Liberal Union (Italy)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Liberal Union
Unione Liberale
Leader
Centre[3] to centre-right[4]
Colours  Blue
Election symbol

The Liberal Union (

centrist and liberal coalition which largely dominated the Italian Parliament
.

History

The origins of

socialist faction which represented a real left in a present-day concept.[6]

Giovanni Giolitti, historical leader of the Liberals

Giolitti was a master in the political art of trasformismo, the method of making a flexible

centrist coalition of government which isolated the extremes of the left and the right in Italian politics after the unification. Under his influence, the Liberals did not develop as a structured party. They were instead a series of informal personal groupings with no formal links to political constituencies.[7] The period between the start of the 20th century and the start of World War I, when he was Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior from 1901 to 1914 with only brief interruptions, is often called the Giolittian Era.[8][9]

A

left liberal[8] with strong ethical concerns,[10] Giolitti's periods in office were notable for the passage of a wide range of progressive social reforms which improved the living standards of ordinary Italians, together with the enactment of several policies of government intervention.[9][11] Besides putting in place several tariffs, subsidies and government projects, Giolitti also nationalized the private telephone and railroad operators. Liberal proponents of free trade criticized the Giolittian System, although Giolitti himself saw the development of the national economy as essential in the production of wealth.[12]

In the 1913 general election, the Liberals were voted by more than two millions people, with 47.6% of votes and gaining 270 out 508 seats, therefore becoming by far the first party of the country.[13] Under the premiership of Antonio Salandra, a member of the right-wing faction of the Liberals, Italy declared war to Austria-Hungary and Germany in 1915, entering in World War I. This decision was against the thought of Liberal leader Giolitti, who was a strong supporter of neutrality. In 1917, a member of the party's left-wing, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, became Prime Minister and during his government Italy defeated Austria, earning him the title Premier of Victory.

At the end of World War I,

Don Luigi Sturzo, with 20.5%.[13] The Parliament was thus divided into three different blocks with huge instability while the Socialists and the rising Fascists
instigators of political violence on opposite sides.

In this chaotic situation, the Liberals founded the Italian Liberal Party in 1922 which joined an alliance led by Fascists and formed a joint list for the 1924 general election, transforming the Fascists from a small political force into an absolute-majority party. Albeit banned by Benito Mussolini in 1925, many old Liberal politicians were given prestigious yet not influential political posts such as seats in the Senate, which was stripped of any real power by Fascist reforms.

Electoral results

Election Votes % Seats +/– Position Leader
1913
2,387,947
47.6
270 / 508
–
Steady 1st
Giovanni Giolitti
1919
490,384
8.6
41 / 508
Decrease 229
Decrease 5th

See also

References

  1. ^ Massimo Viceconte (3 June 2010). "Alcuni aspetti della politica di Giolitti: tra liberalismo e democrazia". Diritto.it.
  2. ^ "L'Italia dalla crisi di fine secolo all'età giolittiana". Istituto Luigi Sturzo. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2018-01-19.
  3. ^ Francesco Malgeri (2002). La stagione del centrismo. Politica e società nell'Italia del secondo dopoguerra (1945-1960). Rubbettino. 420 p.
  4. ^ Donovan, Mark; Newell, James L. (2008). "Centrism in Italian politics". Modern Italy. 13 (4): 381–397.
  5. ^ Gori, Annarita (2014). Tra patria e campanile. Ritualità civili e culture politiche a Firenze in età giolittiana. Franco Angeli Edizioni.
  6. ^ a b "Italian Liberal Party". Archived 21 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Britannica Concise.
  7. ^ Amoore, The Global Resistance Reader, p. 39
  8. ^ a b Zygmunt Guido Baranski; Rebecca J. West (2001). The Cambridge Companion to Modern Italian Culture. p. 44.
  9. ^ a b Charles L. Killinger (2002). The History of Italy. p. 127–128.
  10. ^ Coppa, 1970.
  11. ^ Roland Sarti (2007). Italy: A Reference Fuide from the Renaissance to the Present. pp. 46–48.
  12. ^ Coppa, 1971.
  13. ^
    ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
    .
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