The Right
Encyclopedia
The Right is a national-conservative
political party in Italy.
in a letter posted on his website, claiming that it had become too centrist and moderate and in protest against the lack of internal democracy in the party, and on 27 July he presented the new party.
On 10 November the party was officially founded in a constituent congress in Rome
. At that occasion the Sicilian Alliance
of Nello Musumeci
merged into The Right and Daniela Santanchè
, a leading female member of AN, left the party to join The Right, broadening its appeal, as she was close to the Italian Liberal Party
and never joined the Italian Social Movement
. In January 2008 Unitalia
, a minor party in South Tyrol
, and Taverna List
, a minor party in the province of Trentino, were merged into The Right.
As the party is organized as a federal structure, Unitalia and Taverna List became the provincial sections of the party in the Provinces of South Tyrol
and Trento, respectively, as Sicilian Alliance had become the regional section of the party in Sicily
.
in alliance with far right
Tricolour Flame, outside The People of Freedom
-led coalition. Daniela Santanchè will be the candidate for Prime Minister and leader of the joint list between the two parties. The joint list is known as The Right–Tricolour Flame
.
On 18 January Giancarlo Pagliarini
, a libertarian
and keen fiscal federalist
who was a leading member of Lega Nord from 1991 to 2007 (he was even close to the independentist wing of the party), joined the party to head the coalition list in Lombardy
for the Senate.
Despite several well-known candidates, the party gained only 2.4% and thus failed to surpass the 4% threshold for entering the Chamber of Deputies. Also Storace, who topped the list in his home-region Lazio, failed re-election, as the coalition stopped at 3.2%, five points below the 8% regional threshold.
(PdL) of Silvio Berlusconi
. Storace favours the first option, while Santanchè an alliance with Berlusconi. President Buontempo precised that Storace will continue to be party secretary at least until the November congress and after if party members will decide so.
On 22 August Santanchè officially presented her candidacy for the party leadership, as opposed to Storace, who will stand again as candidate. However on 28 September Santanchè resigned as spokesperson and from the party, opening the way for a more consensual congress. On 9 November Storace was re-elected secretary during a party congress. In that occasion he did not exclude a future alliance with PdL.
In October the party suffered another split led by Stefano Morselli and Paolo Casolari, who launched Federal Right
, while in November Santanchè launched her Movement for Italy
. Both parties are to join PdL soon, while a third split, Libertarian Right
led by Luciano Buonocore, has already joined it.
In the 2009 European Parliament election
the party ran as part of the Pole of Autonomy
, that included also Movement for Autonomies, the Pensioners' Party
and the Alliance of the Centre
, gaining 2.2% of the vote and no MEPs. For the forthcoming 2010 regional elections Storace signed a national pact with the PdL under which The Right will support PdL or Lega Nord candidates for President in all 13 regions where an election will take place.
values and national cohesion. Among other things, The Right is strongly supportive of direct democracy
and of presidentialism
. Its economic policy is a mixture of statism
, such the strong support for the welfare state
and the introduction of the so-called "social loan" (mutuo sociale) for young people in order to enable them to purchase a house, and of libertarian
proposals, such as the introduction of the flat tax
and fiscal federalism
.
Party leader Francesco Storace
maintains that his party has nothing to do with the far right and instead he says to take inspiration from Indro Montanelli
, a conservative-liberal journalist and editor of Il Giornale
who declared "I am a right-winger, but this is not the right-wing I dreamt of". Although the party continues to distance itslelf from The People of Freedom
, it also rejects for the future any alliance with the parties of the far right, such as New Force and even Tricolour Flame, with which formed a joint list for the 2008 general election
.
Storace endorsed Barack Obama
and his proposed foreign policy for the 2008 presidential election
.
, Alessandra Mussolini
's party. Other polls have placed the party around 5%.
After the fall of Romano Prodi
government, The Right was placed at 3.3%.
However, in the 2008 general election
, the party was damaged by its choice to run alone and won only 2.4% of the vote. In that occasion the party was particularly strong in Central Italy
: 3.6% in Umbria
, 3.4% in Lazio and the Marche
.
