Forza Italia

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Forza Italia
Party logo
Party executive Silvio Berlusconi (Presidente)
Denis Verdini (Coordinator)
founding January 18, 1994
fusion March 29, 2009 (incorporated into: Il Popolo della Libertà )
ideology conservative , economically liberal , populist ( Berlusconism )
European party EPP
EP Group EPP-ED
Headquarters ItalyItaly Rome , Via dell'Umiltà 36
Website www.forza-italia.it

Forza Italia ( German  Forward Italy , originally a battle cry in sport) was a political party in Italy , which was founded in 1994 and on March 29, 2009 was absorbed into the new Popolo della Libertà (PdL) party. It was led by Silvio Berlusconi throughout its existence and was strongly focused on his person. She led the government three times in center-right coalitions: from 1994 to 1996, from 2001 to 2006 and from 2008.

Accompanied by a split in the party , the PdL decided on November 16, 2013 to return to the old name, see Forza Italia (2013) .

history

It was started in 1993 by the entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi . The official establishment took place on January 18, 1994, two months before the drastic parliamentary elections in March . The election took place at the time of the Mani pulite trials , in which massive corruption, abuse of office and illegal party funding were exposed ( Tangentopoli ) .

The founding of the party was supported financially, personally and logistically by Berlusconi's Fininvest group. The area managers of the advertising company Publitalia '80 (headed by Forza Italia founding member Marcello Dell'Utri ) organized the selection of Forza Italia candidates. Finivest's marketing network hired the Diakron polling firm to study the new party's “market potential”. The loan intermediaries of Fininvest subsidiary Programma Italia promoted the establishment of local party branches. The election campaign of the new party relied to a considerable extent on the television stations and PR machinery belonging to Fininvest. Forza Italia was the first major political party created by a commercial enterprise. The party only gradually built up a real membership. The first regular party congress did not take place until four years after it was founded. The political scientist Emanuela Poli described the party as “a mere diversification of Fininvest in the political market”. Other authors referred to Forza Italia for this reason as an "instant party", "party made of plastic", "corporate", "phantom" or "virtual party".

The five parties ( Pentapartito ) that had supported the political system since the end of the Second World War, the so-called First Republic, and that held most of the time (in the case of the Democrazia Cristiana, even continuously) in government, crashed in this election. New parties, on the other hand, grew strongly and Forza Italia immediately became the strongest force. Together with other center and right-wing parties such as the regionalist Lega Nord , the right-wing conservative Alleanza Nazionale and the Christian Democratic UDC , she formed the electoral alliance Polo delle Libertà ('Pole of Freedoms'), from 2001 Casa delle Libertà ('House of Freedoms'). From 1994 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006 this represented the majority in the Italian parliament and the government, both under Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister.

Critics accused the party of having only built up inadequate party structures and used the apparently unassailable position of Silvio Berlusconi as an argument. Historically, Forza Italia has given a new home to large parts of the bourgeois and social liberal forces that became homeless after the dissolution of the Italian Christian Democracy ( Democrazia Cristiana , DC) and the Socialist Party ( Partito Socialista Italiano , PSI). When it comes to economic issues, it appears liberal , otherwise it tends to be conservative and Christian Democratic. In the parliamentary elections in 2006, Forza Italia, with a share of 23.7%, received significantly fewer votes than in 2001 (29%) and at the same time lost its government majority, but it is still by far the strongest party.

Political scientists assign the party to the populist movements . In the special form, which was or is significantly shaped by the interests of its founder and party chairman Silvio Berlusconi, there is also talk of Berlusconism .

Well-known members of Forza Italia

  • Gabriele Albertini , Mayor of Milan (1997-2006)
  • Angelino Alfano , Berlusconi's lawyer, FI coordinator in Sicily, Minister of Justice (2008–11), Minister of the Interior (2013–16), Minister of Foreign Affairs (2016–18)
  • Michaela Biancofiore , country coordinator in South Tyrol
  • Sandro Bondi , previously PCI, Minister of Culture (2008–11), Senator (2008–18)
  • Michela Vittoria Brambilla , founder of the Circoli della Libertà , from 2008 State Secretary for Tourism
  • Mara Carfagna , former showgirl and model, from 2008 Minister for Equality
  • Ombretta Colli , former actress, President of the Province of Milan (1999-2004), Senator from 2006
  • Nicola Cosentino , previously PSDI, from 2008 State Secretary for Economic Affairs, allegedly a member of the secret box P3
  • Marcello Dell'Utri , managing director of Fininvest subsidiary Publitalia '80, co-founder of FI, senator from 2001, convicted of Mafia involvement
  • Manuela Di Centa , former cross-country skier, IOC member, MP from 2006
  • Roberto Dipiazza , Mayor of Trieste from 2001
  • Giuliano Ferrara , previously PCI, PSI, founder and editor of the newspaper Il Foglio
  • Roberto Formigoni , previously DC, Regional President of Lombardy (1995-2013)
  • Franco Frattini , previously PSI, Foreign Minister (2002–04 and 2008–11), EU Commissioner for Justice (2004–08)
  • Giancarlo Galan , previously PLI, Regional President of Veneto (1995-2010)
  • Mariastella Gelmini , FI coordinator in Lombardy, Minister of Education (2008-11)
  • Gianni Letta , Fininvest Manager, responsible for Canale 5, co-founder of FI, State Secretary to the Prime Minister (1994–95, 2001–06, 2008–11)
  • Antonio Martino , previously PLI, Foreign Minister (1994–95), Defense Minister (2001–06)
  • Marcello Pera , previously PSI, Senator (1996–2013), President of the Senate (2001–06)
  • Stefania Prestigiacomo , Minister for Equality (2001-06), Environment Minister (2008-11)
  • Cesare Previti , previously MSI, Minister of Defense (1994-95)
  • Claudio Scajola , previously DC, National Coordinator of FI, Minister of the Interior (2001-02), Minister for Economic Development (2005-06, 2008-10)
  • Bud Spencer (Carlo Pedersoli), actor
  • Antonio Tajani , EU Transport Commissioner (2008-10), Industry Commissioner (2010-14), President of the EU Parliament (since 2017)
  • Giulio Tremonti , previously PSI, Minister of Finance (1994–95, 2001–04, 2005–06, 2008–11)
  • Denis Verdini , previously PSI, PRI, national coordinator of FI / PdL (from 2008)
  • Iva Zanicchi , former singer and actress, member of the European Parliament (2008-14)
  • Franco Zeffirelli , director, senator (1994-2001)

