Italy of Values

Infobox_Italian_political_party
name_english = Italy of Values

leader =
leader1_title = President
leader1_name = Antonio Di Pietro
leader2_title = Spokesman
leader2_name = Leoluca Orlando
leader3_title = Treasurer
leader3_name = Silvana Mura
leader4_title =
leader4_name =
foundation = 21 March 1998
dissolution =
headquarters = Via Principe Eugenio, 31
00185 Rome
newspaper = [http://www.orizzontinuovi.org/ Orizzonti Nuovi]
membership_year=
membership = "unknown"
ideology = Populismcite web|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/10/i_ins.01.html|title=INSIGHT|publisher=CNN.com Transcripts|accessdate=2008-02-28|date=2006-04-10|author=Jonathan Mann] cite web|url=http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=abertis&page=10&id=060812000917&ct=0|title=MARKETS WEEK WORLD: Italy must clear merger logjam|publisher=Financial Times|accessdate=2008-02-28|date=2006-08-12|author=Ian Limbarch] cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2000/aug/30/worlddispatch.comment1|title=Italy's feuding left gives Berlusconi free run|publisher=The Guardian|accessdate=2008-02-28|date=2000-08-30|author=Rory Carroll] , Centrism
coalition = with the Democratic Party
international = "none"
european = European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
europarl = Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
website = http://www.italiadeivalori.it
colorcode = #2B6BA3

Italy of Values ("Italia dei Valori", IdV) is a populistcite web|url=http://www.focusweb.org/publications/2001/why-genoa-is-important.html|publisher=Focusweb.org|title=WHY GENOA IS IMPORTANT, FOR ITALY AND FOR THE WORLD|accessdate=2008-02-28|date=2001|author=Christophe Aguiton] and anti-corruption Italian political party, headed by former Mani Pulite magistrate Antonio Di Pietro. The party is a member of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR).

History

Antonio Di Pietro was Minister of Public Works in the Prodi I Cabinet from 1996 to 1997. In 1998 he was elected Senator in a by-election in a Democrats of the Left stronghold in Tuscany and set up his own Italy of Values party, alongside with Willer Bordon of the Democratic Union. In 1998 Di Pietro led it into The Democrats, a new party fouded by Romano Prodi with the goal of the transformation of The Olive Tree in a single "Democratic" party.

In the 1999 European Parliament election The Democrats scored 7.7% and Di Pietro was elected MEP. After having been organizational secretary and speaker in the Senate for the party, Di Pietro left it in April 2000 because of his opposition to the nomination of Giuliano Amato, a long-time member of the Italian Socialist Party (which was the principal subject of investigation of Di Pietro when magistrate) at the time close to the Democrats of the Left. Shortly afterwards Di Pietro set up again Italy of Values.

IdV fought the 2001 general election alone on a populist platform, comprising tough management of illegal immigration and protest against waste of public money. Anyway, the campaign focused principally against Silvio Berlusconi, who was Prime Minister candidate for the centre-right House of Freedoms. The party scored 3.9% in the election for the Chamber of Deputies and obtained no seats, while electing one Senator, Valerio Carrara, who soon left the party and switched to Forza Italia, Berlusconi's party.

In the 2004 European Parliamentary Elections he teamed up with one-time communist leader Achille Occhetto to run as "Società Civile Di Pietro–Occhetto". The list gained 2.1% of the popular vote, and both men were elected MEPs; Occhetto immediately renounced to his seat in favour of the communist journalist Giulietto Chiesa.

In early 2006 Leoluca Orlando, former mayor of Palermo, some splinters from UDEUR Populars, including Pino Pisicchio and Egidio Pedrini, and former Democrats of the Left, such as Fabio Evangelisti, joined the party. In the 2006 general elections, IdV, this time member of the winning centre-left The Union, scored 2.1% and Di Pietro was sworn in as Minister for Infrastructures in Prodi II Cabinet.

The party made major gains in the 2008 general election, but its coalition partners did not and they were out of government. IdV won 4.4% of the vote and got elected 29 deputies and 14 senators.

Ideology

While the party is currently member of the centre-left coalition, its members had been very diverse ideologically, ranging from the far-left (i.e. Franca Rame, former member of "Soccorso Rosso", and Pancho Pardi, former activist of "Potere Operaio") to the right-wing (at some extent Di Pietro himself), thanks to the populist message of the party. The party includes former Communists and former "Leghisti", as well as former "Missini" and former Christian Democrats.

The party is a supporter of legality, law and order, the armed forces, first-past-the-post, constitutional reforms toward a two-party system, corporate reform, lowering the costs of politics, improving the efficiency of public services, fighting corruption, simplifying trials bureaucracy to achieve faster verdicts and regulating conflict of interest.

The fact that IdV is member of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) does not mean that it is a liberal party. It can better be seen as a centrist-populist party. In fact, notwithstanding its European affiliation, the party is rarely regarded as liberal in Italy, due to its justicialist and populist tendencies.

The party is the most centrist party in the centre-left and sometimes, despite its harsh criticism of Berlusconi, it switches sides in Parliament on some key issues. Di Pietro, after he was refused entry the Democratic Party, and before several clashes with Clemente Mastella, even proposed an electoral list between its party, the UDEUR Populars and the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats. Di Pietro had also ruled out future alliances with the far left (Federation of the Greens, Party of Italian Communists and Communist Refoundation Party), as the current one in which IdV is engaged, and confirmed his interest for a close collaboration with the Democratic Party, provided to it is to refuse an alliance with the far left too.

Popular support

The electoral results of Italy of Values in the 10 most populated Regions of Italy plus Abruzzo and Molise (party strongholds) are shown in the table below. IdV is particularily strong in Abruzzo and Molise because Antonio Di Pietro hails from Molise and Abruzzo is a neighbouring region.

Leadership

*President: Antonio Di Pietro (2000–...)
*Spokesman: Elio Veltri (2000–2002), Giorgio Calò (2002–2005), Nello Formisano (2005–2006), Leoluca Orlando (2006–...)

References

External links

* [http://www.italiadeivalori.it Official website]