Italian Liberal Party
Partito Liberale Italiano |
|
---|---|
Secretary | Giancarlo Morandi |
President | Stefano de Luca |
Honorary Presidents |
Carlo Scognamiglio Giuseppe Basini |
Founded | 4 July 1997 (as PL) 3 December 2004 (as PLI) |
Headquarters | via Uffici del Vicario, 43 00186 Rome |
Newspaper | Rivoluzione liberale |
Membership | unknown |
Ideology | Liberalism |
Political position | Centre |
National affiliation | none |
European affiliation | none |
International affiliation | none |
European Parliament group | no MEPs |
Chamber of Deputies |
0 / 630
|
Senate |
1 / 315
|
European Parliament |
0 / 73
|
Website | |
http://www.partitoliberale.it/ | |
The Italian Liberal Party (Italian: Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) is a minor liberal political party in Italy, which considers itself to be the successor of the original Italian Liberal Party that existed from 1922 to 1994.
The Liberal Party (Partito Liberale) was founded in 1997 by former members of the Italian Liberal Party (PLI) and, mostly, of the Union of the Centre (UdC), as well as some former Republicans. Most of its leading figures were also members of Forza Italia (FI): Stefano de Luca, Carlo Scognamiglio, Egidio Sterpa, Ernesto Caccavale, Luigi Caligaris and Guglielmo Castagnetti. Scognamiglio was a former President of the Senate, while de Luca, Caccavale and Caligaris were serving MEPs.
In December 2004 the party was merged with other liberal groups and, as result, its name was changed to Italian Liberal Party, along with the claim of being the successor of the historical PLI, disbanded in 1994. At that point the party was completely enfranchised from FI and the centre-right House of Freedoms coalition.
In June 2007, during its congress, the PLI reaffirmed its autonomy and de Luca was unanimously re-elected secretary; additionally, some leading former Liberals joined (or re-joined) the party: Carlo Scognamiglio (PLD), Luigi Compagna (UDC) and Luciano Magnalbò (AN). Since that time PLI is for the first time represented in a Regional Council by Antonietta Brancati, regional deputy of Lazio, previously member of Italy of Values. For the 2008 general election Liberals tried to form an electoral pact with the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, but finally chose to run as a stand-alone list.