resolution

On November 18, 2007, Berlusconi announced the founding of a new party called Popolo della Libertà (German: People of Freedom ). Berlusconi's goal was to merge the parties involved in the center-right coalition Casa delle Libertà into a collecting party and thus to build an antipole to the center-left collecting party Partito Democratico , which had been founded a few weeks earlier . However, all three major allies (Alleanza Nazionale, Lega Nord and UDC) initially spoke out against dissolving into the party newly founded by Berlusconi. After the fall of the Prodi government at the end of January 2008, Berlusconi put the Popolo della Libertà project on hold until further notice. On February 8, 2008, however, Berlusconi and Fini announced that Forza Italia and Alleanza Nazionale would run with a common list in the early parliamentary elections on April 13 and 14 . Popolo della Libertà is to be understood as the successor to the previous electoral alliance Casa delle Libertà .

On November 21, 2008, the Forza Italia party executive decided to dissolve the party and merge it with the Popolo della Libertà . He gave the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi a free hand to implement the transition. The Popolo della Libertà was founded at a congress from March 27 to 29, 2009 in Rome, which at the same time officially dissolved Forza Italia.

Re-establishment in 2013

On October 25, 2013, Berlusconi, as President of the Popolo della Libertà , declared that his party should now be called Forza Italia again . At a party congress on November 16, 2013, around 800 party members decided to start over under the old name. Berlusconi was quoted as saying: "I am happy that we have returned to this name that we all still have in our hearts: Forza Italia ." PdL General Secretary Angelino Alfano and his government colleagues, however, had already declared in advance that they would not attend the party congress and to form the new Nuovo Centrodestra party with a number of other MPs .

See also

literature

  • Damian Grasmück: The Forza Italia Silvio Berlusconis. Birth, development, government activity and structures of a charismatic party. Peter Lang Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 2005. ISBN 3-631-53839-1
  • Marcus Waldmann: The party system of Italy, university edition, 2004. ISBN 3-937151-12-5

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Duncan McDonnell: Silvio Berlusconi's Personal Parties. From Forza Italia to the Popolo Della Libertà. In: Political Studies , Volume 61, S1, 2013, pp. 217–233.
  2. ^ A b Jonathan Hopkin: Forza Italia after Ten Years. In: Italian Politics. Quo Vadis? Berghahn, 2005, p. 87.
  3. ↑ a b Ruzza, Fella: Re-inventing the Italian Right. Territorial politics, populism and 'post-fascism'. Routledge, 2009, p. 107.
  4. ^ Jonathan Hopkin, Piero Ignazi: Newly governing parties in Italy. Comparing the PDS / DS, Lega Nord and Forza Italia. In: New Parties in Government. In power for the first time. Routledge, 2008, p. 57.
  5. ^ Emanuela Poli: Forza Italia. Strutture, leadership e radicamento territorial. Il Mulino, 2001, 41.
  6. ^ A b Paolo Gianfelici: "Forza Italia" or "Forza Berlusconi"? Comments on a New Party Model. In: Italy on the move - an interim balance. ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Arguments and materials on current affairs, Volume 37, Hanns Seidel Foundation, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-88795-252-9 , p. 48.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hss.de
  7. ↑ Ilvo Diamanti: Dal partito di plastica alla Repubblica Fondata sui media. In: Comunicazione Politica , Volume 5, No. 1, 2004, pp. 51-64.
  8. ↑ Ilvo Diamanti: Partiti, modelli. In: Politica ed Economia. Almanacco 1995 , pp. 71-80.
  9. ↑ Jonathan Hopkin, Caterina Paolucci: The business firm model of party organization. Cases from Spain and Italy. In: European Journal of Political Research, Volume 35, No. 3, May 1999, pp. 307-339.
  10. ^ Patrick McCarthy: Forza Italia. The Overwhelming Success and the Consequent Problems of a Virtual Party. In: Italian Politics. The Year of the Tycoon Westview, 1996, pp. 37-55.
  11. ↑ Jens Urbat: Right-wing populists in power. Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia in the new Italian party system. Lit Verlag, Hamburg 2007, p. 7.
  12. ↑ Italy's ex-prime minister: Berlusconi intensifies the dispute in his own party. In: Spiegel online . October 26, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013 .
  13. ↑ Berlusconi party splits. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013 .
  14. ↑ Berlusconi reanimates Forza Italia. In: dradio.de . November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013 .
  15. ↑ Berlusconi's ministers change to Alfano. In: The Standard . November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013 .