Countercurrent is a liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 faction within The People of Freedom

The People of Freedom

The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....

 (PdL), a political party in Italy.

The faction was launched in October by some 30 liberals who opposed Giulio Tremonti

Giulio Tremonti

Giulio Tremonti is an Italian politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011....

's policies as economy minister. They included Antonio Martino

Antonio Martino

Antonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...

, Giorgio Stracquadanio

Giorgio Stracquadanio

Giorgio Stracquadanio is an Italian politician and journalist.He began his political careers in the 1980s as activist of the Radical Party in Milan with the municipal councillor Tiziana Maiolo....

, Guido Crosetto, Isabella Bertolini, Giuseppe Cossiga

Giuseppe Cossiga

Giuseppe Cossiga is an Italian politician, member of the Forza Italia party . He became Undersecretary of State for Defence in the cabinet of Silvio Berlusconi on May 12, 2008....

 and Giuseppe Moles. Some of them were also members of Christopher Columbus Foundation

Christopher Columbus Foundation

The Christopher Columbus Foundation, whose complete name is Christopher Columbus Foundation for Freedoms is a faction and think tank within The People of Freedom , a political party in Italy...

 (Martino), while others were considered Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...

's loyalists (Stracquadanio). More specifically, members of Countercurrent were committed liberals who were unconfortable with Tremonti's policies (dirigist, in their view) and wanted a return to Forza Italia

Forza Italia

Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....

's early libertarianism

Libertarianism

Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...

 and to the so-called "spirit of 1994", the year of Berlusconi's entry to politics.

Somewhat surprisingly, on 3 November 2011, Stracquadanio and Bertolini signed an open letter to Berlusconi along with four recent splinters from the party (Roberto Antonione, Giustina Destro

Giustina Destro

Giustina Mistrello Destro is an Italian politician and entrepreneur.An entrepreneur by profession, Destro joined politics relatively late in her life. In 1999 she formed a list for Padua municipal election and ran as an independent candidate for mayor, with the support of centre-right parties,...

, Fabio Gava

Fabio Gava

Fabio Gava is an Italian politician.A member of the Italian Liberal Party since 1967, he joined Forza Italia in 1993 following his long-time friend Giancarlo Galan. Elected to the Regional Council of Veneto in 1995, he was floor leader of Forza Italia and regional minister of Budget in Galan I...

 and Giancarlo Pittelli) in which they asked Berlusconi to step down and made a call for a new executive.