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Democratic Party (Italy) leadership election, 2007
Encyclopedia
The 2007 Democratic Party leadership election was held on 14 October 2007 in order to elect the first leader of the Democratic Party
, the largest political party in Italy
at the time. The election was conducted as an open primary
, with all Italian citizens aged at least 16 and non-Italian legal residents being eligible to vote. A minimum fee of one euro (initially chosen as five euros, lowered to one euro following direct requests by almost all leadership candidates) was requested to voters in order to taker part in the election.
The election, attended by over three and a half million voters, ended in a landslide victory for Walter Veltroni
, Mayor of Rome
and former leader of the Democrats of the Left
, who gained 75.8% of the vote, being thus elected as first Democratic Party leader.
and Democracy is Freedom – Daisy, Romano Prodi
announced a list of 45 politicians which would have composed the Organizing Committee of the Democratic Party. All members successively met on June 18, 2007 in order to decide the rules regarding the election of the first leader and the 2,400 members of the Constituting Assembly. A method was chosen in order to associate lists with leadership candidates. In order to run into the election, a number of 100 signatures were needed, whereas at least 2,000 approved signatures were requested to run into the leadership race.
On the July 30 deadline, a total of ten candidates officially registered their candidacy: Walter Veltroni
, Rosy Bindi
, Enrico Letta
, Furio Colombo, Marco Pannella
, Antonio Di Pietro
, Mario Adinolfi, Pier Giorgio Gawronski, Jacopo G. Schettini
, Lucio Cangini and Amerigo Rutigliano. Of these, Pannella and Di Pietro were stopped because of their involvement in external parties, whereas Cangini and Rutigliano did not manage to present the necessary 2,000 valid signatures for the 9pm deadline, and Colombo's candidacy was instead made into hiatus in order to give him 48 additional hours to integrate the required documentation; Colombo later decided to retire his candidacy citing his impossibility to fit with all the requirements. All rejected candidates had the chance against the decision in 48 hours' time, with Pannella and Rutigliano being the only two candidates to appeal against it. Both were rejected on 3 August.
All polls predict a clear victory for Veltroni in the election, with results ranging from 65% to 75% circa.
On September 26, 2007, Gavazzoli Schettini retired from the race due to his failure in building enough support for presenting a minimum of 25 supporting nationwide lists, and announced he was moving his support to Gawronski, running alongside him for the party leadership.
Walter Veltroni
is the incumbent Mayor of Rome and a former Democrats of the Left
leader. His candidacy was publicly asked on June 20 by incumbent Democrats of the Left leader Piero Fassino publicly asked Walter Veltroni
, being suggested by several opinion polls suggesting Veltroni could potentially win hands down the leadership race.
Veltroni officially announced his intention to run at a widely publicized rally in Turin
on June 27. He will run in a joint ticket with deputy-leadership candidate Dario Franceschini
, Olive Tree
speaker at the Chamber of Deputies.
Rosy Bindi
Rosaria "Rosy" Bindi
is currently part of the Prodi II Cabinet
as Minister of Family (a minister without portfolio
) for Democracy is Freedom – Daisy. She announced her candidacy on July 16.
Enrico Letta
Enrico Letta
is the incumbent undersecretary
in the Prodi II Cabinet
, and a Democracy is Freedom – Daisy leading member. 40-year-old Letta announced his candidacy via a video posted online on his personal website on July 24.
Minor candidates
Marco Pannella
is a historical leader of the Italian Radicals
. He announced his intention to run for the party leadership on July 21, but this was refused by the Presidency Office. Despite this, Pannella kept on campaigning for his candidacy and received support from Minister of International Commerce and fellow Radical Emma Bonino
, who offered herself to campaign as potential deputy leader.
Antonio Di Pietro
On the night of July 30, a few minutes shy of the deadline, incumbent Minister of Infrastructures and Italy of Values
leader Antonio Di Pietro
was officially unveiled as entering the race. His candidacy was however refused due to his commitments to Italy of Values.
Furio Colombo
Furio Colombo is an elected Senator
for Democrats of the Left, and former editor-in-law for left-leaning newspaper L'Unità
. He announced his candidacy on July 15 with an article published on L'Unità itself. His candidacy was initially made into hiatus by the Organizing Committee due to his failure in presenting the original copy of many of the requested 2,000 signatures. Colombo then announced his withdrawal from the competition, citing his impossibility to leave Rome in the days to come due to his Senate commitments.
