Democratic Centre (Italy)

Democratic Centre Centro Democratico
President	Bruno Tabacci
Founded	28 December 2012
Split from	Alliance for Italy, Italy of Values
Ideology	Centrism[1]
Political position	Centre
National affiliation	Italy. Common Good (2013) with PD (2013–present) European Choice (2014) For Italy (2014–2015) with Demo.S (2014–present)
Colours	Orange
Chamber of Deputies	3 / 630
Senate	0 / 315
European Parliament	0 / 73
Website
www.ilcentrodemocratico.it
Politics of Italy Political parties Elections

The Democratic Centre (Italian: Centro Democratico, CD), officially Democratic Centre – Rights and Freedom (Centro Democratico – Diritti e Libertà), is a centrist^[1] political party in Italy.

History

The party, whose leader is Bruno Tabacci, was launched on 28 December 2012 as an electoral list, becoming a member of the centre-left coalition Italy. Common Good, which was formed to contest the 2013 Italian general election.^[2]

The CD originally included large chunks of Alliance for Italy (ApI), led by Francesco Rutelli and Tabacci, and Rights and Freedom (DL), a breakaway group from Italy of Values (IdV) led by Massimo Donadi.^[3][4] Regarding ApI, most leading members and incumbent MPs of the party joined the CD,^[5][6] while Rutelli chose not to be a candidate.^[7]

In 2013 general election the CD gained 0.5% of the vote both for the Chamber, returning six deputies (Franco Bruno, Roberto Capelli, Anielo Formisano, Carmelo Lo Monte, Pino Pisicchio and Bruno Tabacci),^[8] and the Senate.^[9] In the event, the party was stronger in Basilicata (4.4%),^[10] Calabria (2.0%),^[11] and Apulia (1.5%).^[12]

In the 2013 Basilicata regional election the CD, in alliance with the United Populars,^[13] won 5.0% of the vote^[13] and ex-IdV Nicola Benedetto^[14] was returned to the Regional Council.^[15]

In March 2014 it was announced that the CD would contest the 2014 European Parliament election within European Choice (SE), an electoral list in support of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) comprising Civic Choice, Act to Stop the Decline and the Italian Liberal Party. The list received just 0.7% of the vote, and failed to return any MEPs.

In June 2014 Pisicchio, until then vice president of the party, left over disagreements with Tabacci.^[16][17][18] In October also the other vice president of the party, Formisano, left the CD and returned to IdV.^[19] Between 2013 and 2015 other two of the party's initial six deputies quit (Bruno remained loyal to ApI, while Lo Monte ended up in the Italian Socialist Party), leaving the CD with only two deputies, Tabacci and Capelli.

In 2014 the party formed, in the Chamber, a joint group with Solidary Democracy (Demo.S),^[20] an alike outfit formed by splinters from Civic Choice and, later, the Populars for Italy, under the leadership of Andrea Olivero and Lorenzo Dellai.^[21] At the local level, the CD formed various centrist alliances with Demo.S,^[22][23] Civic Choice,^[24][25] the Union of the Centre^[26][27] and/or Reality Italy,^[28] but only two CD councillors were elected in the 2014 and 2015 regional elections, both in Campania.

In late 2015 Domenico Rossi, a deputy and undersecretary who had previously been a member of Civic Choice and the Populars for Italy, joined the party.

Electoral results

Italian Parliament

European Parliament

Leadership

• President: Bruno Tabacci (2013–present)
• Vice President: Pino Pisicchio (2013–2014), Aniello Formisano (2013–2014), Angelo Sanza (2015–present), Elena Torri (2015–present)
• Head of Political Bureau: Angelo Sanza (2013–2015), Carlo Romano (2015–present)
• Coordinator: Pino Bicchielli (2013–2015), Maurizio Bertucci (2015), Carlo Romano (2015–present)
• Spokesperson: Vilma Mazzocco (2013)

References

External links

• Democratic Centre

Political parties in Italy
Major	Democratic Party Five Star Movement
Medium	Forza Italia Lega Nord–Us with Salvini Popular Area (New Centre-Right–Centrists for Italy) Italian Left (Left Ecology Freedom–Future to the Left)
Minor	Brothers of Italy Green Italy–Federation of the Greens Italy of Values Liberal Popular Alliance–Civic Choice Conservatives and Reformists Democrazia Solidale Possible–Free Alternative Identity and Action Act! Italian Socialist Party Union of the Centre Democratic Centre Movement for the Autonomies Great South Communist Refoundation Party Alliance for Italy New Italian Socialist Party Popular Construction Populars for Italy X Movement The Right Italian Communist Party The Network 2018
Regional	Aosta Valley Valdostan Union Progressive Valdostan Union Autonomy Liberty Participation Ecology Edelweiss For Our Valley Piedmont Lega Nord Piemont Moderates Lombardy Lega Lombarda South Tyrol South Tyrolean People's Party Die Freiheitlichen Greens South Tyrolean Freedom Trentino Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party Union for Trentino Trentino Project Lega Nord Trentino Trentino Civic List Veneto Liga Veneta Tosi List for Veneto We Independent Veneto Venetian Independence Friuli-Venezia Giulia Responsible Autonomy Lega Nord FVG Civic Freedom Emilia-Romagna Lega Nord Emilia Lega Nord Romagna Liguria Lega Nord Liguria Tuscany Lega Nord Toscana Marche Lega Nord Marche Marche 2020 Umbria Lega Nord Umbria Campania We the South Basilicata Reality Italy Calabria The DemoKRats Autonomy and Rights Sicily Pact of Democrats for Reforms Party of Sicilians The Megaphone Democratic Sicily Centrists for Sicily Sardinia Sardinian Reformers Sardinian Action Party United Project Republic of Sardinia Party of Sardinians Red Moors Sardinian Democratic Union Christian Popular Union
Abroad	South America Associative Movement Italians Abroad South American Union Italian Emigrants
Parliament	Chamber and Senate Mixed Group Popular Area Chamber Civics and Innovators Senate For the Autonomies Great Autonomies and Freedom
Politics of Italy List of political parties in Italy Historical parties