The
House of Freedoms was a major
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
centre-rightThe centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...
political and
electoral allianceAn electoral alliance may take the form of a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc. It is an association of political parties or individuals which exists solely to stand in elections...
led by
Silvio BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
. It was initially composed of several
political partiesA political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
:
- Forza Italia
Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....
(FI, Liberal-conservativeLiberal conservatism also known as progressive conservatism is a variant of political conservatism which incorporates liberal elements. As "conservatism" and "liberalism" have had different meanings over time and across countries, the term "liberal conservatism" has been used in quite different...
)
- National Alliance
National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
(AN, National-conservativeNational conservatism is a political term used primarily in Europe to describe a variant of conservatism which concentrates more on national interests than standard conservatism as well as upholding cultural and ethnic identity, while not being outspokenly nationalist or supporting a far-right...
)
- Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC, Christian democratic
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
)
- Lega Nord (LN, Padanian nationalist)
- Movement for Autonomy (MpA, regionalist
In politics, regionalism is a political ideology that focuses on the interests of a particular region or group of regions, whether traditional or formal...
)
- Christian Democracy for Autonomies (DCA, Christian democratic)
- New Italian Socialist Party (NPSI, social-democratic
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
)
- Italian Republican Party
The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini...
(PRI, liberalLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
)
- Liberal Reformers
Liberal Reformers was a minor libertarian political party in Italy led by Benedetto Della Vedova, a former President of the Italian Radicals.-History:...
(RI, libertarianLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
)
The alliance won the
1994 Italian general electionAn early national general election was held in Italy on March 27, 1994 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right alliance won handily the election for the Chamber and only narrowly lost that for the Senate....
under the name
Pole of FreedomsThe Pole of Freedoms was a centre-right electoral alliance in Italy, launched at the 1994 general election by Silvio Berlusconi.The alliance was composed primarily of Forza Italia and the Lega Nord, but also included Christian Democratic Centre and the Union of the Centre...
, but the resulting government was short-lived, as Lega Nord withdrew their support and went to opposition. Particularly unstable had been the relationship within the
federalistFederalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
Lega Nord movement and the
conservativeConservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
, pro-
central governmentA central government also known as a national government, union government and in federal states, the federal government, is the government at the level of the nation-state. The structure of central governments varies from institution to institution...
National AllianceNational Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
. As such, the
first Berlusconi governmentThe Berlusconi I Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 10 May 1994 to January 17, 1995.It was composed of 26 ministers and 38 under-secretaries, for a total of 64 members.Composition of the government:...
lasted only nine months.
After a five-year
centre-leftCentre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
government, Berlusconi managed to keep at bay some of the most uncompromising Lega Nord proposals and won the
2001 general electionA national general election was held in Italy on May 13, 2001 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. The 14th Parliament of the Italian republic was chosen....
, this time with a view to create a stable government. It sought to undermine the proportionality rules of the Italian
Additional Member SystemThe Additional Member System is the term used in the United Kingdom for the mixed member proportional representation voting system used in Scotland, Wales and the London Assembly....
of elections by running many of its constituency candidates under a decoy list called
Abolizione Scorporo, a title which explicitly stated its opposition to the counting rules; its tactic largely worked because it had more support than the centre-left United in the Olive Tree alliance.
In 2003 House of Freedoms was routed in local elections by the Olive Tree alliance, and the League threatened to pull out of the House of Freedoms. In 2005, once again, House of Freedoms was severely routed in regional elections, losing six of eight
Italian regionsThe regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....
. This led to a crisis of the government, particularly after the UDC pulled its four ministers out. A few weeks later, a new government was formed on the 23 April, 2005 with the same six parties (FI, AN, LN, UDC, NPSI, PRI) and a minor Cabinet reshuffle, creating the
Berlusconi III CabinetThe Berlusconi III Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 23 April 2005 to 5 May 2006. It was the 58th cabinet of the Italian Republic, and the second cabinet of the XIV Legislature.Composition of the governemnt:...
.
Inclusion of neo-fascist movements
In February 2006, two months ahead of the general elections of 2006, UDC secretary
Lorenzo CesaLorenzo Cesa is an Italian politician, and was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in the 2006 General election representing the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats...
and others protested against the inclusion of
neo-fascistsNeo-fascism is a post–World War II ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. The term neo-fascist may apply to groups that express a specific admiration for Benito Mussolini and Italian Fascism or any other fascist leader/state...
such as Adriano Tilgher,
Roberto FioreRoberto Fiore is an Italian nationalist politician and a founding member of the European third position movement which is against both communism and capitalism...
,
Alessandra MussoliniAlessandra Mussolini is an Italian politician, the granddaughter of Benito Mussolini, and previously an actress and model...
,
Gaetano SayaGaetano Saya is a far right Italian politician, leader of the National Right neo-fascist party.Saya has claimed he was a former member of Gladio, NATO's stay-behind anti-Communist network during the Cold War, involved in Italy's strategy of tension during the "Years of Lead."Gaetano Saya was...
and
Pino RautiGiuseppe Umberto "Pino" Rauti is an Italian politician who has been a leading figure on the far right for many years...
in the alliance, branding them
impresentabili (unsuitable).
It appeared for some time that these neo-fascist leading figures were going to receive a few almost-guaranteed seats in the Parliament on Forza Italia's ticket, as claimed by political opposers, while Berlusconi definitely ruled out this possibility.
