Liga Veneta Repubblica

Infobox_Italian_political_party
name_english = Liga Veneta Repubblica

leader =
leader1_title = Secretary
leader1_name = Fabrizio Comencini
leader2_title = President
leader2_name = "vacant"
leader3_title =
leader3_name =
leader4_title =
leader4_name =
foundation = 5 October 1998
dissolution =
headquarters = Via Catania, 11 37138 Verona
newspaper = none
membership_year=
membership = "unknown"
ideology = Venetism, Regionalism, Fiscal federalism
coalition = stand-alone
international = "none"
european = European Free Alliance
europarl = "currently no MEPs"
website = [http://www.ligavenetarepubblica.org http://www.ligaveneta
repubblica.org]
colorcode = red

Liga Veneta Repubblica ("Łiga Vèneta Republica", Venetian Republic League, LVR) is a strongly Venetist political party claiming independence for Veneto.

It emerged in 1998 as a splinter group from Liga Veneta. Originally named Liga Veneta Repubblica, it changed its name to Veneti d'Europa (after the merger with Future Veneto) and to Liga Fronte Veneto (after the merger with Fronte Marco Polo). It finally assumed again the original name in 2007. The party is led by Fabrizio Comencini who was national secretary of Liga Veneta from 1994 to 1998.

History

From "Liga Veneta Repubblica" to "Veneti d'Europa"

In 1998, 7 out of 10 members of the Liga Veneta-Lega Nord's group in the Regional Council (Fabrizio Comencini, Ettore Beggiato, Alessio Morosin, Mariangelo Foggiato, Alberto Poirè, Michele Munaretto and Franco Roccon) founded a new party, named Liga Veneta Repubblica. They represented the more Venetist and independentist wing of the Liga Veneta, while the people who remained in the Lega Nord were above all fiscal federalists and Padanists.

After a good showing (for a new party) in the 1999 European Parliament election (3.5%), they failed to elect representatives to the Regional Council of Veneto in the 2000 regional election, which were contested as Veneti d'Europa (2.5%, 0.5% under the threshold needed), due to the presence of another Venetist party, Fronte Marco Polo (1.2%), and an electoral recovery of the Liga Veneta (12.0%). The name "Veneti d'Europa" (Venetians for Europe), was chosen as LVR merged with Future Veneto, member of the Autonomists for Europe, a federation of splinter groups from Lega Nord from all the Northern regions.

"Liga Fronte Veneto"

In 2001, the party (then led by the Venetist historian Ettore Beggiato) and the more fiscal federalist Fronte Marco Polo decided to join forces in the new Liga Fronte Veneto. Giorgio Vido was elected national secretary and Fabrizio Comencini national president.

In 2001 general election Giuseppe Segato, an independentist activist in jail for having contested Italian national unity, was candidated in the party lists. Although taking more than 5.6% of the votes throughout Veneto (mainly disaffected Lega Nord's voters, after the alliance with Silvio Berlusconi) and more than 10% in many single-seat constituencies, the party was not able to elect any representative in the Parliament of Rome. The result throughout the region was in any case very good, with the 2.4% for the Chamber of Deputies (proportional representation), the 4.9% for the Senate.

Ettore Beggiato

In 2003 Ettore Beggiato was elected national secretary, in a difficult moment for the party, almost completely out of the institutions and shrinking in opinion polls. In 2004 he tried to convince all the party members to join the recent-born North-East Project, even if the PNE leader Giorgio Panto wanted the LFV to join not as a party, but as a collection of single members.

Fabrizio Comencini refused the idea, that would have meant "the end to the party's autonomy". After a tumultuous congress, a group led by Ettore Beggiato, Mariangelo Foggiato and Michele Munaretto switched to North-East Project, while Fabrizio Comencini was elected national secretary and Alessio Morosin national president.

Alliance with The Union

In the 2005 regional election the party supported the centre-left candidate to the presidency of Veneto, Massimo Carraro (a former Communist), scoring the 1.2%, while North-East Project took the 5.4% (16.1% in the Province of Treviso), electing Mariangelo Foggiato, alongside with Diego Cancian, to the Regional Council.

For the 2006 national elections Fabrizio Comencini forged an alliace with The Union of Romano Prodi, but voters seemed to not like the idea and the result was only 0.7%, in an election in which only the 40.2% of Venetians voted for the centre-left, while the other regionalist parties, the Liga Veneta-Lega Nord and North-East Project scored 11.1% and 2.7% respectively.

Centrist federation

For the 28 May 2007 provincial election of Vicenza, LFV supported the bid of Giorgio Carollo for President, along with parties both from the centre-left and the centre-right: Veneto for the EPP, Italy of Values, UDEUR Populars, Christian Democracy. Carollo scored 9.9%, while LFV took only 1.6%, compared with 2.3% for North-East Project and 19.0% for Liga Veneta, whose candidate Attilio Schneck was elected President by a 60.0% landslide.

On 9 October 2007 the party, which returned to its original name Liga Veneta Repubblica (Venetian Republic League) formed an awkward political federation with Christian Democracy and Veneto for the EPP. Soon after anyway, the alliance was disbanded and the party ran alone in the 2008 general election.

Venetist coalition

On 8 October 2008 PNE signed a pact of coalition with North-East Project and Venetian Agreement for the future municipal, provincial and regional elections "in order to provide an adequate representation to the Venetian people, in line with what happens in Europe, from Scotland to Catalonia, from Wales to Brittany, where federalist, autonomist and independentist parties, who resopond uniquely to their territory, see their popular support increasing." [http://www.asca.it/moddettregione.php?id=324139&
] [http://www.progettonordest.org/articolo.php?id=148]

Leadership

*National Secretary: Fabrizio Comencini (1998–2000), Ettore Beggiato (2000–2001), Giorgio Vido (2001–2003), Ettore Beggiato (2003–2004), Fabrizio Comencini (2004–...)
*National President: Mariangelo Foggiato (1998–1999), Donato Manfroi (1999–2000), Fabrizio Comencini (2000–2004), Alessio Morosin (2004–2007)

References

External links

* [http://www.ligavenetarepubblica.org Official website]
* [http://www.raixevenete.net/documenti/doc47.asp Short History of Venetian Autonomism by Ezio Toffano – Raixe Venete]