Liberal Reformers was a minor
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...
political party in Italy led by
Benedetto Della VedovaBenedetto Della Vedova is an Italian politician, formerly the leader of Liberal Reformers, a minor liberal and libertarian party, and currently member of The Liberal Part, a liberal faction within the centre-right People of Freedom party.-Biography:His political experience began in 1994 with the...
, a former President of the
Italian RadicalsItalian Radicals is an Italian political party which describes itself as a liberale, liberista e libertario political movement .It was...
.
History
RL was founded in 2005 by a split from
Italian RadicalsItalian Radicals is an Italian political party which describes itself as a liberale, liberista e libertario political movement .It was...
of those radicals that were opposed to the formation of the
Rose in the FistThe Rose in the Fist was a coalition of parties in Italy.The RnP was composed of the social-democratic Italian Democratic Socialists , the libertarian Italian Radicals and some independent members gathered in the Association for the Rose in the Fist The Rose in the Fist was a coalition of...
alliance together with the
Italian Democratic SocialistsThe Italian Democratic Socialists were a small social-democratic political party in Italy. Led by Enrico Boselli, the party was the direct continuation of the Italian Socialists, the legal successor of the historical Italian Socialist Party...
, and instead supported an alliance with the
House of FreedomsThe House of Freedoms , was a major Italian centre-right political and electoral alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi. It was initially composed of several political parties:*Forza Italia *National Alliance...
. The party unites former Radicals, as many former members of the
Italian Liberal PartyThe Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution...
and of
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....
.
After
2006 general electionIn the Italian general election, 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006 the incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the center-right House of Freedoms, was narrowly defeated by Romano Prodi, leader of the center-left The...
(in which Della Vedova was elected MP on Forza Italia's list), the explicit aim of the grouping is to unite the Italian
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...
into a single party and to strengthen
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,...
and
secularSecularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
positions in it. Liberal Reformers act both as a faction of Forza Italia both as a unifying agent of centre-right liberals.
In October 2006, Liberal Reformers launched a manifesto called "Give a libertarian soul to the centre-right" together with famous journalists (
Vittorio FeltriVittorio Feltri is an Italian journalist and editor in chief.-Biography:Feltri was born in Bergamo, Italy. He started his career as journalist in 1962, writing film reviews for the local newspaper L'Eco di Bergamo. In 1977 he moved to the Corriere della Sera.In 1993 Feltri refused the offer of...
, Arturo Diaconale, Filippo Facci and Giordano Bruno Guerri), academics and politicians from both Forza Italia and
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...
.
On 1 November Della Vedova called on the Italian Radicals to join the centre-right in the next general election. Some days earlier, Della Vedova had wished that he,
Marco PannellaGiacinto Pannella, better known as Marco Pannella is an Italian politician.He is the historic leader of the Italian Radicals...
,
Emma BoninoEmma Bonino is an Italian politician, former Member of the European Parliament and current Member of the Italian Senate. She is a leading member of the Italian Radicals, a political party that supports economic and social libertarianism, and human rights...
and
Daniele CapezzoneDaniele Capezzone is a centre-right Italian politician.He currently is the spokesman for the People of Freedom.From July 14, 2001 to November 4, 2006, he was secretary of the Italian Radicals, a liberal, pro-market economy, libertarian movement associated with the Transnational Radical Party...
will found themselves together again in the centre-right. On 7 November, when Capezzone finally left the Radicals and the centre-left, Della Vedova opened the doors of Forza Italia and the centre-right for him.
In the
2008 Italian general electionA 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...
RL were part of the list of
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....
(PdL) and had two deputies elected: Benedetto Della Vedova and Giuseppe Calderisi. Soon after the election, Daniele Capezzone, who had previously joined the centre-right, was appointed by Berlusconi as spokesman of Forza Italia. In 2009 the party was merged into the PdL and its members, led by Della Vedova, formed a new association named
LibertiamoLibertiamo is a libertarian association within Future and Freedom , a political party in Italy.The group is the continuation of the Liberal Reformers , an associate party of Forza Italia, formed in 2007 by Benedetto Della Vedova, a former President of the Italian Radicals who disagreed with the...
. The party was merged in 2009 into
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....
. Within the new party Della Vedova distanced from his mentor
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...
and got very close to
Gianfranco FiniGianfranco Fini is an Italian politician, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, leader of the center-right Future and Freedom party, and the former leader of the conservative National Alliance and the post-fascist Italian Social Movement...
and
Generation ItalyGeneration Italy is a faction within Future and Freedom , a political party in Italy.Although most of its members come from the conservative National Alliance and were earlier members of the Italian Social Movement , the foundation was considered the cradle of social liberalism within The People...
instead. In July 2010, Della Vedova left the PdL to become a member of Fini's new party
Future and FreedomFuture and Freedom , whose complete name is Future and Freedom for Italy is a centre-right political party in Italy....
.
Ideology
Liberal Reformers had a
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...
platform, including a strong support for
free marketA free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
,
privatizationPrivatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
s,
deregulationDeregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
, lower
taxTo tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
es and competition in the
health careHealth care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
and
educationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
systems. They also proposed an American-styled reform of Italian political system (their slogan was "America, Market, Individual"), including
presidentialismA presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....
, competitive
federalismFederalism 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...
and a
first-past-the-postFirst-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...
plurality voting systemThe plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
. Despite being a small party, the RI were also keen supporters of a
two-party systemA two-party system is a system where two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all elections at every level of government and, as a result, all or nearly all elected offices are members of one of the two major parties...
.
In
foreign policyA country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
they were staunchly pro-
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and very supportive of
human rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
all over the world. Internationally Liberal Reformers, alongside with the Italian Radicals, were members of the
Transnational Radical PartyThe Transnational Radical Party is a political association of citizens, parliamentarians and members of government of various national and political backgrounds who intend to use nonviolent means to create an effective body of international law with respect for individuals and the...
, a
NGOA non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
working at the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
level.
The party had a socially progressive stance on
abortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and
stem cellThis article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
research, despite not stressing too much the point. The party supported also
civil unionA civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
s for
homosexualHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
couples, but, differently from other liberal parties, opposed civil unions for opposite-sex couples and
same-sex marriageSame-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
. Della Vedova explained this position by arguing that there is no need of regulation for free cohabitation of opposite-sex couples and, instead, he proposed swift procedures for
divorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, which are very lengthy in Italy.
Liberal Reformers were very keen on the return of Italy to the use of
nuclear energyNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
(which was prohibited by a referendum proposed by the Radical Party in 1987) and were also the party of the centre-right to be more involved in
green politicsGreen politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
, by contesting the hegemony of
left-wing politicsIn politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
on these issues, and proposed a new liberal-green parth for the centre-right. Explicitly inspired by the "Vote blue, go green" campaign of the
British Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
led by
David CameronDavid William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, they launched their own campaign on the subject, named "+ Blue, + Green. A competition of ideas. A liberal policy on the environment for the program of the centre-right".
Leadership
- President: Benedetto Della Vedova
Benedetto Della Vedova is an Italian politician, formerly the leader of Liberal Reformers, a minor liberal and libertarian party, and currently member of The Liberal Part, a liberal faction within the centre-right People of Freedom party.-Biography:His political experience began in 1994 with the...
(2005–2009)
- Spokesman: Marco Taradash (2005–2009)
- Coordinator: Giuseppe Calderisi (2005–2009)
- Secretary: Carmelo Palma (2005–2009)
External links