Venetian Autonomy League Lega Autonomia Veneta | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Mario Rigo |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Dissolved | 2001 |
| Ideology | Autonomism Venetian nationalism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
TheLega Autonomia Veneta (Venetian Autonomy League, LAV) was acentre-leftregionalistpolitical party in Veneto.
The party's long-standing leaders wereMario Rigo, a former Mayor ofVenice (1975–1985) andMEP (1984–1989) for theItalian Socialist Party, and incumbentSenator,[1] andOscar De Bona, Socialist President of theProvince of Belluno since 1990.
In the1990 regional election the party, at time calledIniziativa Civica ("Civic Initiative") won 0.9% of the vote, but, as Liga Veneta–Lega Nord boomed in the early 1990s, the party changed its name into Lega Autonomia Veneta, with a very small word "Autonomia",[2] and its symbol into former Liga's symbol thelion of Saint Mark.[3] The LAV increased its share of votes, gaining 5-6% of the vote in Senate elections. Rigo was elected for the party to theChamber of Deputies (along withPierluigi Ronzani to theSenate) in1992 and to the Senate in1996 (in coalition withThe Olive Tree).[4][5] De Bona was re-elected President of the Province of Belluno for LAV andDolomitic Agreement in 1995 and 1999, prior to joining theNew Italian Socialist Party and the centre-rightHouse of Freedoms.[6][7]
In 1997 LAV was merged, at the regional level, with theNortheast Movement ofMassimo Cacciari, while, at the national level, it became theLeague of Regions. The Movement of Cacciari was merged intoThe Democrats in 1999 and the League of Rigo disappeared by 2001.
The electoral results of the party in Veneto are shown in the table below. For general elections the results refer to the Senate election.
| 1990 regional | 1992 general | 1994 general | 1994 European | 1995 regional | 1996 general | 1999 European |
| 0.9 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 1.2 | 2.9[8] | -[9] | 0.3[10] |