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New Centre-Right

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New Centre-Right (Italian: Nuovo Centrodestra, NCD) was a centre-right political party in Italy.[4] The party was launched on 15 November 2013 by a group of dissidents of The People of Freedom (PdL) who opposed the party's reformation as Forza Italia (FI), which would take place the following day.[5] The NCD leader was Angelino Alfano, who had been Silvio Berlusconi's protégé and national secretary of the PdL from 2011 to 2013.

New Centre-Right
Nuovo Centrodestra
PresidentAngelino Alfano
Founded15 November 2013
Dissolved18 March 2017
Split fromThe People of Freedom
Succeeded byPopular Alternative
HeadquartersVia Arcione 71
00186 Rome
Newspaperl'Occidentale (online)
Youth wingNCD Young People
Membership (2014)100,000[1]
IdeologyConservatism[2]
Christian democracy[3]
Political positionCentre-right
National affiliationPopular Area
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
Colours  Blue
Website
www.nuovocentrodestra.it

The NCD was a member of the European People's Party (EPP). The party participated in the Letta, Renzi and Gentiloni governments. On 18 March 2017, the NCD was dissolved into Popular Alternative (AP).

History

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Background and foundation

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The party was formed by splinters from the PdL on 15 November 2013. Its founders, lately known as "doves" in the party, were strong supporters of Enrico Letta's government and refused to join the new Forza Italia (FI), founded upon the dissolution of the PdL. All five PdL ministers, three under-secretaries, 30 senators and 27 deputies immediately joined the NCD.[6][7] Most were Christian democrats and many came from the southern regions of Calabria and Sicily.[8]

Besides Alfano (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior), leading members included Maurizio Lupi (Minister of Infrastructure and Transport), Nunzia De Girolamo (Minister of Agriculture), Beatrice Lorenzin (Minister of Health), Gaetano Quagliariello (Minister of Constitutional Reforms), Giuseppe Scopelliti (President of Calabria), Roberto Formigoni (former President of Lombardy), Renato Schifani (former President of the Senate and PdL floor leader until November 2013), Fabrizio Cicchitto (former PdL leader in the Chamber in 2008–2013) and Carlo Giovanardi (a former minister for the UDC).[9]

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In February 2014, after the fall of Letta's government, the NCD joined a new coalition government led by Matteo Renzi, who had been elected secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) in December 2013. In the new government the NCD retained three ministers: Alfano at the Interior, Lupi at Infrastructures and Transports, and Lorenzin at Health.[10] Quagliariello, who had not been confirmed as minister of Institutional Reforms, was elected national coordinator by the assembly of the parliamentary groups.[11]

The party ran in the 2014 European Parliament election on a joint list with the Union of the Centre (UdC). The list obtained 4.4% of the vote and three MEPs, two for the NCD and one for the UdC. The list did especially well in the South: 7.1% in Apulia, 11.4% in Calabria and 9.1% in Sicily.[12]

On 11 September 2014, the NCD was officially accepted into the European People's Party (EPP).[13][14]

In December 2014 the NCD formed joint parliamentary groups with the UdC in both the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. The two groups, a step toward a complete merger of the two parties,[15] were named Popular Area, where "popular" was a reference to popolarismo, the Italian variety of Christian democracy.

Internal squabbles and splits

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Following Alfano's decision to support Sergio Mattarella's bid to become President of Italy during the 2015 presidential election (Matteralla was effectively elected on 31 January), the NCD experienced an internal crisis. Most notably, Barbara Saltamartini and Maurizio Sacconi resigned from party's spokesperson and leader in the Senate, respectively.[16][17][18] Schifani was unanimously elected to succeed to Sacconi,[19] while Saltamartini left the party altogether.[20] In March Lupi was hit by a minor corruption scandal and resigned from minister of Infrastructures and Transports.[21][22] As result, the party was left with only two ministers. In April De Girolamo, a frequent critic of the government since Mattarella's election, was replaced as leader in the Chamber by Lupi.[23][24] During the summer, one deputy (De Girolamo,[25][26] who had been a founder of The Republicans)[27][28] and one MEP (Massimiliano Salini)[29] re-joined FI.

