- Lega Nord Sud Tirolo
Lega Nord Sud Tirolo/Lega Nord Südtirol (North League South Tyrol) is regionalist Italian political party which is the provincial section of
Lega Nord in theProvince of Bolzano . It is basically the only inter-ethnic party in the Province, along with the Greens. [http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2008/agosto/10/Ciampi_Brunetta_Alto_Adige_resti_co_9_080810009.shtml] The current national secretary isKurt Pancheri .For the upcoming 2008 provincial election Lega Nord, as always, will present a list with both Italian- and German-speaking candidates. During the months prior the election there were strong rumors that the list might include
Roland Atz , former Vice President of theTrentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Region and leading member of theSouth Tyrolean People's Party (SVP), andGiovanni Benussi , who has been briefly Mayor ofBolzano forForza Italia and National Alliance. [http://www.dolomiten.it/nachrichten/artikel.asp?KatID=fa&p=5&ArtID=121113] [http://www.dolomiten.it/nachrichten/artikel.asp?KatID=fa&p=5&ArtID=121648] [http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2008/agosto/09/Trentino_Alto_Adige_voto_ottobre_co_9_080809019.shtml] This strategy and the mediation ofRoberto Calderoli , who is working on federal reform and who proclaims himself a "friend of Alto Adige", might also lead SVP into an alliance with Lega Nord andThe People of Freedom both at the regional and national level. [http://www.ilgiornale.it/a.pic1?ID=281979] [http://espresso.repubblica.it/dettaglio-local/%C2%ABNoi-ci-siamo-ma-l-Svp-ora-si-smarchi%C2%BB/2036877]In early September Benussi decided not to run with Lega Nord, which instead gained the support of Roland Atz and
Elena Artioli , another splinter from SVP and only multilingual provincial deputy of that party, and subsequentlyKurt Pancheri resigned as national secretary. [http://altoadige.repubblica.it/dettaglio/Lega-Nord-senza-Benussi-Alla-guida-Artioli-e-Atz/1507932] In order to replace Benussi in party list, Lega Nord recruitedPaolo Bassani , a centrist politician who had been previously member of the Italian Liberal Party,Forza Italia and finally theItalian Republican Party . [http://ricerca.quotidianiespresso.it/altoadige/archivio/altoadige/2008/09/11/AZ6PO_AZ601.html]Popular support
The party is a tiny one compared to other "national" sections of Lega Nord. In the 2008 general election it won only 2.0% of the votes in the
Province of Bolzano , due to the electoral strength of German-speaking regionalist parties, notably theSouth Tyrolean People's Party ,Union for South Tyrol andThe Libertarians . Its counterpart in theProvince of Trento ,Lega Nord Trentino , is much stronger (16.4% in 2008).The electoral results of Lega Nord Sud Tirolo in the Province of Bolzano are shown in the table below.
References
Leadership
*National Secretary:
Kurt Pancheri ("resigned")
*National President: "unknown"
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