) and 3 senators (Stefano Losurdo, Stefano Morselli and Francesco Storace himself). Leading members of the new party include Nello Musumeci
, MEP, Paolo Danieli and Michele Florino, both former Senators, Alberto Arrighi, former editor of Area (the journal of Social Right
, a faction of AN), Paolo Agostinacchio, former mayor of Foggia
, and Nuccio Carrara (former under-secretary for Reforms in Berlusconi's governments).
National conservatism
National 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...
political party in Italy.
Foundation
On 3 July 2007 Storace announced his resignation from National AllianceNational Alliance (Italy)
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...
in a letter posted on his website, claiming that it had become too centrist and moderate and in protest against the lack of internal democracy in the party, and on 27 July he presented the new party.
On 10 November the party was officially founded in a constituent congress in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. At that occasion the Sicilian Alliance
Sicilian Alliance
The Sicilian Alliance is a minor autonomist and national-conservative political party in Sicily, Italy.It was founded in 2005 and was led by Nello Musumeci, a MEP who was elected on the National Alliance's list....
of Nello Musumeci
Nello Musumeci
Sebastiano Musumeci is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Islands, part of the Union for a Europe of Nations and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries and its Committee on Industry, Research and Energy...
merged into The Right and Daniela Santanchè
Daniela Santanchè
Daniela Garnero Santanché is an Italian entrepreneur and a politician. She was Undersecretary to the Minister of Platform Accomplishment from 2010 to 2011 during Berlusconi IV Cabinet.-Studies and personal life:...
, a leading female member of AN, left the party to join The Right, broadening its appeal, as she was close to the Italian Liberal Party
Italian Liberal Party
The 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 never joined the Italian Social Movement
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s...
. In January 2008 Unitalia
Unitalia
Unitalia is a minor Italian-speaking, national-conservative political party active in South Tyrol, Italy.It was founded in 1996 as a split from National Alliance and is led by Donato Seppi...
, a minor party in South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
, and Taverna List
Taverna List
Taverna List , also known as Free Trentino , was a regionalist national-conservative Italian political party active in the province of Trentino...
, a minor party in the province of Trentino, were merged into The Right.
As the party is organized as a federal structure, Unitalia and Taverna List became the provincial sections of the party in the Provinces of South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
and Trento, respectively, as Sicilian Alliance had become the regional section of the party in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
2008 general election
On 15 February 2008 it was announced that The Right will run the 2008 general electionItalian general election, 2008
A 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...
in alliance with far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
Tricolour Flame, outside The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The 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....
-led coalition. Daniela Santanchè will be the candidate for Prime Minister and leader of the joint list between the two parties. The joint list is known as The Right–Tricolour Flame
The Right–Tricolour Flame
The Right–Tricolour Flame is an Italian political coalition formed by The Right party of Francesco Storace and Tricolour Flame of Luca Romagnoli on 15 February 2008 in the run-up to the 2008 general election....
.
On 18 January Giancarlo Pagliarini
Giancarlo Pagliarini
Giancarlo Pagliarini is an Italian politician.Born in Milan, he was later elected to the Italian Senate for Lega Nord in 1992 and re-elected in 1994, then elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1996 and in 2001...
, a libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, 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...
and keen fiscal federalist
Fiscal federalism
As a subfield of public economics, fiscal federalism is concerned with "understanding which functions and instruments are best centralized and which are best placed in the sphere of decentralized levels of government"...
who was a leading member of Lega Nord from 1991 to 2007 (he was even close to the independentist wing of the party), joined the party to head the coalition list in Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
for the Senate.
Despite several well-known candidates, the party gained only 2.4% and thus failed to surpass the 4% threshold for entering the Chamber of Deputies. Also Storace, who topped the list in his home-region Lazio, failed re-election, as the coalition stopped at 3.2%, five points below the 8% regional threshold.