A bigger blow to Alfano came in October, when Quaglieriello resigned from coordinator and threatened to lead a splinter group out of the party if the NCD were to continue its support to Renzi.[30][31] In the following weeks, Quaglieriello deserted a meeting of the party's national board[32] and made clear he was leaving the party. Two deputies (Vincenso Piso[33][34] and Eugenia Roccella)[33] and two colleagues of Quaglieriello (Andrea Augello[34][35] and Giovanardi)[36][37] in the Senate followed suit. These, along with a fourth senator (Luigi Compagna, a former Liberal) finally launched Identity and Action (IDEA).[38][39]

In February 2016, during a government reshuffle, NCD's Enrico Costa was appointed minister of Regional Affairs and Autonomies.[40] Shortly afterwards, it was announced by Lorenzin that the party would soon change its name, dropping the word "right", or take part to the formation of an entirely new party.[41][42]

After NCD's dismal results in the 2016 local elections, several MPs, mainly senators, started weighing on leaving the party.[43][44] In July 2016 Schifani, who criticised the party's permanence in the government and aimed at re-unifying the Italian fractured centre-right, stepped down from leader in the Senate[45][46] and was replaced by Laura Bianconi, a close ally of Alfano.[47] A couple of weeks later, Schifani left the party, along with another senator, and returned to FI.[48]

Road to the new party

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In the run-up of the 2016 constitutional referendum the UdC campaigned for the "no", while the NCD was among the keenest supporters of the "yes". After the referendum, which saw a huge defeat by the "no" side, the UdC left AP altogether, but some splinters named Centrists for Italy, notably including Pier Ferdinando Casini and minister Gian Luca Galletti, stayed with AP.[49][50][51] The referendum's result and the demise of Renzi Cabinet revived NCD's internal tensions too, that led to splits (one deputy left in December,[50][52] one senator in February).[53][54] In the following government led by Democrat Paolo Gentiloni, Alfano was sworn in as minister of Foreign Affairs, while Lorenzin, Galletti (CpI) and Costa were confirmed as ministers of Health, the Environment and Regional Affairs, respectively.

On 18 March 2017 the party was dissolved in order to make way for Popular Alternative (AP), which consisted mostly of the former NCD.

Ideology and factions

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Despite being home to some social democrats (Reformism and Freedom, We Reformers), the party was mainly a Christian-democratic party with a social-conservative streak. According to Corriere della Sera, differently from FI, NCD's stances on the "so-called ethical issues" (abortion, LGBT rights, etc.) were "closer to those of the European traditionalist right" and "thus not very compatible with those of the EPP's parties in big countries such as Germany".[55] However, the party voted in favor of civil unions, whereas most FI members voted against it.[56] The NCD was also criticised by some Catholic associations for not opposing enough the teaching of gender studies in schools.[57] In addition, the NCD, as part of centre-left governments, proved more progressive than FI on the management of illegal immigration, which was negatively evaluated by Berlusconi's party.[58] Precisely for these and other reasons, several NCD politicians left the party to either form Identity and Action (IdeA) led by Gaetano Quagliariello or re-joined FI (e.g. Nunzia De Girolamo, Renato Schifani and Massimiliano Salini),[59] in both cases re-aligning with the FI-led centre-right coalition.[60]

Former PdL-affiliated factions or think tanks which joined the NCD included:

