House of Freedoms Casa delle Libertà | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Silvio Berlusconi |
| Other leaders | Gianfranco Fini Pier Ferdinando Casini Umberto Bossi |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Dissolved | 2008 |
| Preceded by | Pole for Freedoms |
| Succeeded by | The People of Freedom (merger: FI, AN, minor parties) Centre-right coalition |
| Political position | Centre-right [1] [2] |
The House of Freedoms (Italian : Casa delle Libertà, CdL) was a major centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy, led by Silvio Berlusconi. [3]
The CdL was the successor of the Pole of Freedoms/Pole of Good Government and the Pole for Freedoms. The former two-headed coalition had won the 1994 general election and formed the Berlusconi I Cabinet, which fell in December 1994, when the LN, whose relations with AN were quite tense, withdrew its support. The latter coalition, which did not include the LN, lost the 1996 general election to The Olive Tree, the centre-left coalition led by Romano Prodi.
In the run-up of the 2001 general election, after a six-year spell in opposition, which Berlusconi called "the crossing of the desert", he managed to re-unite the coalition under the "House of Freedoms" banner. According to its leader, the alliance was a "broad democratic arch, composed of the democratic right, namely AN, the great democratic centre, namely Forza Italia, CCD and CDU, and the democratic left represented by the League, the New PSI, the PRI and, at least I hope so, Cossiga". [4] [5]
The CdL won the 2001 general election by a landslide and, consequently, the Berlusconi II Cabinet was formed. In government, FI, whose strongholds included Lombardy as well as Sicily, and the LN, which was active only in the Centre-North, formed the so-called "axis of the North", through the special relationship between three Lombards leaders, Berlusconi, Giulio Tremonti and Umberto Bossi; on the other side of the coalition, AN and the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC), the party emerged from the merger of the CCD and the CDU in late 2002, became the natural representatives of Southern interests. [6] [7] [8] [9]
In 2003 the CdL was routed in local elections by The Olive Tree and the LN threatened to pull out. Also the 2004 European Parliament election were disappointing for FI and the coalition as a whole, even though AN, the UDC and the LN did better than five years before. As a result, Berlusconi and FI were weaker within the CdL.
In 2005 the coalition lost heavily in regional elections, losing six of the eight regions it controlled. The defeat was particularly damaging in the South, while the only two regions which the coalition managed to keep, Lombardy and Veneto, were in the North, where the LN was decisive . This led to a government crisis, particularly after the UDC pulled its ministers out. A few days later, the Berlusconi III Cabinet was formed with minor changes from the previous cabinet.
In the 2006 general election the CdL, which had opened its ranks to a number of minor parties, lost to The Union coalition, led by Romano Prodi.
In the run-up of the 2008 general election (caused by the break-up of The Olive Tree) FI, AN and minor parties joined forces and formed The People of Freedom (PdL), which would become a single party in early 2009. The PdL, allied with the LN in the Centre-North and the Movement for Autonomy (MpA) in the Centre-South, won the election and the centre-right was thus returned to the national government through the Berlusconi IV Cabinet.
The alliance has since been generically referred to as the centre-right coalition.
It was initially composed of the following political parties:
Composition during the 2006 general election:
| Chamber of Deputies | |||||
| Election year | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 16,915,513 (1st) | 45.4 | 368 / 630 | – | |
| 2006 | 18,995,697 (2nd) | 49.7 | 281 / 630 |  87 | |
| Senate of the Republic | |||||
| Election year | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 14,406,519 (1st) | 42.5 | 176 / 315 | – | |
| 2006 | 17,359,754 (1st) | 49.8 | 156 / 315 | 20 | |
Lega Nord, whose complete name is Lega Nord per l'Indipendenza della Padania, is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as Lega, without changing its official name. The party was nonetheless frequently referred to only as "Lega" even before the rebranding, and informally as the Carroccio. The party's latest elected leader was Matteo Salvini.
