The Union (political coalition)
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The Union
L'Unione |
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| Leader | Romano Prodi |
| Founded | 10 February 2005 |
| Dissolved | 8 February 2008 |
| Preceded by | The Olive Tree (1996 and 2001 general elections) |
| Succeeded by | Centre-left coalition |
| Headquarters | Piazza SS. Apostoli, 55 Rome |
| Political position | Centre-left |
The Union (Italian: L'Unione) was an heterogenous centre-left political and electoral alliance of political parties in Italy. The Union was led by Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy from April 2006 to April 2008, and former President of the European Commission.
The Union was the direct heir of The Olive Tree coalition which represented the centre-left in the 1996 and 2001 general elections. However, The Union also included parties of the radical left, which were not part of The Olive Tree.
The parties which were part of the coalition for most of the time are:
DS, DL and MRE contested elections as The Olive Tree federation. The Democratic Party (PD, social-democratic), a merger of DS and DL, replaced its predecessor parties as a member of The Union upon its foundation in October 2007, becoming the largest member party of the alliance. Also during that time, the SDI became the Socialist Party (PS).
As of 2005, the coalition was assumed to be led by Prodi, however he called for a primary election in order to gain an official leadership. Primary elections were a novelty in Italian politics, as the proportional system in place until the early 1990s was supposed to present sufficient variety to electors. With the new majoritarian electoral system, two clear blocks emerged since 1996. The primary elections for The Union took place on 16 October 2005.
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