Forza Italia is an
Italian political party. It is headed by
Silvio Berlusconi , who also is
Prime Minister Of Italy . It is a strongly personality-driven party, founded in
December 1993 and winning the elections already in
March 1994 . It is currently the main member of the
House Of Freedoms coalition, and is considered (and it considers itself) very different from other
Italian Political Parties . Its headquarters are located in
Rome .
Forza Italia was formed in
1993 by
Silvio Berlusconi , a successful
Businessman and owner of all the main private
Television Station s in Italy, along with
Antonio Martino ,
Mario Valducci ,
Antonio Tajani ,
Marcello Dell'Utri ,
Cesare Previti and
Giuliano Urbani . A few months after its creation, Forza Italia came to national power in the
1994 Elections as the head of a political
Coalition called
Polo Delle Libertà , but fell when the northern separatist
Northern League left the coalition.
In 1999 Forza Italy gained full membership of the
European People's Party , of which
Antonio Tajani is currently Vice President.
It regained power in the
2001 Elections (29.4% with
Giorgio La Malfa 's
Italian Republican Party ), with the League's support in a new coalition called
Casa Delle Libertà (''House of Freedoms''). Occasionally, Forza Italia has surpassed 30% of votes (as in the
1994 Elections For The European Parliament ), but presently (
As Of 2005 ) its base of support consists of about one-sixth of the electorate.
In the regional elections of
April 2005 , it received 18.5% of the vote. The party remains strong in the northern regions, such as
Lombardy and
Veneto , and in the South, where
Sicily is a stronghold.
In the
General Election of April 2006, the party will be present with a slightly different logo, with the words "Berlusconi presidente" (Berlusconi president). It will be the only party to use the word "president" in its logo.
In Chamber of Deputies, FI got 9,039,585 votes (23.71%) and 137 seats. In Senate, FI got 78 seats (8,201,688 votes, i.e 24.01%)
Forza Italia is a centre-right party, member of the
European People's Party , formed mainly by ex-
Christian Democrats , ex-
Liberals and ex-
Socialists . The ideology of the party ranges from Conservative
Libertarianism to Christian Social-Democracy; the party presents itself as the party of renewal and modernization.
The preamble to the party's
Statute says that "it is a liberal party although not an elistist one, indeed a popular liberal-democratic party; it is a Catholic party although not a confessional one; it is a secular party, although not an intolerant and secularist one; it is a national party, although not a centralist one".
Forza Italia's "Who we are" and
Forza Italia's official statute
The party has also non-
Catholic members, but they are a minority, a smaller one compared to the secular members of German
CDU (in which there also prominent
Jews ) or Dutch
CDA . In any case the party usually gives to its members freedom of conscience on moral matters (and hence a
Free Vote ), as in the case of the referendum on
Stem-cell Research , but even
Silvio Berlusconi ,
Giulio Tremonti and
Marcello Pera (who is himself non-Catholic, although friend of Pope
Benedict XVI ) spoke in favour of abstaining (as asked by the Catholic Church).
Forza Italia claims at the same time to be a fresh-new party, with no ties with the last governments of the so-called First Republic and to be the heir of the best political traditions of Italy: a Christian-Democrat as
Alcide De Gasperi , a Social-Democrat as
Giuseppe Saragat , a Liberal as
Luigi Einaudi and a Republican as
Ugo La Malfa are cited in the preamble of the party's constitution as party icons.
Most members of the party are former (former member of the leftish faction of DC, now minister of Interior),
Roberto Formigoni (president of
Lombardy , the richest region of Italy) and
Claudio Scajola (minister of Industry) are only three examples.
Many members are former
Socialists , like
Giulio Tremonti (minister of Economy),
Franco Frattini (Vice President of the
European Commission ),
Renato Brunetta (leading European MP) and
Fabrizio Cicchitto (vice-coordinator of the party). Berlusconi himself was a close friend of
Bettino Craxi , leader of
Italian Socialist Party , in spite of his Christian-Democratic and Liberal background (he was a DC's activist in 1948 elections).
Many are former (
Alfredo Biondi , now president of Forza Italia's National Council, and
Raffaele Costa ) and the former leader of the
Italian Socialist Democratic Party (
Carlo Vizzini ) are all Forza Italia's parlamentarians.
Even some former
Communists are leading members of the party, like
Sandro Bondi (national coordinator of Forza Italia) and
Ferdinando Adornato (chairman of the Constituent Assembly for the Party of Moderates and Reformers, the party in which Forza Italia, AN and UDC will possibly merge in 2006).
Most of Forza Italia's leading figures are from the
Christian Democracy , with many others numbers from the
Italian Socialist Party and the
Italian Liberal Party . Minor numbers come from the
Italian Democratic Socialist Party , the
Italian Republican Party (itself an ally of Forza Italia in the House of Freedoms), the
Italian Radicals . A few figures come from the
Italian Communist Party , the
Northern League and the
Italian Social Movement .
"Forza Italia" ("Go, Italy!") used to be a
Cheer shouted at
Football matches as an encouragement for the
National Team , and it was a slogan of the
Christian Democracy for the 1987 elections.
It should be noted that founder Silvio Berlusconi is also the owner of
Serie A team
AC Milan , and has used its many successes in football as a subject for propaganda. In
1994 , talking about his direct rival in his electoral college, economist
Luciano Spaventa , Berlusconi said "He should return when he's won a
Champions League ".
Forza Italia supporters call themselves "Azzurri", another clear reference to the national football team (but also to the colour of the
European People's Party . Names such as "forzista" are much used, whereas opponents sometime use the pejorative "forzitaliota", although also
Gianni Baget Bozzo , Berlusconi's fellow, is proud to use this term.