Minor candidates
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
, the largest political party in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
at the time. The election was conducted as an open primary
Open primary
An open primary is a primary election that does not require voters to be affiliated with a political party in order to vote for partisan candidates. In a traditional open primary, voters may select one party's ballot and vote for that party's nomination. As in a closed primary, the highest voted...
, with all Italian citizens aged at least 16 and non-Italian legal residents being eligible to vote. A minimum fee of one euro (initially chosen as five euros, lowered to one euro following direct requests by almost all leadership candidates) was requested to voters in order to taker part in the election.
The election, attended by over three and a half million voters, ended in a landslide victory for Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni, Knight Grand Cross, is an Italian writer, journalist and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He served as Mayor of Rome from 2001 to 2008.-Biography:Walter Veltroni was...
, Mayor of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and former leader of the Democrats of the Left
Democrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left was a social-democratic Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party on 14 October 2007...
, who gained 75.8% of the vote, being thus elected as first Democratic Party leader.
Events
Following the national conventions of the Democrats of the LeftDemocrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left was a social-democratic Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party on 14 October 2007...
and Democracy is Freedom – Daisy, Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
announced a list of 45 politicians which would have composed the Organizing Committee of the Democratic Party. All members successively met on June 18, 2007 in order to decide the rules regarding the election of the first leader and the 2,400 members of the Constituting Assembly. A method was chosen in order to associate lists with leadership candidates. In order to run into the election, a number of 100 signatures were needed, whereas at least 2,000 approved signatures were requested to run into the leadership race.
Leadership race
July 30, 2007 was the deadline for presenting leadership candidacies. All candidates were requested to be clearly associated with the Democratic Party project, as either members of the political subjects forming it or with no party association at all.On the July 30 deadline, a total of ten candidates officially registered their candidacy: Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni, Knight Grand Cross, is an Italian writer, journalist and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He served as Mayor of Rome from 2001 to 2008.-Biography:Walter Veltroni was...
, Rosy Bindi
Rosy Bindi
Maria Rosaria Bindi, best known as Rosy Bindi is an Italian politician and the current President of the Democratic Party.-Career:...
, Enrico Letta
Enrico Letta
Enrico Letta is an Italian politician, and was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in the 2006 General election for the Olive Tree coalition...
, Furio Colombo, Marco Pannella
Marco Pannella
Giacinto Pannella, better known as Marco Pannella is an Italian politician.He is the historic leader of the Italian Radicals...
, Antonio Di Pietro
Antonio Di Pietro
Antonio Di Pietro is an Italian politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament, an Italian Senator, and Minister of the Prodi Government...
, Mario Adinolfi, Pier Giorgio Gawronski, Jacopo G. Schettini
Jacopo Schettini Gherardini
Jacopo Schettini Gherardini , is an Economist. He was Candidate for the National Secretariat of the Democratic Party during the primary elections of 2007...
, Lucio Cangini and Amerigo Rutigliano. Of these, Pannella and Di Pietro were stopped because of their involvement in external parties, whereas Cangini and Rutigliano did not manage to present the necessary 2,000 valid signatures for the 9pm deadline, and Colombo's candidacy was instead made into hiatus in order to give him 48 additional hours to integrate the required documentation; Colombo later decided to retire his candidacy citing his impossibility to fit with all the requirements. All rejected candidates had the chance against the decision in 48 hours' time, with Pannella and Rutigliano being the only two candidates to appeal against it. Both were rejected on 3 August.
All polls predict a clear victory for Veltroni in the election, with results ranging from 65% to 75% circa.
On September 26, 2007, Gavazzoli Schettini retired from the race due to his failure in building enough support for presenting a minimum of 25 supporting nationwide lists, and announced he was moving his support to Gawronski, running alongside him for the party leadership.
Accepted candidacies
Walter VeltroniWalter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni, Knight Grand Cross, is an Italian writer, journalist and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He served as Mayor of Rome from 2001 to 2008.-Biography:Walter Veltroni was...
is the incumbent Mayor of Rome and a former Democrats of the Left
Democrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left was a social-democratic Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party on 14 October 2007...
leader. His candidacy was publicly asked on June 20 by incumbent Democrats of the Left leader Piero Fassino publicly asked Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni, Knight Grand Cross, is an Italian writer, journalist and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He served as Mayor of Rome from 2001 to 2008.-Biography:Walter Veltroni was...
