Italian Democratic Liberal Party Partito Liberale Democratico Italiano | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founder | Antonio Salandra |
| Founded |
|
| Dissolved | 6 November 1926 (1926-11-06) |
| Preceded by | Liberals, Democrats and Radicals |
| Headquarters | Rome |
| Ideology | Liberalism Radicalism |
| Political position | Centre |
| National affiliation | National List (1924–1926) |
TheItalian Democratic Liberal Party (Italian:Partito Liberale Democratico Italiano,PLDI) was aliberal andradical political party inItaly during the earlier decades of the 20th century. Initially, the party was an alliance betweenprogressive liberals, calledLiberals, Democrats, and Radicals.
TheLiberals, Democrats and Radicals' alliance was formed for the1919 Italian general election. It came third after theItalian Socialist Party and theItalian People's Party, with 15.9% and 96 seats, doing particularly well inPiedmont andSouthern Italy, especially inSicily, the home region of party's leader and former Prime MinisterVittorio Emanuele Orlando.[1]
The party was formed for the1921 Italian general election by the union of individual politicians, most of whom had taken part in the joint electoral lists between theItalian Radical Party and theItalian Liberal Party in manysingle-seat constituencies of the country in 1919, gaining 16.0% of the vote and 96 seats in theChamber of Deputies. In 1921, it gained 10.5% of the vote and 68 seats, doing particularly well inPiedmont andSouthern Italy.[2] The party suffered a strong setback in the1924 Italian general election, which was held under strong intimidation from the fascistBlackshirts, and saw its share of votes decrease to 2.2%, electing 14 seats.[3]
The party was banned by theItalian fascist regime on 6 November 1926, when theNational Fascist Party was proclaimed to be the only legal party in Italy. AfterWorld War II, former Radicals and Democrats led byFrancesco Saverio Nitti joined theNational Democratic Union alongside Liberals and other elements of the old Liberal elite that governed Italy from the years ofGiovanni Giolitti until the rise ofBenito Mussolini and the instauration of the Fascist regime.
The party was the expression ofliberalism and radicalism in Italy and themiddle class, including cities'bourgeoisie, small business owners, andartisans among its supporters. There was also a main group of Radicals, who supporteduniversal suffrage and universalpublic schooling for all children.
| Chamber of Deputies | |||||
| Election year | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 684,855 (4th) | 10.4 | 68 / 535 |  28 | |
| 1924 | 157,932 (8th) | 2.2 | 14 / 508 | 54 | |
