Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T09:43:08.610Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Amici fragili: the alliance between the Lega Nord and the Popolo della Libertà as seen by their representatives and members

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2016

Daniele Albertazzi
Daniele Albertazzi*
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
*
∗Email: d.albertazzi@bham.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The alliance between the Lega Nord (LN) and Forza Italia (FI), later Popolo della Libertà (PDL), continued, uninterrupted, for over a decade, until November 2011. The problems that beset it under the fourth Berlusconi government are known; however, there is a lack of academic analysis of how such an alliance was seen and experienced by the people who made up the fabric of its constituent organisations. Based on interviews with institutional representatives and members from both parties, this article addresses the question of how people within them saw their ally and its leaders, and what they thought of the centre-right alliance under the fourth Berlusconi government. The analysis reveals that, although the LN's rhetoric, style and uncompromising stances on policy were the target of much criticism within the PDL, the latter nonetheless showed much respect for its ally, the way it was led, its ability to communicate effectively and its rootedness at the local level. However, LN members and representatives were, in turn, extremely critical of the PDL and its leader, and very much conceived of the alliance as a ‘marriage of convenience’. This notwithstanding, it is reasonable to expect that the PDL and the LN may find ways to rebuild their alliance in the future, if indeed the PDL continues to exist in its present form, due to their fundamental compatibility at the ideological level and their understanding of each other's priorities.

Keywords

Popolo della LibertàLega Nordparty membersparty representativescoalition government
Type
Articles
Information
Modern Italy , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , February 2013 , pp. 1 - 18
Copyright
Copyright © Association for the study of Modern Italy 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Albertazzi, D. 2009. “Reconciling ‘Voice’ and ‘Exit’: Swiss and Italian Populists in Power.” Politics 29(1):1–10.Google Scholar
Albertazzi, D., and McDonnell, D. 2005. “The Lega Nord in the Second Berlusconi Government: In a League of its Own.” West European Politics 28(4):952–72.Google Scholar
Albertazzi, D., and McDonnell, D., eds. 2008. Twenty-first Century Populism: The Spectre of Western European Democracy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Albertazzi, D., and McDonnell, D. 2009. “The Parties of the Centre Right: Many Oppositions, One Leader.” In The Italian Election 2008, edited by Newell, J., 102–17. London: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Albertazzi, D., and McDonnell, D. 2010a. “The Lega Nord Back in Government.” West European Politics 33(6):1318–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Albertazzi, D., and McDonnell, D. 2010b. “Personal Parties and Failed Fusions: The Case of the PDL.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Società Italiana di Scienza Politca (SISP), Venice, Italy, September 16–18.Google Scholar
Albertazzi, D., and McDonnell, D. Forthcoming. Populists in Power. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Albertazzi, D., Newell, J., and McDonnell, D. 2011. “Di lotta e di governo: the Lega Nord and Rifondazione Comunista in Office.” Party Politics 17(4):471–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Avanza, M. 2010. “The Northern League and its ‘Innocuous’ Xenophobia.” In Italy Today – The Sick Man of Europe, edited by Mammone, A. and Veltri, G., 131–42. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Biorcio, R. 1991. “La Lega come attore politico: dal federalismo al populismo regionalista.” In La Lega Lombarda, edited by Mannheimer, R., 34–82. Milan: Feltrinelli.Google Scholar
Bordignon, F., and Porcellato, N. 2008. “Leghismo, forzismo e forza leghismo – Equilibri territoriali del voto di centrodestra nei comuni del Nord.” Accessed February 1, 2009. http://www.demos.it/a00115.php Google Scholar
Cepernich, C. 2009. “The Changing Face of the Media: A Catalogue of Anomalies.” In Resisting the Tide: Cultures of Opposition During the Berlusconi Years, edited by Albertazzi, D., et al., 32–45. New York: Continuum.Google Scholar
Chiaramonte, A. 2009. “Italian Voters: Berlusconi's Victory and the ‘New’ Italian Party System.” In The Italian Election 2008, edited by Newell, J., 193–210. Basingstoke: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Dematteo, L. 2011. L'idiota in Politica. Antropologia della Lega Nord. Milan: Feltrinelli.Google Scholar
Diamanti, I. 2011. “C'era una volta il Senatur.” La Repubblica, August 20.Google Scholar
Goodwin, M. 2010. “Activism in Contemporary Extreme Right Parties: The Case of the British National Party (BNP).” Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties 20(1):31–54.Google Scholar
Ignazi, P., Bardi, L., and Massari, O. 2010. “Party Organisational Change in Italy (1991–2006).” Modern Italy 15(2):197–216.Google Scholar
Cattaneo, Istituto. 2008. “Elezioni 2008 – Flussi elettorali in 15 Città.” Accessed February 1 2009. http://www.cattaneo.org/pubblicazioni/analisi/pdf/Analisi%20Cattaneo%20-%20Flussi%20elettorali%202008%20in%2015%20città%20(25%20giugno%202008).pdf Google Scholar
Istituto Cattaneo. 2010. “Elezioni regionali 2010. Chi ha vinto, chi ha perso, di quanto e dove?”. Accessed May 15, 2010. http://www.cattaneo.org Google Scholar
Cattaneo, Istituto. 2011. “Voto comunale 2011 – Chi ha vinto, chi ha perso e dove.” Press release, May 17. Accessed June 1, 2011. http://www.cattaneo.org Google Scholar
Klandermans, B., and Mayer, N. eds. 2006. Extreme Right Activists in Europe: Through the Magnifying Glass. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
La Repubblica online. 2011, August 22. “Sondaggi, crolla il centrodestra. ‘Il Pdl non oltre il 25 per cento’.” Accessed August 22, 2011. http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2011/08/22/news/sondaggio_swg-20733823/index.html?ref=search Google Scholar
Linden, A., and Klandermans, B. 2007. “Revolutionaries, Wanderers, Converts, and Compliants. Life Histories of Extreme Right Activists.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 36(2):184–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lupia, A., and Strøm, K. 2008. “Bargaining, Transaction Costs, and Coalition Governance.” In Cabinets and Coalition Bargaining: The Democratic Life Cycle in Western Europe, edited by Strøm, K., Müller, W. C., and Bergman, T., 51–84. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Massetti, E. 2009. “The Sunrise of the Third Republic? The Evolution of the Italian Party-system after the 2008 General Election and the Prospects for Constitutional Reform.” Modern Italy 14(4):485–98.Google Scholar
Mudde, C. 2007. Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Norris, P. 2005. Radical Right: Voters and Parties in the Electoral Market. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pasqua, M. 2010a. “Giovani padani in rivolta su internet: ‘Silvio indecente, la Lega lo lasci’.” Accessed November 5, 2010. http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2010/11/05/news/padani_berlusconi-8764246/ Google Scholar
Pasqua, M. 2010b. “Chiude il forum dei Giovani padani. Stop agli sfoghi anti-Silvio.” Accessed November 8, 2010. http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2010/11/08/news/chiude_il_forum_dei_giovani_padani_stop_agli_sfoghi_anti-silvio-8880654 Google Scholar
Russo, F., and Verzichelli, L. 2009. “A Different Legislature? The Parliamentary Scene Following the 2008 Elections.” In The Italian Election 2008, edited by Newell, J., 211–27. Basingstoke: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Tarchi, M. 2008. “Italy: A Country of Many Populisms.” In Twenty-First Century Populism: The Spectre of Western European Democracy, edited by Albertazzi, D. and McDonnell, D., 84–99. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar