Generation Italy
Encyclopedia
Generation Italy is a faction within Future and Freedom
(FLI), a political party in Italy.
Although most of its members come from the conservative National Alliance
(AN) and were earlier members of the Italian Social Movement
(MSI), the foundation was considered the cradle of social liberalism
within The People of Freedom
(PdL). The faction's members identify themselves as close supporters of Gianfranco Fini
, former leader of MSI/AN and frequent critic of Silvio Berlusconi
from his post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
.
Fini's views are progressive, socially liberal and secular-minded, albeit he is also very patriotic in his defense of Italian unity. During the years, the former post-fascist leader has taken controversial stances on stem cell research
, end of life
issues, advance health care directive and immigration
. Fini is also an outspoken supporter of the principle of separation of church and state
and of a more structured party organization.
Although most Finiani, such as Bocchino, Adolfo Urso, Fabio Granata, Carmelo Briguglio, Flavia Perina and Giulia Bongiorno, are perfectly in line with Fini on moral issues and immigration, many others, including Andrea Ronchi
, take a very different approach on these issues. In fact most Finiani are Southern conservatives who oppose Berlusconi's leadership, his firm alliance with the once-separatist Lega Nord, the party's economic policy and federal reform.
The group around Fini has also a think thank, FareFuturo
(directed by Urso), and a newspaper, Secolo d'Italia
(directed by Perina).
, at the time the deputy-leader of the PdL in the Chamber of Deputies, in order to better represent Fini's views within the party and to push for a different party organization, which was thought to be too dependent on Berlusconi's personality. Bocchino, in his presentation of the group, said that it was not his intent or Fini's to undermine the party, while he wanted to promote internal democracy through debate and to strengthen the party, especially in the North, where it had suffered a big blow from Lega Nord in 2010 regional elections
.
Despite this, however, soon after the faction caused a major upheaval within the party. On 15 April Fini posed a sort of ultimatum to Berlusconi and hinted the formation of separate parliamentary groups from the PdL in Parliament. Some Finiani even proposed the formation of a new party outside the PdL. After some tense days emerged as a possibility that Fini and his group would have remained in the party as a minority faction.
On 20 April 52 MPs (39 deputies and 13 senators) signed a document in support of Fini and his theses, while other 74 MPs formerly members of AN, including Ignazio La Russa
, Maurizio Gasparri
, Altero Matteoli
and Giorgia Meloni
, plus the Mayor of Rome
Gianni Alemanno, signed an alternative document in which they reasserted their loyalty to the party and Berlusconi. It was the end of the unity of former AN members within the PdL, with most heavyweights of that party turning their back on their former leader. Fini, for his part, started attract to his faction some PdL members coming from various political backgrounds, from the former Radical
Benedetto Della Vedova
to former Christian Democrats
such as Giuseppe Pisanu
.
On 22 April the National Committee of the PdL convened in Rome for the first time in a year. The conflict between Fini and Berlusconi was covered live by television. At the end of the day a resolution proposed by the party leadership was put before the assembly. The Finiani who voted against the resolution were 13 out of 172 members of the Committee: Roberta Angelilli
, Andrea Augello, Italo Bocchino
, Carmelo Briguglio, Cesare Cursi, Fabio Granata, Donato Lamorte, Silvano Moffa, Flavia Perina, Andrea Ronchi
, Salvatore Tatarella
, Adolfo Urso and Pasquale Viespoli.
On 3 May Fini officially endorsed Generation Italy with a video message to the faction's website in which he encouraged his followers to form a network of GI circles all around Italy. In the meantime, group of moderate Finiani led by Augello and Moffa launched a group called Open Space, that included also some close supporters of Berlusconi coming from his former Forza Italia
party, in order to distance themselves by the hardliners led by Bocchino and to dialogue with Berlusconi, while the conservative supporters of Fini re-grouped themselves into National Area
led by Roberto Menia and, again, Moffa. However, most Finiani, including Moffa and Menia chose to join also to GI and its National Committee.
Since then clashes between Fini and Berlusconi became even more frequent and reached their heights in late July, when Fini questioned the morality of some party bigwigs under investigation. On 29 July 2010 the party exectutive released a document (voted by 33 members out of 37) in which Fini was described as "incompatible" with the political line of the PdL and unable to perform his job of President of the Chamber of Deputies in a neutral way. Berlusconi asked Fini to step down from his post and the executive proposed the suspension from party membership of three hard-liner Finiani (Italo Bocchino, Fabio Granata and Carmelo Briguglio) who had harshly criticized Berlusconi and accused some party members of criminal offences.
On 30 July Fini and his followers (33 deputies and 10 senators) organized separate groups both in the Chamber and the Senate under the name Future and Freedom
(FLI). Only a minority of the deputies and senators coming from National Alliance
followed their former leader Fini into the new party, but enough to hold the balance in the Chamber of Deputies. GI was the core of the new parliamentary groups.
