Democratic Union for the Republic
Unione Democratica per la Repubblica |
|
---|---|
Leader |
Francesco Cossiga (Honorary President) |
President |
Rocco Buttiglione Carlo Scognamiglio |
Secretary | Clemente Mastella |
Founded | May 1996 (alliance) February 1998 (party) |
Dissolved | February 1999 |
Merger of |
Christian Democrats for the Republic European Liberal Social Democracy |
Succeeded by | Union of Democrats for Europe |
Ideology | Christian democracy |
Political position | Centre |
European affiliation | European People's Party |
European Parliament group | European People's Party |
The Democratic Union for the Republic (Italian: Unione Democratica per la Repubblica, UDR) was a short-lived Christian-democratic and centrist political party in Italy.
It was founded in February 1998 by Francesco Cossiga (former Prime Minister and President) in order to provide a majority in Parliament for the creation of the D'Alema I Cabinet. The party also included Clemente Mastella (ex-Christian Democratic Centre, CCD, then leader of the Christian Democrats for the Republic), Rocco Buttiglione (leader of the United Christian Democrats, CUD), Mario Segni (leader of Segni Pact), Carlo Scognamiglio (ex-Forza Italia, FI), Enrico Ferri (ex-CCD, former leader of the Italian Democratic Socialist Party and European Liberal Social Democracy) and Irene Pivetti (ex-Lega Nord), along with several other MPs elected for the centre-right. Cossiga'a sim was to facilitate the creation of a centre-left governments without the support of the Communist Refoundation Party. The UDR was initially only a federation of parties, but in June CDR, CDU and the Segni Pact merged to form a united party and Mastella was elected secretary.