Pole of Freedoms
Pole of Freedoms Polo delle Libertà | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader |
Silvio Berlusconi Umberto Bossi |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Dissolved | 1995 |
| Succeeded by | Pole for Freedoms |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| National affiliation | with Pole of Good Government |
The Pole of Freedoms (Italian: Polo delle Libertà) was a centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy, launched at the 1994 general election by Silvio Berlusconi.
History
The alliance was composed primarily of Forza Italia and the Lega Nord, but also included Christian Democratic Centre and the Union of the Centre.[1][2] The Pole of Freedoms was present only in Northern Italy, while the Pole of Good Government, composed of Forza Italia and the National Alliance, was present in Southern Italy.[3] The National Alliance appeared on ballots individually in the North.
However, the term "Pole of Freedoms" (as that of "Pole of Good Government") had no official character: the logo that identified the coalition included just the symbols of the lists that were part of the alliance (furthermore, this symbol was only present for the election of the Senate).
After the fall of the Berlusconi I Cabinet because of disagreements with the Lega Nord, the alliance ended. Afterwards Forza Italia, the National Alliance and Christian Democratic Centre formed another coalition, the Pole for Freedoms, which in 2001, after the re-entry of Lega Nord, was renamed the House of Freedoms.[4]
Composition
It was initially composed of the following political parties:
| Party | Ideology | Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forza Italia (FI) | Liberal conservatism | Silvio Berlusconi | |
| Lega Nord (LN) | Regionalism | Umberto Bossi | |
| Christian Democratic Centre (CCD) | Christian democracy | Pier Ferdinando Casini | |
| Union of the Centre (UdC) | Liberalism | Raffaele Costa | |
Election results
Italian Parliament
| Chamber of Deputies | |||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
# of overall seats won |
+/– | Leader | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 18,200,270 (#1) | 46.1 | 366 / 630 |
|
Silvio Berlusconi | ||
| Senate of the Republic | |||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
# of overall seats won |
+/– | Leader | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 14,110,705 (#1) | 42.5 | 156 / 315 |
|
| ||
References
- ↑ Isabella Pezzini (2001). "Advertising politics on television: the party election broadcast". In Luciano Chelos (ed); Lucio Sponza (ed). The Art of Persuasion: Political Communication in Italy from 1945 to the 1990s. Manchester University Press. pp. 187–188. ISBN 978-0-7190-4170-9.
- ↑ Stefan Köppl (2007). Das politische System Italiens: Eine Einführung. Springer-Verlag. p. 98. ISBN 978-3-531-14068-1.
- ↑ Mark Donovan (2004). "The Italian State: No Longer Catholic, no Longer Christian". In Zsolt Enyedi; John T.S. Madeley. Church and State in Contemporary Europe. Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-135-76141-7.
- ↑ Vittorio Vandelli (2014). 1994-2014 Berlusconi’s new ventennio. Vittorio Vandelli. p. 189. ISBN 978-605-03-2890-5.
