Ulivists
Encyclopedia
The Ulivists are a faction within the Democratic Party
(PD), a political party in Italy.
The group includes both Christian left
politicians, social democrats
and social liberals
. They has been close supporters of Romano Prodi
and want the party to be stuck in the tradition of The Olive Tree. The group, whose long-standing leader of the group has been Arturo Parisi
, is the bulk of the former party of Prodi, The Democrats
and of the former internal opposition within Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy.
The Ulivists are keen supporters of the use of primary election
s and the original idea of Democratic Party according to Prodi, a party open to all the centre-left forces or, at least, to an alliance with all them, including Italy of Values
and the communist parties.
, by close supporters of Romano Prodi
who, as him, were not members of any party of The Olive Tree. Ulivists organized "Clubs for Prodi" and the "Citizens for The Olive Tree" association. Although most Ulivists took part to the campaign only as activists and remained grassroots supporters during Prodi II Cabinet
, some were elected with the Italian People's Party–Democratic Union
.
In 1998 Prodi lost a vote of confidence and was replaced by Massimo D'Alema
as Prime Minister. D'Alema, along with Franco Marini
, then leader of the Italian People's Party, pursued a political line aimed at strengthening the parties in spite of the coalition. In opposition to this, Prodi supporters, grassroots activists, disgruntled Populars and other groups (including Movement for Democracy – The Net and Italy of Values
) organized a new "Ulivist" party, The Democrats
. Prodi led the party to a good result in the 1999 European Parliament election
(7.7%). Some months later Prodi was nominated President of the European Commission
and Arturo Parisi
succeeded him as party leader.
In 2000 The Democrats agreed with other centrist parties, including the Italian People's Party, to form a joint list for the 2001 general election
. The list, which gained a considerable success (14.5%), was transformed into a party in early 2002 under the name of Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. Parisi was Vice President and President of the Federal Assembly of the party. The Ulivists became soon the internal opposition to Francesco Rutelli within the party and were always strong supporters of the creation of a "Democratic Party". This actually happened with the foundation of the Democratic Party
in 2007.
for choosing the party leader, Ulivists divided themselves in two groups: the left-wing, composed of the historical members of the faction, supported Rosy Bindi
, while the moderates supported Enrico Letta
, who is now leader of a separate group, the so-called Lettiani
.
The supporters of Bindi included Arturo Parisi, Mario Barbi, Giulio Santagata, Sandra Zampa, Sandro Gozi
, Franco Monaco, Marina Magistrelli, Gad Lerner
, Gianfranco Morgando, Nando Della Chiesa, Vittorio Prodi
, Roberto Zaccaria, Giovanni Bachelet, Franca Chiaromonte and Albertina Soliani. Bindi was supported also by Agazio Loiero and his Southern Democratic Party
, as long as by some members of The Populars
, a loose association of former members of the Italian People's Party of which both Bindi and Enrico Letta were members.
Ulivists have their strongholds in Northern Italy
, and especially in Veneto
, Lombardy
and Piedmont
. However Bindi, who obtained 12.9% of the vote in the primary election nationally, had her best result in Calabria
(31.3%) thanks to Loiero's support.
and preferred to collaborate with him, instead of simply opposing him. On the other hand the Ulivists (Parisi, Barbi, Recchia, Lerner, Zampa, Monaco, Gozi, Santagata) decided to continue their frontal opposition to Veltroni, especially denouncing his political line and the lack of internal democracy within the party.
In this respect, the Ulivists, who are very marginalized in the PD and may even split from it, contrarily to most PD leading groups, want to continue the alliance with Italy of Values
, Antonio Di Pietro
's populist party, support some of his campaigns and are strongly fighting for "democracy within the parties", and especially within the PD.
In the 2009 Democratic Party leadership election
most Ulivists supported Pier Luigi Bersani
, although the faction did not officially support any candidate. Parisi finally voted for Dario Franceschini
instead because of his support of primaries.
On 11 November Parisi declared the experience of the Ulivists closed, but they continue to act within the party as a loose group.
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....
(PD), a political party in Italy.
The group includes both Christian left
Christian left
The Christian left is a term originating in the United States, used to describe a spectrum of left-wing Christian political and social movements which largely embraces social justice....
politicians, social democrats
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
and social liberals
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...
. They has been close supporters of 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...
and want the party to be stuck in the tradition of The Olive Tree. The group, whose long-standing leader of the group has been Arturo Parisi
Arturo Parisi
Arturo Parisi is an Italian politician, leader of the Ulivist faction of the Democratic Party and four-time member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies...
, is the bulk of the former party of Prodi, The Democrats
The Democrats
The Democrats may refer to:*Democratic Party *The Democrats *The Democrats *The Democrats...
and of the former internal opposition within Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy.
The Ulivists are keen supporters of the use of primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
s and the original idea of Democratic Party according to Prodi, a party open to all the centre-left forces or, at least, to an alliance with all them, including 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...
and the communist parties.
Before the Democratic Party
Early groups of Ulivists were formed in 1995–1996, during the campaign for the 1996 general electionItalian general election, 1996
An early national general election was held in Italy on 21 April, 1996 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic...
, by close supporters of 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...
who, as him, were not members of any party of The Olive Tree. Ulivists organized "Clubs for Prodi" and the "Citizens for The Olive Tree" association. Although most Ulivists took part to the campaign only as activists and remained grassroots supporters during 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...
, some were elected with the Italian People's Party–Democratic Union
Democratic Union (Italy)
The Democratic Union was a small social-liberal party in Italy.It was founded in 1996 by Antonio Maccanico , Willer Bordon and Giorgio Benvenuto, both members of Democratic Alliance...
.