Out of Parliament
On 20 July 2008, during a party convention, Storace resigned from party leadership, opening way for a national congress and a leadership race. The congress will also decide the party's electoral strategy, basically choosing either to continue an independent path or to join The People of FreedomThe People of Freedom
The 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) of Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio 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...
. Storace favours the first option, while Santanchè an alliance with Berlusconi. President Buontempo precised that Storace will continue to be party secretary at least until the November congress and after if party members will decide so.
On 22 August Santanchè officially presented her candidacy for the party leadership, as opposed to Storace, who will stand again as candidate. However on 28 September Santanchè resigned as spokesperson and from the party, opening the way for a more consensual congress. On 9 November Storace was re-elected secretary during a party congress. In that occasion he did not exclude a future alliance with PdL.
In October the party suffered another split led by Stefano Morselli and Paolo Casolari, who launched Federal Right
Federal Right
Federal Right is a conservative and federalist political party in Italy.The party was launched in October 2008 as a split from The Right...
, while in November Santanchè launched her Movement for Italy
Movement for Italy
Movement for Italy was a conservative political party in Italy which now functions as a faction within The People of Freedom , a much larger centre-right party led by Silvio Berlusconi....
. Both parties are to join PdL soon, while a third split, Libertarian Right
Libertarian Right
Libertarian Right was a national-conservative political party in Italy.The party was launched in November 2008 as a split from The Right led by Luciano Buonocore, who did not agree with the party's decision not to run within The People of Freedom joint list...
led by Luciano Buonocore, has already joined it.
In the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009 (Italy)
European elections to elect 72 members of the European Parliament representing Italy were held on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June 2009, as decided by the Italian government on December 18, 2008...
the party ran as part of the Pole of Autonomy
Pole of Autonomy
The Pole of Autonomy is an heterogeneous electoral coalition of political parties in Italy, formed in the run-up to the 2009 European Parliament election in order to overcome the 4% threshold introduced in the electoral law in February 2009...
, that included also Movement for Autonomies, the Pensioners' Party
Pensioners' Party (Italy)
The Pensioners' Party is a centrist Italian political party. It was founded in 1987 in Milan and its current leader is Carlo Fatuzzo....
and the Alliance of the Centre
Alliance of the Centre
Alliance of the Centre is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy.It was founded in November 2008 by splinters from the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats who wanted to return to an alliance with Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right coalition and support his fourth government...
, gaining 2.2% of the vote and no MEPs. For the forthcoming 2010 regional elections Storace signed a national pact with the PdL under which The Right will support PdL or Lega Nord candidates for President in all 13 regions where an election will take place.
Ideology
The party defines itself the party of the "social, national and popular right" and promotes patriotism, CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
values and national cohesion. Among other things, The Right is strongly supportive of direct democracy
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
and of presidentialism
Presidential system
A 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....
. Its economic policy is a mixture of statism
Statism
Statism is a term usually describing a political philosophy, whether of the right or the left, that emphasises the role of the state in politics or supports the use of the state to achieve economic, military or social goals...
, such the strong support for the welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
and the introduction of the so-called "social loan" (mutuo sociale) for young people in order to enable them to purchase a house, and of libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, 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...
proposals, such as the introduction of the flat tax
Flat tax
A flat tax is a tax system with a constant marginal tax rate. Typically the term flat tax is applied in the context of an individual or corporate income that will be taxed at one marginal rate...
and fiscal federalism
Fiscal federalism
As a subfield of public economics, fiscal federalism is concerned with "understanding which functions and instruments are best centralized and which are best placed in the sphere of decentralized levels of government"...
.
Party leader Francesco Storace
Francesco Storace
Francesco Storace is an Italian politician.He began his career at the right-wing newspaper Il Secolo d'Italia, until entering the ranks of the Italian Social Movement and later of National Alliance . He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in 1994...
maintains that his party has nothing to do with the far right and instead he says to take inspiration from Indro Montanelli
Indro Montanelli
Indro Montanelli was an Italian journalist and historian, known for his new approach to writing history in books such as History of the Greeks and History of Rome....