In January 2014 three bigwigs of the party who later left the party (Quagliariello, Eugenia Roccella and Maurizio Sacconi) published a book titled Moderati. Per un nuovo umanesimo politico ("Moderates: For a new political humanism"), a sort of manifesto of the party. The book, whose key words are "person", "family", "enterprise" and "tradition", emphasises institutional reforms (including direct election of the President and federalism), ethical issues (marriage, opposition to abortion, limits to assisted reproductive technology, etc.) and the need for a smaller state ("less public law, more private rights").[66][67][68] According to Benedetto Ippolito, a university professor of history of philosophy, while NCD members insist that their party is "moderate", it is in fact "conservative" and "anti-progressive", albeit not "berlusconiano".[2]

In February 2014 the NCD unveiled a platform on labour, including a universal protection system safety net for the unemployed, a tax relief for entrepreneurs hiring the young, the reduction of the tax wedge on labour and the overcoming of article 18 of the "Statute of Workers", making easier for entrepreneurs to hire and fire employees.[69]

Electoral results

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European Parliament

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European Parliament
Election year Votes % Seats +/– Leader
2014 1,202,350 (5th) 4.38[a]
2 / 73
–
Angelino Alfano
  1. ^ Joint list with Union of the Centre.

Regional Councils

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Region Election year Votes % Seats
Abruzzo 2014[a] 40,219 (4th) 5.9
1 / 31
Apulia 2015[b] 101,817 (7th) 6.0
4 / 51
Calabria 2014 47,574 (6th) 6.1
3 / 30
Campania 2015 133,753 (5th) 5.9
1 / 51
Emilia-Romagna 2014[a] 31,635 (7th) 2.6
0 / 50
Liguria 2015[c] 9,269 (9th) 1.7
1 / 31
Marche 2015[d] 21,049 (7th) 4.0
1 / 31
Piedmont 2014[a] 49,059 (7th) 2.5
0 / 50
Tuscany 2015[c] 15,808 (8th) 1.2
0 / 41
Umbria 2015[a] 9,285 (9th) 2.6
0 / 20
Veneto 2015[c] 37.937 (11th) 2.0
1 / 51
  1. ^ a b c d Joint list with Union of the Centre.
  2. ^ Joint list of Francesco Schittulli's movement (Popular Area).
  3. ^ a b c Joint list with Union of the Centre (Popular Area).
  4. ^ Joint list with Marche 2020 (Popular Area).

Leadership

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Symbols

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  •  
    Official logo
  •  
    Electoral logo