Future and Freedom
Future and Freedom , whose complete name is Future and Freedom for Italy is a centre-right political party in Italy....
(FLI), a political party in Italy.
Although most of its members come from the conservative National Alliance
National Alliance (Italy)
National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
(AN) and were earlier members of the Italian Social Movement
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s...
(MSI), the foundation was considered the cradle of social liberalism
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
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). The faction's members identify themselves as close supporters of Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini is an Italian politician, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, leader of the center-right Future and Freedom party, and the former leader of the conservative National Alliance and the post-fascist Italian Social Movement...
, former leader of MSI/AN and frequent critic of 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...
from his post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
.
Fini's views are progressive, socially liberal and secular-minded, albeit he is also very patriotic in his defense of Italian unity. During the years, the former post-fascist leader has taken controversial stances on stem cell research
Stem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
, end of life
End-of-life (medical treatment)
In medicine, end-of-life care refers to medical care not only of patients in the final hours or days of their lives, but more broadly, medical care of all those with a terminal illness or terminal condition that has become advanced, progressive and incurable....
issues, advance health care directive and immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
. Fini is also an outspoken supporter of the principle of separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
and of a more structured party organization.
Although most Finiani, such as Bocchino, Adolfo Urso, Fabio Granata, Carmelo Briguglio, Flavia Perina and Giulia Bongiorno, are perfectly in line with Fini on moral issues and immigration, many others, including Andrea Ronchi
Andrea Ronchi
Andrea Ronchi is an Italian politician, former Italian Minister of Community Policy.-Biography:Andrea Ronchi was born in Perugia, Umbria. He graduated in political science and worked as a journalist. He was a founding member of the National Alliance party.In 2001, he joined the House of...
, take a very different approach on these issues. In fact most Finiani are Southern conservatives who oppose Berlusconi's leadership, his firm alliance with the once-separatist Lega Nord, the party's economic policy and federal reform.
The group around Fini has also a think thank, FareFuturo
FareFuturo
FareFuturo is a liberal-conservative think tank close to Future and Freedom, a political party in Italy. FF was inspired by Gianfranco Fini, who served as its first president, while Adolfo Urso was its first secretary-general and serves now as president.-Leadership:*President: Gianfranco Fini ,...
(directed by Urso), and a newspaper, Secolo d'Italia
Secolo d'Italia
Secolo d'Italia is a daily conservative newspaper in Italy. Founded in Rome in 1952 by Franz Turchi, it is close to the centre-right political party The People of Freedom....
(directed by Perina).
History
Generation Italy was launched in April 2010 by Italo BocchinoItalo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino is an Italian politician and journalist.-Biography:Bocchino was born at Naples, and in his youth he was a members of the Italian Social Movement and worked as a spokesman for the member of parliament Giuseppe Tatarella, and subsequently as a journalist for Il Secolo d'Italia.In...
, at the time the deputy-leader of the PdL in the Chamber of Deputies, in order to better represent Fini's views within the party and to push for a different party organization, which was thought to be too dependent on Berlusconi's personality. Bocchino, in his presentation of the group, said that it was not his intent or Fini's to undermine the party, while he wanted to promote internal democracy through debate and to strengthen the party, especially in the North, where it had suffered a big blow from Lega Nord in 2010 regional elections
Italian regional elections, 2010
A big round of regional elections in Italy took place on 28–29 March in 13 regions out of 20, including nine of the ten largest ones: Lombardy, Campania, Veneto, Lazio, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Apulia, Tuscany and Calabria...
.
Despite this, however, soon after the faction caused a major upheaval within the party. On 15 April Fini posed a sort of ultimatum to Berlusconi and hinted the formation of separate parliamentary groups from the PdL in Parliament. Some Finiani even proposed the formation of a new party outside the PdL. After some tense days emerged as a possibility that Fini and his group would have remained in the party as a minority faction.
On 20 April 52 MPs (39 deputies and 13 senators) signed a document in support of Fini and his theses, while other 74 MPs formerly members of AN, including Ignazio La Russa
Ignazio La Russa
Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa is an Italian politician . He became Minister of Defence in the fourth cabinet of Silvio Berlusconi on 8 May 2008...
, Maurizio Gasparri
Maurizio Gasparri
Maurizio Gasparri is an Italian politician.After a period as Member of the Italian Parliament for the Movimento Sociale Italiano, Gasparri served as an Alleanza Nazionale member. During the course of his career he has served as Minister of Communications...
