Several
political parties operate in
Italy, and historically there have been even more than today. No
one party has ever had the chance of gaining power alone and thus
parties must work with each other to form
coalition governments.
However, since the
2008 general election, only five major parties have been represented
in
Parliament. On one side, the
centre-right
The People of Freedom and
Lega
Nord supported the
Berlusconi IV Cabinet. On the other side there is the
centre-left opposition, composed of the
Democratic Party and
Italy of Values. The
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats and
Future and Freedom are the only relevant national parties outside
the two big coalitions to be represented in Parliament. Other minor
regional parties have seats in Parliament, notably the
Movement for Autonomies, the
South Tyrolean People's Party and the
Valdotanian Union, while many more regional parties are active at
the regional level.
History
Between 1945 and 1994, Italian politics was dominated by two major
parties:
Christian Democracy, which was the party of government, and the
Italian Communist Party, the main opposition party. The other
opposition party was the post-fascist
Italian Social Movement. During its almost fifty years in
government, Christian Democracy chose its coalition partners among four
parties: the
Italian Socialist Party, the
Italian Democratic Socialist Party, the
Italian Republican Party and the
Italian Liberal Party.
The Christian Democrats led the government consecutively for 46 but
five years. Between 1983 to 1991, they steadily shared government with
the Socialists, the Republicans, the Democratic Socialists and the
Liberals altogether. These were the years when several
Northern regional parties demanding
autonomy organised themselves at the regional level. In 1991 they
federated themselves into
Lega
Nord, which became the country's fourth largest party in the
1992 general election.
In 1992–1994, the political system was shaken by a series of
corruption scandals known collectively as
Tangentopoli. These events led to the disappearance of the five
parties of government. Consequently the Communists, who had evolved to
become
Democratic Party of the Left in 1991, and the post-fascists, who
launched the
National Alliance, gained strength. Following the
1994 general election media tycoon
Silvio Berlusconi became
Prime Minister at the head of a coalition composed mainly of three
parties: its brand new party called
Forza Italia (joined by many members of the former mainstream
parties), the National Alliance and Lega Nord.
Between 1996 and 2008, Italian political parties were organised into
two big coalitions, the
centre-right
Pole for Freedoms (which was renamed
House of Freedoms after the re-entry of Lega Nord in 2000) and
The Olive Tree (part of the new, broader coalition
The Union in 2005) on the
centre-left. The centre-left governed from 1996 to 2001 and again
between 2006 and 2008, while the House of Freedoms was in government
between 2001 and 2006.
In 2008 The Union ceased to exist and the newly-founded
Democratic Party decided to break the alliance with the
Communist Refoundation Party and the other parties of the coalition,
except
Italy of Values and the
Italian Radicals. On the centre-right, Forza Italia and National
Alliance merged to form
The People of Freedom, which continued the alliance with Lega Nord
and secured a big majority in both Chambers at the
2008 general election.
Since 16 November 2011, Italy has been governed by the non-partisan
technical government lead by independent Prime Minister
Mario Monti.
Active parties
Major parties
Active parties having their own group in at least one of the two
chambers of the
Italian Parliament or having garnered more than 4% in the
last general election:
Minor parties
Active parties having a minor representation in elective bodies, at
national or regional level, or having garnered less than 4% in the last
general election:
Regional parties
Active parties having at least 2 regional councillors or having
garnered more than 1% in a regional election (or in a general/European
election at the regional level):
- Aosta Valley
- Piedmont
- Lombardy
- South Tyrol
- Trentino
- Veneto
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- Emilia-Romagna
- Liguria
- Tuscany
- Marche
- Umbria
- Campania
- Basilicata
- Apulia
- Sardinia
- Sicily
Parties of the Italians abroad
Active parties having at least one MP or having garnered more than
15% in one constituency in the last general election:
Former parties
Coalitions
Former coalitions having garnered more than 15% in a general
election:
Parties
Former parties having garnered more than 1% in a general election or
having had at least 5 MPs:
Regional parties
Former parties having garnered more than 1% in a regional election
(or in a general/European election at the regional level) or having had
at least 2 regional councillors:
- Aosta Valley
- Piedmont
- Lombardy
- Liguria
- South Tyrol
- Trentino
- Veneto
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- Molise
- Campania
- Basilicata
- Calabria
- Sicily
- Sardinia