Future and Freedom for Italy Futuro e Libertà per l'Italia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Gianfranco Fini |
| Vice President | Italo Bocchino |
| Coordinator | Adolfo Urso Roberto Menia |
| President of the National Assembly | Andrea Ronchi Salvatore Tatarella |
| Founded | 30 July 2010 |
| Dissolved | 2014 (de facto) |
| Split from | The People of Freedom |
| Headquarters | Via Poli 29,Rome |
| Youth wing | Generation Future |
| Ideology | Liberal conservatism[1] National conservatism(minority) |
| Political position | Centre-right[2][3] |
| National affiliation | New Pole for Italy (2010–12) With Monti for Italy (2012–13) Movement for National Alliance (2013) |
| European Parliament group | European People's Party |
| Colours | Blue |
Future and Freedom (Italian:Futuro e Libertà), whose full name wasFuture and Freedom for Italy (Futuro e Libertà per l'Italia, abbreviated to FLI), was apolitical party in Italy, comprising bothliberal andnational conservative elements.
FLI was formed by followers ofGianfranco Fini in July 2010 as a split fromThe People of Freedom (PdL), the major Italian centre-right party of the time, led bySilvio Berlusconi.[4][5] Fini, former leader of theItalian Social Movement (MSI) andNational Alliance (AN) and co-founder of the PdL in 2009, had taken a long journey from post-fascism to become aliberal conservative.[6] Soon after the PdL's foundation, he started to become a critic ofBerlusconi's government and leadership style.[5]
The core of FLI was constituted byGeneration Italy (GI), led byItalo Bocchino, who was also appointed vice president of the party by Fini. FLI members were mostly former MSI/AN stalwarts, with some notable exceptions.
Somewhat surprisingly,Gianfranco Fini, former leader of the national-conservativeNational Alliance (AN) and President of theChamber of Deputies, became the most influential representative of thesocially liberal wing of the party due to his progressive views onstem cell research,end of life issues,advance health care directives and immigration.[7][8][9] Fini was also an outspoken supporter of the principle ofseparation of church and state and became also a vocal critic ofSilvio Berlusconi and of his leadership style of the country and the party.[10][11][12]
Fini's positions distanced him from most former leading members of AN (includingIgnazio La Russa,Maurizio Gasparri,Gianni Alemanno,Altero Matteoli andGiorgia Meloni) who became close allies of Berlusconi instead.[13][14]
In the meantime, a group of Fini loyalists, known asFiniani, started to join forces in support of their leader. In April 2010Italo Bocchino launched an association within the PdL namedGeneration Italy in order to better represent Fini's views within the party and push for a different party organisation.[15] Fini posed a sort of ultimatum to Berlusconi and hinted the formation of separate groups from the PdL in Parliament.[16] At one point someFiniani even proposed the formation of a new party outside the PdL.[17] After some tense days emerged as a possibility that Fini and his group would have remained in the party as a minority faction.[18] On 22 April 2010 the National Committee of the PdL convened in Rome for the first time in a year. The conflict between Fini and Berlusconi was covered live by television. A resolution which denounced Fini's conduct and reaffirmed the party's political line was approved by a landslide margin by the assembly.[19]
Clashes between Fini and Berlusconi became even more frequent and reached their heights in late July 2010, when Fini questioned the morality of some PdL party bigwigs under investigation.[20] On 29 July 2010 the executive of the PdL released a document (voted by 33 members out of 37) in which Fini was described as "incompatible" with the political line of the PdL and unable to perform his job of President of the Chamber of Deputies in a neutral way. Berlusconi asked Fini to step down from his post and the executive proposed the suspension from party membership of threeFiniani hard-liners (Italo Bocchino,Fabio Granata andCarmelo Briguglio) who had harshly criticised Berlusconi and accused some party members of criminal offences.[21]
On 30 July, Fini held a press conference during which he announced the formation of separate groups from the PdL both in the Chamber and the Senate under the nameFuture and Freedom for Italy (FLI). He also confirmed the support of his group, which counted a handful of cabinet members, to Berlusconi's government.[22] 33 deputies and 10 senators joined the new parliamentary groups from the beginning. Only a minority of the PdL MPs originating from National Alliance followed their former leader Fini into the new party, but enough to hold the balance in the Chamber of Deputies Moreover, some members of the formerForza Italia, Berlusconi's party before its merger into the PdL, joined too (Benedetto Della Vedova andBarbara Contini).[23][24]
