deputy and under-secretary for theItalian Socialist Party),Walter Ricciardi (former president of theIstituto Superiore di Sanità) andUgo Rossi (formerPresident of Trentino).[40]
In August 2020, two members of theChamber of Deputies joined Action: former ministerEnrico Costa, who had earlier leftForza Italia (FI)[41] and a long-time advocate of reforms of the judiciary,[42] andNunzio Angiola, university professor and former member of the M5S.[43]
In November 2020, deputies and senators affiliated with Action formed joint sub-groups in theMixed Groups together with +E both in the Chamber and in the Senate. The sub-group in the Chamber counted four deputies, the one in the Senate three senators.[44][45]
In March 2021,Carlo Cottarelli, a former director of theInternational Monetary Fund, was chosen by A, +E, theItalian Republican Party (PRI), theLiberal Democratic Alliance for Italy (ALI) andThe Liberals to head of a scientific committee designed to elaborate of a joint political program.[46][47][48]
In the2021 municipal election inRome, Calenda came third with 19.8% of the vote and the "Calenda for Mayor" list, comprising A, +E, PRI,IV and other minor liberal and centrist groups, won 19.1% of the vote, becoming the most voted list, ahead of the PD (whose candidate,Roberto Gualtieri, had launched a parallel "Gualtieri for Mayor" list and was elected at in the run-off).
In November 2021, Calenda left the S&D group in the European Parliament, after that it was hinted that the M5S might have joined it, and switched toRenew Europe.[49][50]
In January 2022, the party formed a federation with +E.[51]
On 19–20 February 2022, the party held its first congress,[52] during which Calenda was elected secretary, Richetti president,Emma Fattorini (a former senator of the PD) andGiulia Pastorella vice presidents.[13] The assembly welcomed several guest speakers, notably includingStéphane Séjourné of Renew Europe,Enrico Letta of the PD,Giancarlo Giorgetti of the League,Antonio Tajani of FI andEttore Rosato of IV, as well asBenedetto Della Vedova of +E and the representatives of the other liberal parties with which Action had been cooperating.[53][54] Calenda explained that Action would dialogue with all main parties, except the M5S and theBrothers of Italy (FdI),[54][55][56] whose leaders were not invited to participate in the congress.
A few days before the congress,Barbara Masini had switched from FI.[57][58] In the coming weeks, senatorLeonardo Grimani (ex-PD and ex-IV)[59] and deputiesClaudio Pedrazzini,Osvaldo Napoli andDaniela Ruffino (all three ex-FI and ex-Cambiamo!)[60][61] andGiorgio Trizzino (ex-M5S)[62] joined the party.
In July 2022, the M5S did not participate in a Senate's confidence vote on a government bill. Prime Minister Draghi offered his resignation, which was rejected by President Mattarella.[63] After a few days, Draghi sought a confidence vote again to secure the government majority supporting his cabinet, while rejecting the proposal put forward by Lega and FI of a new government without the M5S.[64] In that occasion, the M5S, Lega, FI and FdI did not participate in the vote.[65] Consequently, Draghi tendered his final resignation to President Mattarella, who dissolved the houses of Parliament, leading to the2022 general election.[66][67] Calenda, who also had favoured a Draghi government without the M5S,[68] was very critical of Lega and FI.
In the aftermath of Draghi's resignation, senatorAndrea Cangini switched from FI to Action.[69] In the event, Calenda hoped that also other leading dissidents of FI, including ministersMariastella Gelmini andMara Carfagna, could soon join the party.[70] After Calenda's call, both Gelmini and Carfagna signalled that they would do so[71][72] and were formally welcomed in the party during a press conference with Calenda.[73] Contextually, other deputies followed the two ministers out of FI and joined Action.
In early August, Az/+E formed a political pact with the PD, that would give three candidates in single-seat constituencies to Az/+E for every seven candidates given to the PD.[74][75] Less than a week later, Calenda announced that he was walking away from the pact because of the parallel alliances that the PD had signed with theGreens and Left Alliance (formed byGreen Europe andItalian Left) andCivic Commitment (led byLuigi Di Maio andBruno Tabacci).[76][77][78] Calenda's decision caused the break-up of the federation with +E, as the latter's leaders wanted to continue their alliance with the PD.[79][80][81] Finally, Action formed a joint electoral list withMatteo Renzi'sItalia Viva (IV).[82][83][84] The joint list obtained 7.8% of the vote.
