Unique Italy

Unique Italy
Italia Unica
PresidentCorrado Passera
CoordinatorLelio Alfonso
Founded23 February 2014
Dissolved6 September 2016
HeadquartersVia di S. Teresa, 23,
00198 Rome
IdeologyLiberalism
Political positionCentre-right
Website
www.italiaunica.it

Unique Italy (Italia Unica, IU; unico/a translates both to "unique" and "united") was a centre-right political party in Italy.

Its leader was Corrado Passera, a former manager (Mondadori, Espresso, Olivetti, Poste), banker (Intesa/Intesa Sanpaolo), supporter of the centre-left Olive Tree coalition and minister of Economic Development in Monti Cabinet (2011–2013).[1]

History

The party was launched during two conventions in February[2] and June 2014,[3][4] respectively. Passera aimed at forming a "liberal, popular and reform" alternative to Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) and re-unifying the centre-right, which was divided at the time between several contentious parties and leaders.[5]

At its founding congress in January 2015,[6] the party unveiled its leadership. Led by Passera, president, and Lelio Alfonso (former spokesperson of Future Italy, IF and Civic Choice, SC), national coordinator, the party's national board notably included Diego Bottacin (former regional councillor in Veneto for Democracy is Freedom–DL, the PD and Toward North–VN), Fabio Evangelisti (a former MP for the Democrats of the Left–DS and Italy of Values–IdV), Silvana Mura (former treasurer and MP of IdV), Renzo Tondo (a former Socialist who served as President of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and MP for Forza Italia–FI and The People of Freedom–PdL) and Santo Versace (another former Socialist who was MP for the PdL).[7][8]

Pino Bicchielli (former member of the national board of Alliance for Italy–ApI and former coordinator of Democratic Centre–CD) and Marco Calgaro (a former MP of DL and the Union of the Centre–UdC) joined IU by September.[9][10] Among the others who joined later, it is worth mentioning Maria Ida Germontani (a former member of Lega Nord–LN and senator of National Alliance–AN).[11]

Since November 2015 IU was represented by Guglielmo Vaccaro, elected with the PD and formerly a close affiliate of Enrico Letta, in the Chamber of Deputies and by Gaetano Quagliariello, elected with the PdL, passed through the New Centre-Right (NCD) and now leader of Identity and Action (IdeA), which allowed membership to other parties through the so-called "double membership", in the Senate. Vaccaro also hinted that IU and IdeA would soon merge into a single party.[12][13][14][15]

Passera was supposed to run for mayor in the 2016 municipal election in Milan, but eventually decided to endorse Stefano Parisi, the joint centre-right candidate supported by the LN, FI, the NCD and the UdC.[16] Consequently, the IU candidates were included in the larger "Parisi List for a Unique Milano".[17]

In September 2016 the party, which had failed to take roots in the country, was dissolved.[18][19]

Leadership

References

  1. ^ QuestIT s.r.l. "Archivio Corriere della Sera". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  2. ^ "Presentazione del progetto politico di Corrado Passera "Italia Unica" (23.02.2014)" (in Italian). Radioradicale.it. 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  3. ^ "Una nuova giornata unica. Per costruire insieme un paese migliore (14.06.2014)" (in Italian). Radioradicale.it. 2014-06-14. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  4. ^ QuestIT s.r.l. "Archivio Corriere della Sera". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  5. ^ "Passera: "Renzi ha comprato i voti. Rifaccio il centrodestra" - Personaggi - Libero Quotidiano". Liberoquotidiano.it. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  6. ^ QuestIT s.r.l. "Archivio Corriere della Sera". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  7. ^ "Direzione Nazionale - Italia Unica". 2015-02-04. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved 2016-05-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ QuestIT s.r.l. "Archivio Corriere della Sera". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  9. ^ antonellap. "Bicchielli torna in Campania: guiderà Italia Unica di Passera | ilCasertano". Ilcasertano.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  10. ^ "Italia Unica, presentati a Pomezia i primi referenti regionali - Italia Unica". Italiaunica.it. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  11. ^ "Direzione Nazionale - Italia Unica". Italiaunica.it. 1963-01-13. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  12. ^ "Italia Unica in Parlamento - Italia Unica". Italiaunica.it. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  13. ^ Altri articoli dalla categoria (2015-11-30). "Italia Unica entra in Parlamento con Quagliariello e Vaccaro". Repubblica.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  14. ^ 2 dicembre 2015 (2015-12-02). "Italia Unica, Passera: entriamo in Parlamento. Speaker e "intesa" con Quagliariello". Il Sole 24 ORE. Retrieved 2016-05-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Redazione, L'Huffington Post (2 December 2015). "Italia Unica, Corrado Passera arruola l'ex pd Guglielmo Vaccaro alla Camera. Al Senato "intesa" con Gaetano Quagliariello". Huffingtonpost.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  16. ^ "Elezioni a Milano, Passera si ritira e sostiene Parisi". 27 April 2016.
  17. ^ "Elezioni Comunali, presentata "Lista civica Parisi. Per una Milano Unica" - Milano - Il Giorno". Archived from the original on 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  18. ^ "Italia Unica si ferma. Non le sue idee - Italia Unica". www.italiaunica.it. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Italia Unica, Corrado Passera "chiude" il suo partito: "Non siamo riusciti a convincere" - Il Fatto Quotidiano". 7 September 2016.