On 5 July, the Chamber voted on the suspension ofGiacomo Caliendo, a PdL senator under investigation, from his post of Undersecretary of Justice. The FLI group chose to abstain from the vote along with theUnion of the Centre,Alliance for Italy and theMovement for the Autonomies, forming the so-called "area of responsibility". The motion was voted down, but it was a blow for theBerlusconi IV Cabinet, which retained its majority only through FLI's support.[25][26]
During the vote on Caliendo,Chiara Moroni, asocial democrat formerly of theNew Italian Socialist Party and Forza Italia, announced that she was leaving the PdL group in order to join Fini's outfit. In a touching speech dedicated to her fatherSergio Moroni, a Socialist who committed suicide duringTangentopoli, she explained that she was leaving the PdL in the name ofgarantismo (an Italian word for "protection of civil liberties" used in relation to the right to a fair trial).[27] For this she was vehemently criticised by senior former Socialists in the PdL such asFabrizio Cicchitto andMargherita Boniver.[28]
On 5 September, after a month of silence, Fini gave a speech to his supporters during theFesta Tricolore inMirabello, a traditional rally of the old MSI and, later, of the AN. During that speech Fini declared that the PdL was dead and that his group would not have returned into the PdL's fold, but he did not speak about the transformation of FLI into an official party. Moreover, despite being very critical of Berlusconi, he offered a "legislative pact" in order for the government to continue until 2013.[29] As a response, Berlusconi and his junior partner in governmentUmberto Bossi reiterated their call to Fini to resign from his post of President of the Chamber.[30] Subsequently, on 8 September, Fini left the PdL group in the Chamber and joined to all intents and purposes FLI, becoming its 36th member.[31]
On 22 September FLI abstained during a secret confidence vote onNicola Cosentino, an Undersecretary of Economy under investigation forcamorra-related crimes. The motion was rejected by a larger majority than expected, meaning than someFiniani and possibly some deputies from the opposition.[32][33]
On 24 SeptemberSouad Sbai left FLI and returned into the fold of the PdL parliamentary group. However, on the same day,Giampiero Catone, a formerChristian Democrat who had been elected with the PdL on behalf ofGianfranco Rotondi'sChristian Democracy for Autonomies, joined FLI.[34]
On 29 September FLI voted yes in a vote of confidence to the government in the Chamber of Deputies, but two FLI deputies (Mirko Tremaglia andFabio Granata) voted against.[35] On the same day Fini announced the imminent birth of a new party.[36]
On 2 November the party logo was presented during a press conference.[37] The day after two more deputies joined the party:Roberto Rosso, a former Christian Democrat who had been leader of Forza Italia inPiedmont, andDaniele Toto.[38] InSicily the party joined forces with the remnants of the PdL–Sicily and formed an eight-strong group in theRegional Assembly in support of PresidentRaffaele Lombardo.[39][40]
On 7 November, during a crowded convention inBastia Umbra, Fini asked Berlusconi to step down from his post of Prime Minister and proposed a new government including theUnion of the Centre (UdC). Fini declared also that if Berlusconi were not to step down, FLI ministers and under-secretaries would leave the executive.[41] As Berlusconi refused to do so, the four FLI members of the government resigned on 15 November.[42]
On 14 December FLI voted against the government in a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies, a vote won by Berlusconi by 314 to 311. Three FLI deputies (Giampiero Catone,Catia Polidori andMaria Grazia Siliquini) voted in favour (along withGiuseppe Angeli, who had left FLI and returned to the PdL in November[43]), while another,Silvano Moffa, abstained from the vote and chose to leave the party.[44] Subsequently, also Catone, Polidori and Siliquini left FLI.[45]
On 15 December 2010 FLI was a founding member of theNew Pole for Italy (NPI), along with the UdC and some minor parties.[46][47]
On 11–13 February 2011 FLI was officially established as a party during a congress inMilan andGianfranco Fini was elected president of it.