, being suggested by several opinion polls suggesting Veltroni could potentially win hands down the leadership race.
Veltroni officially announced his intention to run at a widely publicized rally in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
on June 27. He will run in a joint ticket with deputy-leadership candidate Dario Franceschini
Dario Franceschini
Dario Franceschini is an Italian lawyer, writer, and politician, who served as the second leader of the Democratic Party. He has been a prominent member of the Italian People's Party , of the Daisy and the first Deputy Secretary of the Democratic Party...
, Olive Tree
Olive Tree
The Olive Tree was a denomination used for several successive centre-left Italian political coalitions from 1995 to 2007.The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was Romano Prodi, Professor of Economics and former leftist Christian Democrat, who invented the name and the symbol of...
speaker at the Chamber of Deputies.
Rosaria "Rosy" Bindi
Rosy Bindi
Maria Rosaria Bindi, best known as Rosy Bindi is an Italian politician and the current President of the Democratic Party.-Career:...
is currently part of the Prodi II Cabinet
Prodi II Cabinet
The Prodi II Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days...
as Minister of Family (a minister without portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
) for Democracy is Freedom – Daisy. She announced her candidacy on July 16.
Enrico Letta
Enrico Letta
Enrico Letta is an Italian politician, and was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in the 2006 General election for the Olive Tree coalition...
is the incumbent undersecretary
Undersecretary
An under secretary is an executive government official in many countries, frequently a career public servant, who typically acts as a senior administrator or second-in-command to a politically-appointed Cabinet Minister or other government official...
in the Prodi II Cabinet
Prodi II Cabinet
The Prodi II Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days...
, and a Democracy is Freedom – Daisy leading member. 40-year-old Letta announced his candidacy via a video posted online on his personal website on July 24.
Minor candidates
- Jacopo G. SchettiniJacopo Schettini GherardiniJacopo Schettini Gherardini , is an Economist. He was Candidate for the National Secretariat of the Democratic Party during the primary elections of 2007...
, economist on CSR, director of the european Standard Ethics AeiStandard Ethics AeiStandard Ethics is a Sustainability Rating Agency based in Brussels. It is a European Economic Interest Grouping , a non profit organisation, which aims at promoting company ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility , Socially responsible investing and Corporate Governance according to the...
, announced his candidacy just few days after Mr. Veltroni on July 3. - Mario Adinolfi, 35-year old journalist and blogBlogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, and supporter of direct democracyDirect democracyDirect democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
and higher involvement of young people in the national political scenario. He announced his intention to run on July 18 through his blog. - Pier Giorgio Gawronski, 50-year old economist and Oxford graduate;
Rejected and withdrawn candidacies
Marco PannellaMarco Pannella
Marco Pannella
Giacinto Pannella, better known as Marco Pannella is an Italian politician.He is the historic leader of the Italian Radicals...
is a historical leader of the Italian Radicals
Italian Radicals
Italian Radicals is an Italian political party which describes itself as a liberale, liberista e libertario political movement .It was...
. He announced his intention to run for the party leadership on July 21, but this was refused by the Presidency Office. Despite this, Pannella kept on campaigning for his candidacy and received support from Minister of International Commerce and fellow Radical Emma Bonino
Emma Bonino
Emma Bonino is an Italian politician, former Member of the European Parliament and current Member of the Italian Senate. She is a leading member of the Italian Radicals, a political party that supports economic and social libertarianism, and human rights...
, who offered herself to campaign as potential deputy leader.
Antonio Di Pietro
On the night of July 30, a few minutes shy of the deadline, incumbent Minister of Infrastructures and Italy of Values
Italy of Values
Italy of Values is a centrist, populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party, which is affiliated to the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party , is headed by former Mani pulite prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who entered politics in 1996.The party aims to gather and give...
leader Antonio Di Pietro
Antonio Di Pietro
Antonio Di Pietro is an Italian politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament, an Italian Senator, and Minister of the Prodi Government...
was officially unveiled as entering the race. His candidacy was however refused due to his commitments to Italy of Values.
