The Pact for Italy (Italian: Patto per l'Italia) was a centrist political and electoral alliance in Italy launched by Mario Segni and Mino Martinazzoli in 1994.[1][2]

Pact for Italy
Patto per l'Italia
LeaderMariotto Segni
Mino Martinazzoli
FoundedJanuary 1994
DissolvedMarch 1995
IdeologyLiberalism
Christian democracy
Political positionCentre

History edit

The alliance was composed of the Italian People's Party (PPI), the main successor party to Christian Democracy, the Segni Pact,[3] the Liberal Democratic Union of Valerio Zanone and remnants of the Italian Republican Party (PRI), alongside a certain number of independent politicians coming from the Italian Socialist Party and the Italian Democratic Socialist Party.[4]

Originally Lega Nord was to also join the alliance, but Lega Nord leader Umberto Bossi decided to join Silvio Berlusconi's Pole of Freedoms instead.[5][6]

The alliance finished third place in the 1994 general election, behind the centre-right Pole of Freedoms/Pole of Good Government and the left-wing Alliance of Progressives. The alliance returned 33 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.[7]

After the election, the alliance was disbanded. The PPI suffered a split of those who wanted to join Berlusconi's centre-right coalition (breaking from the PPI and forming the United Christian Democrats of Rocco Buttiglione) and those who wanted to ally with the left-wing Democratic Party of the Left (PDS).[8] The remaining PPI joined the PDS in the centre-left coalition The Olive Tree led by Romano Prodi.[8] Segni Pact become a minor force and formed the Pact of Democrats joint electoral list with Italian Renewal and the Italian Socialists for the 1996 general election in support of The Olive Tree.[9] The Italian Republican Party and the Liberal Democratic Union joined the list Populars for Prodi, also in support for The Olive Tree.[10]

Composition edit

It was composed of the following political parties:

Party Ideology Leader
Italian People's Party (PPI) Christian democracy Mino Martinazzoli
Segni Pact (PS) Centrism Mariotto Segni
Italian Republican Party (PRI) Liberalism Giorgio La Malfa
Liberal Democratic Union (ULD) | Liberalism Valerio Zanone

The Pact was also joined by a number of former members of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) and the Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI), now running as independents, such as Giuliano Amato[11] and Giulio Tremonti.[12]

Electoral results edit

Election Leader Chamber of Deputies Senate of the Republic
Votes % Seats Position Votes % Seats Position
1994 Mario Segni 6,019,038 15.63
4 / 630
3rd 5,519,090 16.69
31 / 315
3rd

References edit

  1. ^ David Broughton (1999). Changing Party Systems in Western Europe. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-85567-328-1. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  2. ^ Leonardo Morlino (1995). "Political Parties and Democratic Consolidation in Southern Europe". In Richard Gunther; Nikiforos P. Diamandouros; Hans-Jürgen Puhle (eds.). The Politics of Democratic Consolidation: Southern Europe in Comparative Perspective. JHU Press. p. 378. ISBN 978-0-8018-4982-4.
  3. ^ Guido Ortona; Stefania Ottone; Ferruccio Ponzano (2007). "A simulative assessment of the Italian electoral system". In Fabio Padovano; Roberto Ricciuti (eds.). Italian Institutional Reforms: A Public Choice Perspective: A Public Choice Perspective. Springer. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-387-72141-5.
  4. ^ Stephen P. Koff (2000). Italy: From the 1st to the 2nd Republic. Routledge. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-134-64369-1.
  5. ^ Galli, Giorgio (2001). I partiti politici italiani. Milan: BUR. pp. 394–395.
  6. ^ Signore, Adalberto; Trocino, Alessandro (2008). Razza padana. Milan: BUR. pp. 79–82.
  7. ^ Aldo di Virgilio; Steven R. Reed (2011). "Nominating Candidates Under New Rules in Italy and Japan: You Cannot Bargain with Resources You Do Not Have". In Daniela Giannetti; Bernard Grofman (eds.). A Natural Experiment on Electoral Law Reform: Evaluating the Long Run Consequences of 1990s Electoral Reform in Italy and Japan. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-4419-7228-6.
  8. ^ a b Gino Moliterno, ed. (2000). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture. Routledge. p. 852. ISBN 978-1-134-75877-7.
  9. ^ André Krouwel (2012). Party Transformations in European Democracies. SUNY Press. p. 323. ISBN 978-1-4384-4481-9.
  10. ^ Bull, Martin; Rhodes, Martin (1997). Crisis and Transition in Italian Politics. Routledge. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-1-135-22274-1.
  11. ^ "In cinque punti il programma del Patto per l'Italia". Corriere della Sera. 13 February 1994.
  12. ^ "Tremonti e Martino: amici ma avversari". Corriere della Sera. 26 March 1994.