, a conservative-liberal journalist and editor of Il Giornale
Il Giornale
il Giornale is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan, Italy.-History:The newspaper was planned in 1972 by the journalist Indro Montanelli, together with the colleague Enzo Bettiza, after some disagreements with the new pro-left editorial line adopted by the newspaper Corriere della Sera,...
who declared "I am a right-winger, but this is not the right-wing I dreamt of". Although the party continues to distance itslelf from The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The 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....
, it also rejects for the future any alliance with the parties of the far right, such as New Force and even Tricolour Flame, with which formed a joint list for the 2008 general election
Italian general election, 2008
A 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...
.
Storace endorsed Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and his proposed foreign policy for the 2008 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
.
Popular support
The first opinion poll after the announcement of Storace put The Right at 3.2%. According to this survey, The Right may steal votes both from National Alliance and from Social ActionSocial Action (Italy)
Social Action , previously known as Freedom of Action , was a national-conservative political party in Italy, founded and led by maverick politician Alessandra Mussolini, who is the granddaughter of Benito Mussolini...
, Alessandra Mussolini
Alessandra Mussolini
Alessandra Mussolini is an Italian politician, the granddaughter of Benito Mussolini, and previously an actress and model...
's party. Other polls have placed the party around 5%.
After the fall of Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
government, The Right was placed at 3.3%.
However, in the 2008 general election
Italian general election, 2008
A 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 party was damaged by its choice to run alone and won only 2.4% of the vote. In that occasion the party was particularly strong in Central Italy
Central Italy
Central Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency...
: 3.6% in Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
, 3.4% in Lazio and the Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
.
Members
The party in 2007–2008 had 7 MPs: 4 deputies (Teodoro Buontempo, Antonio Pezzella, Roberto Salerno and Daniela SantanchèDaniela Santanchè
Daniela Garnero Santanché is an Italian entrepreneur and a politician. She was Undersecretary to the Minister of Platform Accomplishment from 2010 to 2011 during Berlusconi IV Cabinet.-Studies and personal life:...
) and 3 senators (Stefano Losurdo, Stefano Morselli and Francesco Storace himself). Leading members of the new party include Nello Musumeci
Nello Musumeci
Sebastiano Musumeci is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Islands, part of the Union for a Europe of Nations and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries and its Committee on Industry, Research and Energy...
, MEP, Paolo Danieli and Michele Florino, both former Senators, Alberto Arrighi, former editor of Area (the journal of Social Right
Social Right
Social Right was the main national and social-conservative faction within National Alliance, a political party in Italy.The faction had two main leaders: Francesco Storace and Gianni Alemanno...
, a faction of AN), Paolo Agostinacchio, former mayor of Foggia
Foggia
Foggia is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".-History:...
, and Nuccio Carrara (former under-secretary for Reforms in Berlusconi's governments).
Leadership
- Secretary: Francesco StoraceFrancesco StoraceFrancesco Storace is an Italian politician.He began his career at the right-wing newspaper Il Secolo d'Italia, until entering the ranks of the Italian Social Movement and later of National Alliance . He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in 1994...
(2007–present)- Deputy-Secretary: Nello MusumeciNello MusumeciSebastiano Musumeci is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Islands, part of the Union for a Europe of Nations and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries and its Committee on Industry, Research and Energy...
(2008–present) - Administrative Secretary: Giulio La Starza (2007–2008), Livio Proietti (2008–present)
- Organizational Secretary: Stefano Morselli (2007–2008), Aldo Traccheggiani (2008–2009), Bruno Esposito (2009–present)
- Spokesperson: Daniela SantanchèDaniela SantanchèDaniela Garnero Santanché is an Italian entrepreneur and a politician. She was Undersecretary to the Minister of Platform Accomplishment from 2010 to 2011 during Berlusconi IV Cabinet.-Studies and personal life:...
(2007–2008)
- Deputy-Secretary: Nello Musumeci
- President: Teodoro Buontempo (2007–present)