During the congress, no-one questioned the leadership of Fini, but the party was divided between "radicals" (Italo Bocchino,Benedetto Della Vedova,Fabio Granata,Carmelo Briguglio,Flavia Perina, etc.) and "moderates" (Adolfo Urso,Andrea Ronchi,Pasquale Viespoli,Mario Baldassarri and most senators), who strongly opposed the rise of Bocchino to party leadership. Fini finally appointed Bocchino vice president, downgraded Urso to spokesperson, appointed another "radical", Della Vedova, at the head of the party in the Chamber of Deputies, while Viespoli, a "moderate", was confirmed as leader in the Senate.[48][49] This caused outrage among the "moderates", and Urso and Viespoli were especially critical of Fini's choices.[50][51]
On 15 February Viespoli resigned from the position of Senate floor leader, but was immediately re-elected by the 10 FLI senators with a new mandate: ensuring the centre-right credentials of the group.[52] On 16 February senatorGiuseppe Menardi quit the party.[53] On 17 February he was followed by senatorFrancesco Pontone and deputyRoberto Rosso, who both returned to the PdL.[54] On 19 February also deputyLuca Bellotti left to re-join the PdL.[55] On 20 February it was the turn of deputyLuca Barbareschi, formerly a "radical".[56] On 22 February Pasquale Viespoli andMaurizio Saia, both senators, left the party too and the senatorial group was dissolved.[57] Viespoli, Menardi and Saia, along with other like-minded senators likeAdriana Poli Bortone (I the South), formed a new centre-right group calledNational Cohesion and returned into the fold of the majority.[58][59] On 16 February one more deputy,Giulia Cosenza, walked out and returned to the PdL.[60]
The party experienced more internal troubles in April 2011, in the run-up to local elections. Some leading members of the party disagreed with some candidatures decided by the party's national leadership, notably inLatina andNaples. This finally led MEPEnzo Rivellini to step down from the regional leadership inCampania and leave the party. Another MEP,Potito Salatto, and one senator,Candido De Angelis, left their leadership posts too.[61][62] In the meantime the party's "moderates", led Urso and Ronchi, launched their own faction,FareItalia, open to members of all the centre-right parties, from the PdL to UDC.[63] In May Ronchi resigned from president of the party's national assembly.[64] In June Ronchi, along with Urso andGiuseppe Scalia (Sicilian leader of FLI), left the party.[65]
On 30 December 2011Mirko Tremaglia, a veteran of theItalian Social Republic and a historic figure in the history of MSI and AN, died.[66]
In the2013 general election, held in February 2013, the party ran as part of theWith Monti for Italy alliance with the UdC andCivic Choice and obtained a mere 0.4% of the vote, returning no seats in the Chamber and one in the Senate, plus two elects by Italians abroad.[67] Subsequently, Fini resigned from party president.[68] It was also decided that, under the leadership ofRoberto Menia, FLI would reconnect with the other wings of the former AN in order to recompose the Italian right.[69] As a result, the party decided to supportGianni Alemanno, a former AN bigwig, as mayor in the run-off of Rome municipal election.[70]
In the following months, several FLI members left the party.Benedetto Della Vedova,Aldo Di Biagio andMaria Ida Germontani joined SC (Della Vedova was appointed spokesperson),[71]Fabio Granata andFlavia Perina joinedGreen Italia,[72]Carmelo Briguglio re-joined Alemanno inItaly First,[73]Francesco Divella launchedProtagonist Apulia,[74]Potito Salatto joined forces with the UdC aiming at forming a joint party on theEuropean People's Party's model,[75] etc. What remained of the party started to cooperate withThe Right,Tricolour Flame,I the South and other right-wing parties and people in order to form a "new National Alliance".[76][77] In the meantime, most members of the former AN had either returned into the PdL's fold or joinedBrothers of Italy, a party led byGiorgia Meloni andIgnazio La Russa which was granted by the "National Alliance Foundation" of the permission to use AN's name and symbol in December 2013.
In the2014 Piedmontese regional election FLI ran with The Right and theSocial Right intoUnited Right, but the joint list obtained no seats.
FLI was officially disbanded sometime between 2013 and 2014. Fini, who was not a member of the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in thirty years and was one of the few incumbent Presidents not to be returned to Parliament, continued his political activity through an association namedFreeRight.
