Liberalism andradicalism have played a role in the political history ofItaly since the country'sunification, started in 1861 and largely completed in 1871, and currently influence several leading political parties.
During the first decades of Italy as a united country, the main parliamentary parties included liberals, but it was not until 1877 that the left-wingRadical Party was established as the first organized liberal party. The more centristLiberals followed in 1913. Most liberal and radical parties were banned in 1926 underBenito Mussolini'sFascist government.
AfterWorld War II and the establishment of theItalian Republic there have been frequent changes in the configuration of political parties and, for the most part, the representation of liberal and radical views has been split among a number of parties that may also espouse other views. These parties have often been part of governingcoalitions.
WhenBenito Mussolini'sNational Fascist Party came to power in 1922, some Liberals and Radicals flirted with Fascism, but, ultimately, aFascist regime was established and all the parties, notably including the Italian Liberal Party and the Italian Republican Party, were banned.
Since 1992–1994, following theTangentopoli scandals, the subsequentMani pulite inquiries and the resulting shake-up of the Italian party system, the liberal movement has been strongly divided. As a result, a broad group of parties, not all included here, started to use the "liberal" label.[1]
Italian liberals are basically divided between the centre-rightForza Italia (successor of the formerForza Italia, itself primarily a merger of liberal and Christian-democratic forces, andThe People of Freedom, which integrated the more conservativeNational Alliance) and the centre-leftDemocratic Party (a merger of social democrats, progressive Christian democrats and social liberals, the latter two mainly organised inDemocracy is Freedom – The Daisy in the early 2000s).
From 1994 on, most Liberals and several Republicans joined Forza Italia and the other parties of theHouse of Freedoms coalition. This is the reason why the term "liberal" is more often used when speaking of the centre-right than the centre-left. A newItalian Liberal Party was launched in 1997, but, as the Italian Republican Party, it survives as a very minor party. The former two, Civic Choice, Act to Stop the Decline and minor groups joined forces inEuropean Choice, with disappointing results, in 2014.
1849:The Left, a left-liberal parliamentary group, is formed in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
1861: TheHistorical Right, a parliamentary group sometimes referred to asLiberal Constitutional Party orLiberals, is formed as the successor of the Moderate Party. The Left starts to be known asHistorical Left, while its members are frequently referred to asDemocrats.
1922: Giolitti's Liberals, conservative liberals and remnants of the Historical Right (by then called Liberal Conservatives) form theItalian Liberal Party (PLI).
1955: The PLI's left-wing forms the Radical Party (seebelow).
1993: A fraction of the PLI's right-wing forms theUnion of the Centre (UdC), while splinters form theLiberal Democratic Union (ULD) and theLiberal Left.
1994: The PLI is disbanded. Other than aforementioned spin-offs, theFederation of Liberals (FdL) and theItalian Liberal Right (DLI), which is integrated into National Alliance (seebelow), are formed. Several Liberals join either Forza Italia (seebelow) or the Segni Pact (seebelow).
1995: The ULD is merged into the FdL.
1996: The FdL joins the Democratic Union (seebelow).
1997: Some of Forza Italia's Liberals form theLiberal Party (PL).
1998: The UdC is merged into Forza Italia.
2004: Splinters from the FdL form theAssociation for Liberal Democracy, which would joinDemocracy is Freedom – The Daisy (seebelow), whilst the PL, along with members of the DLI (briefly known as Liberals for Italy) and former members of the UdC, re-establishes theItalian Liberal Party (PLI).
2007: The Liberal Left joins the Democratic Party (seebelow).
2011: The DLI joins The People of Freedom (seebelow).
2014: Splinters from the PLI and other former Liberals formThe Liberals, a short-lived experience.
1926: The PRI is banned, but continues its activities in exile.
1942: Republicans take part to the foundation of theAction Party (PdA).
1943: The PRI is re-organised in Italy.
1946: The PdA's liberal wing forms theRepublican Democratic Concentration (CDR), which is merged into the PRI, another wing forms theItalian Republican Alliance (ARI) which vanishes soon after.
1992: The PRT is organised at the Italian-level asPannella List.
1994: Pannella List's members are elected with Forza Italia in the1994 general election.
1999: The PRT is organised at the Italian-level asBonino List.
2001: The PRT is organised at the Italian-level asItalian Radicals, a full-fledged party.
2005: The party joins forces with theItalian Democratic Socialists in theRose in the Fist, an electoral coalition. The right-wing libertarian faction leaves to form theLiberal Reformers (RL), which would become an associate party of Forza Italia (seebelow) and finally merge into The People of Freedom (seebelow).
2007: A splinter group formsDecide!, which would later merge into The People of Freedom (seebelow).
2007: Silvio Berlusconi announces the creation ofThe People of Freedom (PdL), a party merging FI with the more conservativeNational Alliance (AN) and other parties of theHouse of Freedoms, notably including the Liberal Reformers, Decide! and the Liberal Democrats (seebelow).
2009: FI is officially merged into the PdL.
2010: Former members of AN and some liberals too leave FI to formFuture and Freedom (FLI).
2013: Silvio Berlusconi announces the revival of FI. Subsequently, the PdL is folded into the newForza Italia (FI). A minority of FI's liberals take part to the creation of theNew Centre-Right, an alternative, predominantly Christian-democratic party.
1996: The social-liberalDemocratic Union (UD) and the centrist-liberalItalian Renewal (RI) are formed. AD joins the former, the Segni Pact the latter.
1999:The Democrats, a centrist and social-liberal party, is formed by the union of the UD withRomano Prodi's supporters (some of which splinters from the Christian-democraticItalian People's Party, PPI). For its part, the Segni Pact forms an alliance with AN.
2015:Unique Italy (IU), including former members of IF, SC and the PdL, is formed. A splinter group fromLega Nord formsAct! (F!). Several SC's liberals join the PD.
2016: IU is dissolved. SC, which has suffered the split of theCivics and Innovators (CI), forms a federative pact with the ALA.