, Altero Matteoli
Altero Matteoli
Altero Matteoli is an Italian politician, former member of Alleanza Nazionale right-wing party and then member of People of Freedom.Matteoli was born in Cecina. From 2001 to 2006 he was the Italian Environment Minister.-References:*...
and Giorgia Meloni
Giorgia Meloni
-Biography:Giorgia Meloni was born on January 15, 1977 in Rome, Italy. in 1996, she graduated from the Amerigo Vespucci Institute in Foreign Languages...
, plus the 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...
Gianni Alemanno, signed an alternative document in which they reasserted their loyalty to the party and Berlusconi. It was the end of the unity of former AN members within the PdL, with most heavyweights of that party turning their back on their former leader. Fini, for his part, started attract to his faction some PdL members coming from various political backgrounds, from the former Radical
Italian Radicals
Italian Radicals is an Italian political party which describes itself as a liberale, liberista e libertario political movement .It was...
Benedetto Della Vedova
Benedetto Della Vedova
Benedetto Della Vedova is an Italian politician, formerly the leader of Liberal Reformers, a minor liberal and libertarian party, and currently member of The Liberal Part, a liberal faction within the centre-right People of Freedom party.-Biography:His political experience began in 1994 with the...
to former Christian Democrats
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
such as Giuseppe Pisanu
Giuseppe Pisanu
Giuseppe Pisanu is an Italian politician, longtime member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Christian Democracy and then for Forza Italia...
.
On 22 April the National Committee of the PdL convened in Rome for the first time in a year. The conflict between Fini and Berlusconi was covered live by television. At the end of the day a resolution proposed by the party leadership was put before the assembly. The Finiani who voted against the resolution were 13 out of 172 members of the Committee: Roberta Angelilli
Roberta Angelilli
Roberta Angelilli is an Italian politician andMember of the European Parliamentfor Centralwith the Alleanza Nazionale, part of the Union for a Europe of Nations and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.She is a substitute for the Committee on...
, Andrea Augello, Italo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino
Italo Bocchino is an Italian politician and journalist.-Biography:Bocchino was born at Naples, and in his youth he was a members of the Italian Social Movement and worked as a spokesman for the member of parliament Giuseppe Tatarella, and subsequently as a journalist for Il Secolo d'Italia.In...
, Carmelo Briguglio, Cesare Cursi, Fabio Granata, Donato Lamorte, Silvano Moffa, Flavia Perina, Andrea Ronchi
Andrea Ronchi
Andrea Ronchi is an Italian politician, former Italian Minister of Community Policy.-Biography:Andrea Ronchi was born in Perugia, Umbria. He graduated in political science and worked as a journalist. He was a founding member of the National Alliance party.In 2001, he joined the House of...
, Salvatore Tatarella
Salvatore Tatarella
Salvatore Tatarella is an Italian politician andMember of the European Parliamentfor Southern electoral districtwith People of Freedom , part of the Group of the European People's Party and...
, Adolfo Urso and Pasquale Viespoli.
On 3 May Fini officially endorsed Generation Italy with a video message to the faction's website in which he encouraged his followers to form a network of GI circles all around Italy. In the meantime, group of moderate Finiani led by Augello and Moffa launched a group called Open Space, that included also some close supporters of Berlusconi coming from his former 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....
party, in order to distance themselves by the hardliners led by Bocchino and to dialogue with Berlusconi, while the conservative supporters of Fini re-grouped themselves into National Area
National Area
National Area is a faction within Future and Freedom , a political party in Italy.Founded by Roberto Menia and Silvano Moffa , it represents the right-wing of the so-called arcipelago finiano, that is to say the area around Gianfranco Fini...
led by Roberto Menia and, again, Moffa. However, most Finiani, including Moffa and Menia chose to join also to GI and its National Committee.
Since then clashes between Fini and Berlusconi became even more frequent and reached their heights in late July, when Fini questioned the morality of some party bigwigs under investigation. On 29 July 2010 the party exectutive released a document (voted by 33 members out of 37) in which Fini was described as "incompatible" with the political line of the PdL and unable to perform his job of President of the Chamber of Deputies in a neutral way. Berlusconi asked Fini to step down from his post and the executive proposed the suspension from party membership of three hard-liner Finiani (Italo Bocchino, Fabio Granata and Carmelo Briguglio) who had harshly criticized Berlusconi and accused some party members of criminal offences.
On 30 July Fini and his followers (33 deputies and 10 senators) organized separate groups both in the Chamber and the Senate under the name Future and Freedom
Future and Freedom
Future and Freedom , whose complete name is Future and Freedom for Italy is a centre-right political party in Italy....
(FLI). Only a minority of the deputies and senators coming from National Alliance
National Alliance (Italy)
National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
followed their former leader Fini into the new party, but enough to hold the balance in the Chamber of Deputies. GI was the core of the new parliamentary groups.