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The ideology of Future and Freedom stretched fromnational conservatism toliberal conservatism, but some of its leading members had a strong taste forsocial liberalism. Its core issues include the defense of national unity, suspicion offederal reform and the development ofSouthern Italy.
The core of FLI was constituted byGeneration Italy (GI), to which a majority of FLI deputies and senators are affiliated, but also the other two factions of thearcipelago finiano (National Area andOpen Space) are represented. On the cultural side, theFareFuturo foundation andSecolo d'Italia newspaper are very influential.
Most FLI members come from thepost-fascist tradition of theItalian Social Movement (MSI) andNational Alliance (AN) with some notable exceptions:Benedetto Della Vedova (a formerRadical, who was elected deputy for Forza Italia, FI, and was later the leader of theLibertiamo association),Barbara Contini (a former Governor ofNasiriyah, Iraq elected for FI),Chiara Moroni (a formerSocialist, later member of FI),Giuseppe Valditara (a former member ofLega Nord),Giulia Bongiorno,Alessandro Ruben and a handful of formerChristian Democrats. However most FLI members are Southern conservatives or MSI nostalgics worried by the growing influence ofLega Nord over the centre-right, federal reform andeconomic liberalism. The party was actually very heterogeneous, and it was possible to identify some divisions either over politics or policies.[78]
First, on the relations with the PdL, at the beginning there was a clear divide between a "radical" wing (Italo Bocchino,Fabio Granata,Carmelo Briguglio,Flavia Perina,Luca Barbareschi and most deputies) and a "moderate" one (Andrea Ronchi,Pasquale Viespoli,Roberto Menia and most senators).[79][80][81] Some (the "moderates" andAdolfo Urso) long continued to consider themselves as part of the PdL, while others (the "radicals" and Menia) wanted FLI to be autonomous from the PdL.[82][83][84] Shortly before launching the new party, Fini sided with the "radicals" and criticized the "moderates".[85] Many "moderates", most of the former Christian Democrats and even "radical" Barbareschi left the party along the way.[45][58] Some "moderates" led by Urso and Ronchi launchedFareItalia, others directly re-joined the PdL.
Second, while someFiniani (Bocchino, Granata, etc.) see FLI as the embryo of a modern and innovative right-wing, others (Menia, Urso, etc.) have joined FLI in order to re-create the political community of the late MSI. In this sense the word "future" in the party's name was a reference tofuturism, which was a cultural inspiration forItalian Fascism.[86][87][88]Both progressive and reactionary forces thus hail from FLI, but almost none identifies with thepolitical centre.[81]
Third, on the economy, the predominant strain in FLI was highly influenced bydirigisme,statism,corporatism andcentralism (all well represented in the ideology of the former MSI).[24] Salvatore Merlo writes that "though Fini would never admit it ... many of the positions adopted by him today derive from a certain thread in fascist culture" andThe Economist remarks that "many of Mr Fini's fellow-rebels originated in the social wing of neo-fascism, whose anti-capitalist adherents embraced such ideas as feminism and environmentalism as long ago as the 1970s", that was why FLI "has perhaps the oddest pedigree of any progressive group on the European right".[89] However, FLI included also some uncompromisingeconomic liberals such as Benedetto Della Vedova, his fellow former Radicals and theLibertiamo faction and foundation.[90] Moreover, someFiniani, notably including Mario Baldassarri, propose to lower taxes and to slow down the introduction of fiscal federalism instead.[91]
Fourth, on ethical issues, which caused some of the main strifes between Fini and the majority of the PdL and of the former AN, some FLI members such as Della Vedova were pushing for a progressive commitment aimed at the introduction of civil unions and the liberalisation of artificial insemination, while others did not consider those issues a priority or oppose any departure from the traditionalsocial conservatism of MSI/AN.[83][92]
| Chamber of Deputies | ||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats won | +/– | Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 159,429 (#12) | 0.5 | 1 / 630 | – | Gianfranco Fini | |
| Senate of the Republic | |||||
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats won | +/– | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | intoWith Monti for Italy | – | 2 / 315 | – | Gianfranco Fini |
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