(full name in
Political Party in
Italy .
Originally a coalition of three parties,
Italian People's Party (led by
Pierluigi Castagnetti ),
Democrats (led by
Arturo Parisi ) and
Italian Renewal (led by
Lamberto Dini ), it ran for its first time in
2001 as an alliance and part of the
Olive Tree Coalition . Soon after the General Elections, the constituting parties merged into one.
The Daisy is formed by former
Christian Democrats and centrists, mainly from the old Italian People's Party (but also including
Liberals and
Republicans ), as well as more leftist politicians, especially
Socialists ,
Greens and, in minor size,
Radicals and
Euro-communists from the old PCI.
The Daisy is mainly composed by two factions:
- (''Rutelliani'')
- the core of the former Italian People's Party , as Franco Marini , Ciriaco De Mita and Dario Franceschini
- Rutelli 's own group, composed of Paolo Gentiloni , Roberto Giacchetti , Ermete Realacci and Gianni Vernetti (many of whom followed their leader from the Radicals to the Greens and to the Democrats )
- (''Prodiani'')
- the core of the former Democrats , as Arturo Parisi , Marina Magistrelli , Enzo Bianco , Willer Bordon and Antonio Maccanico
- those former members of the Italian People's Party , which are backers of Romano Prodi , as Pierluigi Castagnetti , Rosy Bindi and Enrico Letta
It is interesting to note that the first faction tends to be more social-conservative and Catholic-oriented, while
Arturo Parisi 's faction trends to be more liberal if not staunchly secularist, with the notable exception of
Prodi 's ''Popolari''.
The party president and leader is
Francesco Rutelli , former Mayor of
Rome and former centre-left candidate for Prime Minister at the
2001 General Elections.
They are a pro-European centrist-liberal party. Although part of the
Olive Tree , which is usually associated with the centre-left, the Democratici were a member of the
European Liberal, Democrat And Reform Party , and the Partito Popolare Italiano was a member of the
European People's Party . After the 2004 European elections the merged party decided not to become a member of either the ELDR or the EPP, but formed together with the French
UDF the
European Democratic Party . In the
European Parliament the Margherita joined the group of the
Alliance Of Liberals And Democrats For Europe .
In June 2005 the Margherita decided by majority they will no longer join the
L'Unione coalition at the next General Election, to be held in
2006 , but they would merely provide external support. The Party's decision triggered major controversy, with rumours of divisions inside the party itself, also worsened by Rutelli's indication of "no-vote" at the Referenda on artificial insemination held in June 12 and 13. In Italy, for the result of a Referendum to be legally binding, a 50% turnout is strictly necessary. As such, Rutelli's decision was considered instrumental for the referenda to collapse. The vote was seen by some as a test over the kind of political weight carried by the Vatican in the Italian political life.
- Party Leader at the (2002-2006)
- Party Leader at the (2002-2006)
- Party Leader at the (since 2004)