Forza Italia was a centre-right liberal-conservative political party in Italy, with Christian democratic, liberal, social democratic and populist tendencies. It was founded by Silvio Berlusconi, who served as Prime Minister of Italy four times.
The Union of the Centre, whose complete name is "Union of Christian and Centre Democrats", is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy.
The 2006 Italian general election was held on 9 and 10 April 2006. Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left coalition The Union, narrowly defeated the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the centre-right coalition House of Freedoms. Initial exit polls suggested a victory for Prodi, but the results narrowed as the count progressed. On 11 April 2006, Prodi declared victory; Berlusconi never conceded defeat and an ensuing dispute formed.
Pier Ferdinando Casini is an Italian politician. He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006.
The Christian Democratic Centre was a Christian-democratic political party in Italy from 1994 to 2002. Formed from a right-wing split from Christian Democracy, the party joined the centre-right coalition, and was a member of the European People's Party (EPP).
The 1996 Italian general election was held on 21 April 1996 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left The Olive Tree, won the election, narrowly defeating Silvio Berlusconi, who led the centre-right Pole for Freedoms.
The Movement for Autonomy is a regionalist and Christian-democratic political party in Italy, based in Sicily. The MpA, whose founder and leader is Raffaele Lombardo, advocates for greater economic development, autonomy and legislative powers for Sicily and the other regions of southern Italy.
The United Christian Democrats was a minor Christian democratic political party in Italy. The CDU was a member of the European People's Party from 1995 until 2002.
The People of Freedom was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL launched by Silvio Berlusconi as an electoral list, including Forza Italia and National Alliance, on 27 February for the 2008 Italian general election. The list was later transformed into a party during a party congress on 27–29 March 2009. The party's leading members included Angelino Alfano, Renato Schifani, Renato Brunetta, Roberto Formigoni, Maurizio Sacconi, Maurizio Gasparri, Mariastella Gelmini, Antonio Martino, Giancarlo Galan, Maurizio Lupi, Gaetano Quagliariello, Daniela Santanchè, Sandro Bondi, and Raffaele Fitto.
The Pact for Italy was a centrist political and electoral alliance in Italy launched by Mario Segni and Mino Martinazzoli in 1994.
The third Berlusconi government was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 23 April 2005 to 17 May 2006. It was the 58th cabinet of the Italian Republic, and the second cabinet of the XIV Legislature.
The Liberal Democrats, whose complete name is Liberal Democrats for Renewal, is a liberal and centrist political party in Italy.
Autonomists for Europe was a minor regionalist, Christian-democratic and liberal Italian political party. Founded in 2000 by splinters of Northern League as a potentially dangerous competitor, it became a rather marginal force.
Mario Baccini is an Italian politician, former member of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats and promoter of the White Rose, incumbent mayor of Fiumicino since May 2023.
The Venetian regional election of 2010 took place on 28–29 March 2010, as part of Italy's big round of regional elections.
The Apulian regional election of 2010 took place in Apulia, Italy, on 28–29 March 2010.
The political career of Silvio Berlusconi (1994–2011) began in 1994, when Berlusconi entered politics for the first time serving intermittent terms as Prime Minister of Italy from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011, his career was racked with controversies and trials; amongst these was his failure to honour his promise to sell his personal assets in Mediaset, the largest television broadcaster network in Italy, in order to dispel any perceived conflicts of interest.
The Pole for Freedoms was a centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy, which was active from 1996 to 2000. It included Forza Italia (FI), the National Alliance (AN), Union of the Centre (UdC), Christian Democratic Centre (CCD), United Christian Democrats (CDD), and Pannella–Sgarbi List.
The centre-right coalition is a political alliance of political parties in Italy active under several forms and names since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed the Forza Italia party. It has mostly competed with the centre-left coalition. It is composed of right-leaning parties in the Italian political arena, which generally advocate tax reduction and oppose immigration, and in some cases are eurosceptic.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
