South calls North Sud chiama Nord | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Cateno De Luca |
| President | Laura Castelli |
| Founded | 25 June 2022 (2022-06-25) |
| Headquarters | Via Oratorio San Francesco 5,Messina |
| Membership(2024) | 14,000 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Big tent |
| National affiliation | Freedom (2024) |
| Colours | Yellow Red |
| Chamber of Deputies | 1 / 400 |
| Senate | 0 / 205 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 76 |
| Sicilian Assembly | 3 / 70 |
| Website | |
| sud-chiamanord.it | |
South calls North (Italian:Sud chiama Nord, ScN) is aregionalist andpopulistpolitical party in Italy, based inSicily and led by former mayor ofMessinaCateno De Luca.[3]
In 2007,Cateno De Luca, a formerChristian Democrat who had been a member of theChristian Democratic Centre (1994–2002), theUnion of the Centre (2002–2005) and theMovement for Autonomy (2005–2008), formedSicilia Vera, which soon became an independent party.
In June 2022, in the run-up to theSicilian regional election, De Luca, along with formerFive Star Movement MEPDino Giarrusso, launched "South calls North", as a broader political vehicle than Sicilia Vera.[4] However, after a few weeks, Giarrusso left the party due to conflicts with De Luca with regard to the party's candidatures in the following election and De Luca remained the sole leader.[5]
ScN took part in the2022 general election, winning one single-member constituency in theChamber of Deputies with Francesco Gallo, and one in theSenate of the Republic withDafne Musolino, both from the districts of Messina, where ScN was capable to collect more than 30% of votes.[6][7][8] Contextually, in the2022 regional election De Luca came second, with 24.0% of the vote, behind the centre-right candidateRenato Schifani,[9] while the affiliated party lists obtained 18.1%, electing eight members of theSicilian Regional Assembly;[10] upon the formation of parliamentary groups, four councillors elected with ScN formed a distinct parliamentary group named "Sicilia Vera", De Luca's other party.[11]
In March 2023,Laura Castelli, a former leading member of theFive Star Movement joined the party, becoming its spokesperson.[12] In January 2024, Castelli was appointed president of the party.[13] In September 2023, senator Musolino left the party in order to joinMatteo Renzi'sItalia Viva.[14]
In 2024, the party signed a deal with Franco Cuccureddu, a former member of theMovement for Autonomy (MpA), who became the party's representative inSardinia. Cuccureddu's list, namedShared Horizon (OC), run in theregional election within the centre-left coalition gaining three seats.
In March 2024, De Luca launchedFreedom, a populist electoral list with severalregionalist and anti-establishment minor parties, with the aim of taking part in the2024 European Parliament election.[15]
The party has been described asregionalist,autonomist andpopulist.[16] ScN also supportsfederalism, advocating for a greater administrative decentralization and greater decision-making power for local administrators. Moreover, the party is also in favor of increasing the powers of thePrime Minister of Italy, comparing this position to a "mayor of Italy",[17] as it is clearly shown in the party's logo under the slogan "De Luca for Mayor of Italy".[18]
| Election | Leader | Chamber of Deputies | Senate of the Republic | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | ||
| 2022 | Cateno De Luca | 212,685 | 0.76 | 1 / 400 | New | 13th | 272,462 | 1.0 | 1 / 200 | New | 13th |
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Cateno De Luca | IntoFreedom | 0 / 76 | New | – | |
| Region | Election | Candidate | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sicily | 2022 | Cateno De Luca | 254,453 | 13.61 | 8 / 70 | New |