Berlusconi confirmed negotiating with
Alessandra MussoliniAlessandra Mussolini is an Italian politician, the granddaughter of Benito Mussolini, and previously an actress and model...
, but claimed he would request her not to include people like Tilgher and Fiore. Mussolini had previously contended she would not accept any veto. Berlusconi had been photographed with Gaetano Saya's wife, who is also secretary of an extremist neo-fascist party that claims to have such an agreement with the House of Freedoms.
Eventually, Mussolini declared that neither she nor other neo-fascists would be candidates, but her alliance of neo-fascist movements, Social Alternative, would support the House of Freedoms.
Transformation into The People of Freedom party
In December 2007, Berlusconi announced a plan for the creation of a successor to the House of Freedoms,
The People of FreedomThe People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....
, hoping to unify much of the Italian centre-right into a single party. With the unexpected fall of the
second Prodi governmentThe Prodi II Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days...
in January 2008, the organisation of the People of Freedom was completed, but only two parties formally joined, Berlusconi's
Forza ItaliaForza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....
and the
National AllianceNational Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
. For the
2008 general electionsA snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote, and the unsuccessful tentative...
, the People of Freedom ran as an unnamed coalition with the Lega Nord and its ally the Movement for Autonomy. Christian democrats from the House of Freedoms refused to join either the People of Freedom or its coalition, and stood independently as the Union of the Centre.
Results in the 2006 Senate election
House of Freedoms
|
| Party |
Votes |
% |
Seats |
Areas contested |
Party
name: |
Italy: |
Abroad: |
Italy: |
Abroad: |
Areas
contested: |
Italy: |
Abroad: |
Italy: |
Abroad: |
| |
8,201,688 |
185,438 |
23.56 |
21.07 |
? |
78 |
1 |
|
|
| National Alliance National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
|
4,234,693 |
|
12.17 |
|
? |
41 |
|
 |
|
| Union of Christian and Centre Democrats |
2,311,448 |
57,200 |
6.64 |
6.50 |
? |
21 |
0 |
|
 |
Lega Nord - Movement for AutonomyThe Movement for Autonomies is a regionalist Christian democratic political party in Italy. It demands economic development and greater autonomy for Sicily, mainly, and for other regions of Southern Italy...
|
1,531,939 |
18,455 |
4.40 |
2.10 |
? |
13 |
0 |
 |
|
| Tricolour Flame |
8,433 |
0.63 |
0.96 |
? |
0 |
0 |
 |
 |
| Social Alternative |
215,668 |
|
0.62 |
|
? |
0 |
|
 |
|
| Christian Democracy-New PSI |
190,724 |
|
0.55 |
|
? |
0 |
|
 |
|
| United Pensioners The United Pensioners of Italy is a political party in Italy. The party affiliated to the "House of Freedoms", the centre-right coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi....
|
61,824 |
|
0.18 |
|
? |
0 |
|
 |
|
| Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini...
|
45,133 |
|
0.13 |
|
? |
0 |
|
 |
|
| Environmental List-Ecological Democrats |
37,656 |
|
0.11 |
|
? |
0 |
|
 |
|
| New Sicily New Sicily is a regionalist social-democratic political party based in Sicily. Its founder and current leader is Bartolo Pellegrino. It is composed mainly by former members of the Italian Socialist Party...
|
33,437 |
|
0.10 |
|
? |
0 |
|
 |
|
No Euro MovementThe No Euro Movement is a small political party that aims to remove the euro as the Italian currency, returning to the Italian lira, and advocates governmental control of the Italian Central Bank....
|
30,515 |
|
0.09 |
|
? |
0 |
|
 |
|
| Pact for Sicily The Pact for Sicily is a political party in Italy.It emerged in 2006 by the christian-democratic faction led by Nicolò Nicolosi within New Sicily. Nicolosi has been MP for that party between since 2001....
|
20,833 |
|
0.06 |
|
? |
0 |
|
|
|
| Italian Liberal Party (2004) |
15,762 |
|
0.05 |
|
? |
0 |
|
 |
|
| Forza Italia Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....
-National AllianceNational Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
|
11,505 |
|
0.03 |
|
? |
0 |
|
|
| Christian Extended Pact The Christian Extended Pact is a Christian-conservative political party in Italy.The party takes example from the Christian Coalition in the United States and is one of the few examples of Christian right parties in Europe. Although most of its members are evangelicals or pentecostals, the party...
|
9,730 |
|
0.03 |
|
? |
0 |
|
 |
|
| Liberal Reformers Liberal Reformers was a minor libertarian political party in Italy led by Benedetto Della Vedova, a former President of the Italian Radicals.-History:...
|
7,668 |
|
0.02 |
|
? |
0 |
|
 |
|
| S.O.S. Italy The S.O.S. Italy is a political party in Italy. The party affiliated to the "House of Freedoms", the centre-right coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi....
|
4,963 |
|
0.01 |
|
? |
0 |
|
 |
|
| For Italy in the World The For Italy in the World with Tremaglia is a political party in Italy, active with voters living abroad, which refers to Mirko Tremaglia, member of National Alliance party and Minister for Italians Abroad in the Berlusconi II cabinet...
|
|
63.474 |
|
7.11 |
7.11 |
|
0 |
|
| House of Freedoms |
175,137 |
|
0.50 |
|
? |
2 |
|
 |
|
| Total: |
17,359,754 |
333,000 |
49.87 |
37.84 |
? |
155 |
1 |
|