In 1998 Prodi lost a vote of confidence and was replaced by Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...
as Prime Minister. D'Alema, along with Franco Marini
Franco Marini
Franco Marini is an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-left Democratic Party. From 2006 to 2008 he was President of the Italian Senate.-Biography:...
, then leader of the Italian People's Party, pursued a political line aimed at strengthening the parties in spite of the coalition. In opposition to this, Prodi supporters, grassroots activists, disgruntled Populars and other groups (including Movement for Democracy – The Net 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...
) organized a new "Ulivist" party, The Democrats
The Democrats
The Democrats may refer to:*Democratic Party *The Democrats *The Democrats *The Democrats...
. Prodi led the party to a good result in the 1999 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 1999 (Italy)
The European Parliament election of 1999 in Italy was the election of the delegation from Italy to the European Parliament in 1999.-References:...
(7.7%). Some months later Prodi was nominated President of the European Commission
President of the European Commission
The President of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission ― the executive branch of the :European Union ― the most powerful officeholder in the EU. The President is responsible for allocating portfolios to members of the Commission and can reshuffle or dismiss them if needed...
and Arturo Parisi
Arturo Parisi
Arturo Parisi is an Italian politician, leader of the Ulivist faction of the Democratic Party and four-time member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies...
succeeded him as party leader.
In 2000 The Democrats agreed with other centrist parties, including the Italian People's Party, to form a joint list for the 2001 general election
Italian general election, 2001
A national general election was held in Italy on May 13, 2001 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. The 14th Parliament of the Italian republic was chosen....
. The list, which gained a considerable success (14.5%), was transformed into a party in early 2002 under the name of Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. Parisi was Vice President and President of the Federal Assembly of the party. The Ulivists became soon the internal opposition to Francesco Rutelli within the party and were always strong supporters of the creation of a "Democratic Party". This actually happened with the foundation of the Democratic Party
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....
in 2007.
2007 primary election
In the 2007 primary electionDemocratic Party (Italy) leadership election, 2007
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...
for choosing the party leader, Ulivists divided themselves in two groups: the left-wing, composed of the historical members of the faction, supported 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:...
, while the moderates supported 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...
, who is now leader of a separate group, the so-called Lettiani
Lettiani
Lettiani refers to the faction around Enrico Letta, a leading member of the Democratic Party, a political party in Italy.The followers of Letta are generally centrists proposing an alliance with the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats and a liberal approach to the economy...
.
The supporters of Bindi included Arturo Parisi, Mario Barbi, Giulio Santagata, Sandra Zampa, Sandro Gozi
Sandro Gozi
Sandro Gozi is an Italian politician and Member of the Parliament of Italy. He was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber of Parliament, in 2008, as a representative of the Democratic Party....
, Franco Monaco, Marina Magistrelli, Gad Lerner
Gad Lerner
Gad Lerner is an Italian journalist and writer.-Career:A member of the Jewish community, he began his news career in 1976, writing for the ultra-leftist daily Lotta Continua, belonging to the eponymous political entity, becoming its deputy director...
, Gianfranco Morgando, Nando Della Chiesa, Vittorio Prodi
Vittorio Prodi
Vittorio Prodi is an Italian politician andMember of the European Parliamentfor North-Eastwith the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on...
, Roberto Zaccaria, Giovanni Bachelet, Franca Chiaromonte and Albertina Soliani. Bindi was supported also by Agazio Loiero and his Southern Democratic Party
Southern Democratic Party
The Southern Democratic Party was a centrist Italian political party based in Calabria.The Southern Democratic Party was founded in 2006, as a split from the regional organisation of Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. The PDM's leader was Agazio Loiero, President of Calabria Region since 2005...
, as long as by some members of The Populars
The Populars
The Populars is a loose association within the Democratic Party , a political party in Italy.The Populars are the heirs of the Italian People's Party, a christian-democratic party of the Christian left, and of the left-wing of the late Christian Democracy...
, a loose association of former members of the Italian People's Party of which both Bindi and Enrico Letta were members.
Ulivists have their strongholds in Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
, and especially in Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
and Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
. However Bindi, who obtained 12.9% of the vote in the primary election nationally, had her best result in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
(31.3%) thanks to Loiero's support.
Opposition to Veltroni
In July 2008 the core Ulivists broke with Bindi and her group (Bachelet, Morgando, Zaccaria, Magistrelli, Dalla Chiesa), who formed Democrats Really, a separate association. The reason of the separation was that Bindi was much less critical of PD leader 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...
and preferred to collaborate with him, instead of simply opposing him. On the other hand the Ulivists (Parisi, Barbi, Recchia, Lerner, Zampa, Monaco, Gozi, Santagata) decided to continue their frontal opposition to Veltroni, especially denouncing his political line and the lack of internal democracy within the party.
In this respect, the Ulivists, who are very marginalized in the PD and may even split from it, contrarily to most PD leading groups, want to continue the alliance with 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...
, 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...
's populist party, support some of his campaigns and are strongly fighting for "democracy within the parties", and especially within the PD.
In the 2009 Democratic Party leadership election
Democratic Party (Italy) leadership election, 2009
The 2009 Democratic Party leadership election was held in July–November 2009 following the resignation of Walter Veltroni in February 2009, after 16 months as secretary of the Democratic Party , the second-largest political party in Italy....
most Ulivists supported Pier Luigi Bersani
Pier Luigi Bersani
Pier Luigi Bersani is an Italian politician and the current Secretary of the Democratic Party of Italy, the main center-left political party in Italy . He was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 to 1999, Minister of Transports from 1999 to 2001, and Minister of Economic...
, although the faction did not officially support any candidate. Parisi finally voted for 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...
instead because of his support of primaries.
On 11 November Parisi declared the experience of the Ulivists closed, but they continue to act within the party as a loose group.