In the aftermath of the election, during a national assembly in Naples, the party elected Carafagna as president with 84% of the delegates' vote, replacing Richetti, who had become the leader in the Chamber of Deputies. The party also approved a path toward a stable federation with IV with 93% of the vote.[85][86][87]
After the election, Renzi frequently clashed with Calenda,[88][89] leaving the alliance's future uncertain. In September 2023, Renzi announced that IV would run in the2024 European Parliament election within a brand new coalition/list named "The Centre".[90][91] This led former ministerElena Bonetti to leave the party in order to seek an alternative alliance with Action.[92][93] AlsoEttore Rosato, another IV leading member, was critical and seemed interested in joining Action, but, before leaving the party, he was expelled by Renzi.[94][95] Subsequently, Bonetti and Rosato launchedPopulars Europeanists Reformers (PER).[96] The pair finally joined Action in January 2024, with Bonetti becoming vice president and Rosato deputy secretary.[97][98][99][100] Also in January, MPFederica Onori and MEPFabio Massimo Castaldo switched from the M5S to Action.[101]
In October 2023, having recently exited theEuropean Democratic Party, Action joined theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) as a full member.[102][103] In March 2024 Action formed a federative pact with theItalian Republican Party (PRI).[104] Subsequently, Action formed an alliance also with theEuropean Republicans Movement (MRE).[105]
In the run-up of the 2024 European Parliament election, Action presented its "We are Europeans – Action" list. This list is composed of eight other parties or groups: NOS, PER, PRI, MRE, Liberal Socialist Association (LS), Liberal Democracy (DL), Reform Popular Civic Platform (PCPR) andTeam K.[106] Contextually, Italia Viva, More Europe, theItalian Socialist Party, theItalian Radicals, theEuropean Liberal Democrats andL'Italia c'è formed an alternative liberal and pro-Europeanist list named "United States of Europe".[107][108] As a result, a minority of More Europe, including its presidentFederico Pizzarotti, left the party, joined Action and will run in the election.[109][110] Calenda and Bonetti will stand as candidates in all five constituencies.[111]
In the run-up of threeregional elections scheduled in the fall of 2024, Calenda aligned the party with the centre-left. This caused the exit of four senior centre-right figures, namely president Carfagna, deputy secretaries Costa and Gelmini, as well asGiusy Versace.[112][113][114] The first two were sitting deputies and the other two sitting senators, as a result the party was reduced to 10 deputies and two senators. Costa re-joined FI, while the other three joinedUs Moderates.
In the run-up to the party'ssecond congress, to be held in March 2025, Calenda was re-elected with 85.8% of the vote by party members. Calenda was challenged by outgoing vice president Pastorella, who was not able to field her candidacy all over the country and was particularly strong in northern Italy.[115][116] During the congress, which saw the participation of leading politicians from left and right, including Prime MinisterGiorgia Meloni, Minister of DefenseGuido Crosetto and former EU CommissionerPaolo Gentiloni,[117] Calenda was proclaimed secretary again and Bonetti was elected president by acclamation.[118] Calenda proposed a transversal alliance between his party, FI, sectors of the PD and some centrist parties.[119]
In the2025 regional elections the party did not run as a party, but individual members were elected from centrist joint lists inAosta Valley[120] andVeneto.[121]
| Chamber of Deputies | |||||
| Election year | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | IntoA–IV | 7.8 | 12 / 400 |  12 | |
| Senate of the Republic | |||||
| Election year | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | IntoA–IV | 7.8 | 4 / 200 | 4 | |
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Carlo Calenda | 785,580 (7th) | 3.36 | 0 / 76 | New | – |
| Region | Election year | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Status in legislature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aosta Valley | 2025 | IntoAutonomists of the Centre | 1 / 35 | 1 | Majority | |
| Lombardy | 2023 | IntoAction – Italia Viva | 1 / 80 | – | Opposition | |
| Friuli-Venezia Giulia | 2023 | IntoAction – Italia Viva | 0 / 48 | – | No seats | |
| Emilia-Romagna | 2020 | IntoBonaccini list | 1 / 50 | – | Majority | |
| Lazio | 2023 | IntoAction – Italia Viva | 0 / 51 | – | No seats | |
| Abruzzo | 2024 | 23,156 | 4.00% | 1 / 31 | – | Opposition |
| Sicily | 2022 | IntoAction – Italia Viva | 0 / 70 | – | No seats | |
| Sardinia | 2024 | Into Action –+Eu –LDE –UPC | 0 / 60 | – | No seats | |
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