Forza Italia has a president (currently
Silvio Berlusconi ), a vice-president (
Giulio Tremonti ), a Presidential Committee (Comitato di Presidenza), led by
Claudio Scajola , and a National Council, led by
Alfredo Biondi . Moreover it has thematic departments and regional, provincial or metropolitan coordination boards plus a lot of affiliate clubs (Club Azzurro) all over Italy. On at least one occasion, Berlusconi used his own financial means to pay debts accumulated by the party, drawing criticism from other political forces about the party being too closely related to one person only.
It is claimed that Forza Italia has no internal democracy, because there is no way of changing the leader of the party from below. Instead, key posts in the party structure are appointed by Berlusconi or his delegates. Party conventions normally do not have elections to choose the party leadership, but are more like events arranged for propaganda purposes. However, Berlusconi is highly popular among his party fellows, and it is unlikely he could be overthrown if such an election were to occur.
- Silvio Berlusconi , president of the party and Prime Minister Of Italy .
- Alfredo Biondi , president of Forza Italia's National Council and former secretary of the Italian Liberal Party .
- Sandro Bondi , national coordinator of the party and former member of Italian Communist Party .
- Roberto Formigoni , president of Lombardy , former Christian-Democrat and prominent member of Comunione E Liberazione .
- Franco Frattini , vice-president of the European Commission .
- Enrico La Loggia , minister for Regional Affairs and former Christian-Democrat.
- Antonio Martino , minister of Defense and former member of the Italian Liberal Party .
- Marcello Pera , Liberal Philosopher and chairman of the Italian Senate .
- Giuseppe Pisanu , minister of Internal Affairs and former Christian-Democrat (top-aide to Benigno Zaccagnini , leader of Christian Democracy , in 1975 – 1980 ).
- Claudio Scajola , minister of Industry and former Christian-Democrat.
- Giulio Tremonti , vice-president of the party and minister of Economy and Finances, former aide to Rino Formica , Socialist minister in the 80s, and close friend of Umberto Bossi , leader of Lega Nord .
- President: Silvio Berlusconi (1994-...)
- Vice President: Giulio Tremonti (2004-...)
- Spokesman: Antonio Tajani (1994-96), Paolo Bonaiuti (1996-2001), Sandro Bondi (2001-04), Elisabetta Gardini (2004-...)
- President of the President's Committee: Claudio Scajola (2004-...)
- Vice President of the President's Committee: Carlo Vizzini (2005-...)
- President of the National Council: Alfredo Biondi (dal 2004)
- National Coordinator: Domenico Mennitti (1994), Luigi Caligaris (1994), Cesare Previti (1994-96), Caludio Scajola (1996-2001), Roberto Antonione (2001-03), Claudio Scajola (2003), Sandro Bondi (2003-...)
- Deputy-National Coordinator: Giuliano Urbani / Mario Valducci (1995-96), Fabrizio Cicchitto (2003-...), Gianfranco Miccichè (2004...)
- Treasurer: Mario Valducci (1994-95), Domenico Lo Jucco (1995-97), Giovanni Dell’Elce (1997-2003), Rocco Crimi (2003-...)
Since its birth, Forza Italia has been using means unconventional for Italian politics. It is heavily dependent on Berlusconi's image, the party
Anthem is sung in
Karaoke fashion at American-style conventions, there is nominally no internal opposition, and it used
TV advertising extensively, although this has been severely restricted since
2000 by a law passed by the then centre-left majority.
In
August 2005 Marcello Pera , Speaker of the
Italian Senate and a member of Forza Italia, was harshly criticised for saying (at a meeting of
Comunione E Liberazione ) Italy risked becoming an "hybrid of cultures" (the Italian word is "meticciato") because of immigration. Pera is well known for his criticisms of
Multiculturalist views and
Relativist theories. Many prominent members of Forza Italia, like for example the Minister of Interiors Giuseppe Pisanu, distanced themselves from Pera's statements.
On
September 2005, Forza Italia MP
Guido Crosetto , a member of the House Finance Committee, claimed that
Bank Of Italy Governor
Antonio Fazio , involved in a controversial banking takeover probe, was the victim of a "
Jew ish,
Masonic plot". Crosetto said that he had been misunderstood and that the accuse of
Antisemitism had been the worst of his long-time political carrer (he had been member of the
Christian Democracy party). Also
Berlusconi apologized for Crosetto's
Anti-semitic comments but denied racist charges claiming that "nobody can doubt the party's liberal nature" and that "Italian Government is one of
Israel 's best friends".
Berlusconi himself was accused of racism when he declared that Western civilization is "superior" to Islam (he claimed that he was reffering to the economic development and the respect of
Human Rights ).
In any case it is clear that no other Italian government before has been more pro-Israel than the
Berlusconi 's one (something often criticized by the left from
Fausto Bertinotti to
Massimo D'Alema , but recently defended by
Francesco Rutelli ), so that this government has even declared its favour to the project of the Israel security-barrier. Important members of the Rome Jewish Community, as the spokesman
Riccardo Pacifici , back Berlusconi's party. Besides Forza Italia and its allies had been strong advocates of putting the reference to "Jewish and Christian roots" in the
European Constitution .
Berlusconi has also very good relations with Muslim leaders and he is a close friend of some of them, like
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (
Berlusconi has been one of the witnesses of
Erdoğan 's son at his wedding). Forza Italia is strongly in favour of
Turkey 's admission to the
European Union , differently from other European
Christian-democratic parties like the German
CDU and the French
UMP .