References

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  2. ^ a b "Un paio di consigli spassionati per il Nuovo Centrodestra di Alfano". Formiche. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  3. ^ "Nuovo Centrodestra o vecchia Democrazia Cristiana?". Panorama (in Italian). 17 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Silvio Berlusconi's heir Angelino Alfano forms new party in Italy". The Independent. Associated Press. 15 November 2013. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  5. ^ Nicolas Bonnet (2015). "Silvo's Party". In Agnès Alexandre-Collier; François Vergniolle De Chantal (eds.). Leadership and Uncertainty Management in Politics: Leaders, Followers and Constraints in Western Democracies. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 105–106. ISBN 978-1-137-43924-6.
  6. ^ "Alfano lancia il Nuovo centrodestra: "No a Fi per me scelta dolorosa. No a decadenza Berlusconi"", Il Messaggero (in Italian), 16 November 2013, retrieved 16 November 2013
  7. ^ Tom Lansford (2015). Political Handbook of the World 2015. SAGE Publications. p. 3067. ISBN 978-1-4833-7155-9.
  8. ^ Francesco Bei (16 November 2013), "Il 'Nuovo centrodestra', gruppi in crescita e logo tricolore", la Repubblica (in Italian), retrieved 18 November 2013
  9. ^ Kevin Lees (18 November 2013). "What the Alfano-Berlusconi split means for Italian politics". Suffragio. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  10. ^ "I ministri giurano, il governo è in carica Renzi: "Ce la faremo". Ma Letta lo gela". La Stampa. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  11. ^ "Ncd, Quagliariello coordinatore". rainews. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  12. ^ "::: Ministero dell'Interno ::: Archivio Storico delle Elezioni - Europee del 25 Maggio 2014". Elezionistorico.interno.it. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  13. ^ "EPP concerned over actions of radical Islamic militant groups and over latest political developments in Romania; welcomes five new member parties - EPP". Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  14. ^ "Ncd: Quagliariello, accolti con voto unanime in famiglia Ppe". ANSA.it. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  15. ^ "Ncd e Udc verso la fusione, la "start-up dei moderati" per incidere sul voto del Colle". Data 24 News. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  16. ^ "Ncd nel caos. E Sacconi si dimette". Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Quirinale/ Terremoto nell'Ncd, Saltamartini e Sacconi si dimettono". Affaritaliani.it. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  18. ^ Federico Morbegno (31 January 2015). "Terremoto nel Ncd: si dimettono Sacconi e Saltamartini". Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  19. ^ "Ncd, Schifani nuovo capogruppo al Senato". Affaritaliani.it. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
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  21. ^ "Lupi si dimette da ministro: "Lascio a testa alta". Per la successione le ipotesi sono Delrio e Lotti". La Stampa. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  22. ^ "Maurizio Lupi si dimette". Panorama. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  23. ^ "Lupi nuovo capogruppo di Area Popolare alla Camera, De Girolamo si dimette in polemica". La Stampa. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
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  25. ^ Tommaso Labate (24 August 2015). "De Girolamo dà l'addio a Ncd". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  26. ^ Alberto Di Majo (26 August 2015). "De Girolamo: "Torno in Forza Italia E non ho paura del cerchio magico" - Politica - iltempo". Il Tempo. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
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  29. ^ "Ncd: eurodeputato Salini lascia per andare in Fi - Altre news - ANSA Europa". ANSA.it. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  30. ^ Monica Guerzoni (14 October 2015). "Quagliariello-Ncd, è rotturaAlfano: «Io non trattengo nessuno". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  31. ^ Alessandro De Angelis (14 October 2015). "Gaetano Quagliariello si dimette da coordinatore Ncd e scrive ad Alfano: "Se non lasci Renzi, formo gruppo al Senato"". Huffingtonpost.it. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  32. ^ "Quagliariello diserta la direzione Ncd". Il Giornale (in Italian). 5 November 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  33. ^ a b "Alfano ne perde altri due". Il Giornale (in Italian). 23 November 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
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  35. ^ "Alfano perde un altro pezzo. Andrea Augello lascia Ncd. Direzione Fitto? - Secolo d'Italia". Secoloditalia.it. 23 February 1976. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  36. ^ "Giovanardi (e i suoi) lasciano Ncd: «Alfano ha fallito, governo arrogante sulle nozze gay". Corriere della Sera. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
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  40. ^ "Governo, via al rimpasto: 13 nomi nuovi. Torna anche il contestato Gentile". la Repubblica. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
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  42. ^ ""Via 'destra' dal simbolo Ncd". Finalmente Alfano se ne è accorto". Il Giornale (in Italian). 18 February 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  43. ^ "Dopo il voto Alfano lancia polo moderato. Ma in Ap è scontro". Askanews.it. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  44. ^ "Fronda contro Alfano: cinque Ncd pronti all'addio - Politica - iltempo". Il Tempo. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  45. ^ "Area Popolare, Schifani si dimette da capogruppo al Senato. "Udc si sfila da area governo: "Noi per no al referendum" - Il Fatto Quotidiano". Il Fatto Quotidiano. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
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  57. ^ "Gender a Scuola: Nella Riforma Il Trucco C'e' Ma non Si Vede". 27 June 2015.
  58. ^ "Migranti, Berlusconi: "Un accordo con la Libia è l'unica soluzione"". 27 July 2017.
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  69. ^ "Ncd, il Piano Sacconi sul lavoro in dieci punti". Il Sole 24 ORE. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  70. ^ Schifani's full title was "President of the Promoting Committee".
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