Furio Colombo
Furio Colombo is an elected Senator
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
for Democrats of the Left, and former editor-in-law for left-leaning newspaper L'Unità
L'Unità
l'Unità is an Italian left-wing newspaper, originally founded as official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party.-History:L'Unità was founded by Antonio Gramsci on 12 February 1924, as the newspaper of workers and peasants, the official newspaper of Italian Communist Party : it was printed in...
. He announced his candidacy on July 15 with an article published on L'Unità itself. His candidacy was initially made into hiatus by the Organizing Committee due to his failure in presenting the original copy of many of the requested 2,000 signatures. Colombo then announced his withdrawal from the competition, citing his impossibility to leave Rome in the days to come due to his Senate commitments.
Minor candidates
- Lucio Cangini, former Mayor of SarsinaSarsinaSarsina is an Italian town situated in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Its territory is included in the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines.-History:...
and local Democrats of the Left councilman. He will not however run in the leadership race after having failed to hand over a minimum of 2,000 valid signatures in support of his candidacy. - Amerigo Rutigliano, leader of minor movement Unità Democratica Sinistra Europea (Democratic Union - European Left). He however handed over the necessary signatures with a 30 minutes delay with respect to the 9pm deadline, and his candidacy was therefore rejected.
Results
Official results| Candidate | Total | Lists | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Name | Votes | % | Seats | |
| Walter Veltroni Walter Veltroni Walter Veltroni, Knight Grand Cross, is an Italian writer, journalist and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He served as Mayor of Rome from 2001 to 2008.-Biography:Walter Veltroni was... |
2,694,721 | 75.82 | 2322 | Democratici con Veltroni | 1,553,946 | 43.72 | 1493 |
| Con Veltroni. Ambiente, innovazione, lavoro | 286,811 | 8.07 | 172 | ||||
| A Sinistra con Veltroni To the Left To the Left is a social-democratic and democratic-socialist faction within the Democratic Party, a centre-left political party in Italy.... |
272,111 | 7.66 | 226 | ||||
| Other lists | 581,853 | 16.37 | 430 | ||||
| Rosy Bindi Rosy Bindi Maria Rosaria Bindi, best known as Rosy Bindi is an Italian politician and the current President of the Democratic Party.-Career:... |
459,398 | 12.93 | 312 | Con Rosy Bindi. Democratici, davvero | 459,398 | 12.93 | 312 |
| Enrico Letta Enrico Letta Enrico Letta is an Italian politician, and was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in the 2006 General election for the Olive Tree coalition... |
391,775 | 11.02 | 220 | I democratici per Enrico Letta | 391,775 | 11.02 | 220 |
| Mario Adinolfi | 5,924 | 0.17 | 0 | Generazione U | 5,924 | 0.17 | 0 |
| Pier Giorgio Gawronski (and Jacopo G. Schettini) | 2,351 | 0.07 | 0 | Gawronski. Il coraggio di cambiare and Noi per il Partito Democratico | 2,351 | 0.08 | 0 |
| Total | 3,554,169 | 100.0 | 2853 | Total | 3,554,169 | 100.0 | 2853 |
Opinion polling
| Polling Firm | Date | Candidates | Link | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veltroni | Bindi | Letta | Adinolfi | Schettini | Gawronski | |||
| IPSOS | October 12, 2007 | 70.0–73.0 | 17.0–19.0 | 7.0–9.0 | 0.7–1.4 | – | 0.3–0.6 | |
| EKMA Srl | October 10 | 74.0 | 14.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | |
| IPSOS | October 9 | 73.0–76.0 | 12.0–15.0 | 8.0–11.0 | 0.4–1.2 | 0.1–0.4 | 0.5–1.4 | |
| Gipieffe SpA | October 5 | 78.2 | 10.4 | 9.5 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.4 | |
| EKMA Srl | October 2 | 73.0 | 15.0 | 7.0 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.5 | |
| IPSOS | September 28 | 75.0–78.0 | 11.0–14.0 | 7.0–10.0 | 0.9–1.7 | 0.2–0.5 | 0.9–1.8 | |
| EKMA Srl | September 26 | 73.0 | 16.0 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | |
| ISPO | September 24 | 69.0 | 12.0 | 5.0 | – | – | – | |
| EKMA Srl | September 19 | 70.0 | 18.0 | 7.5 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | |
| EKMA Srl | September 11 | 70.0 | 17.0 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | |
| EKMA Srl | September 5 | 68.0 | 15.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 | – | – | |
| SWG | August 26 | 75.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | |