Liberal Reformers

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Liberal Reformers
President Benedetto Della Vedova
Coordinator Giuseppe Calderisi
Founded 6 October 2005
Headquarters unknown
Newspaper none
Membership  unknown
Ideology Libertarianism, Classical liberalism
Coalition People of Freedom
International none
European party none
European Parliament Group currently no MEPs
Website http://www.riformatoriliberali.it

Liberal Reformers (Riformatori Liberali, RL) is a minor Italian libertarian political party.

Its leader is Benedetto Della Vedova, former President of Italian Radicals and MEP, currently MP for Forza Italia.

Contents

[edit] History

RL was founded in 2005 by a split from Italian Radicals of those radicals that were opposed to the formation of the Rose in the Fist together with the Italian Democratic Socialists, and instead supported an alliance with the House of Freedoms. The party unites former Radicals, as many former members of the Italian Liberal Party and of Forza Italia.

After 2006 general election (in which Della Vedova was elected MP on Forza Italia's list), the explicit aim of the grouping is to unite the centre-right in a single party and to strengthen liberal and secular positions in it. Liberal Reformers act both as a faction of Forza Italia both as a unifying agent of centre-right liberals.

In October 2006, Liberal Reformers launched a manifesto called "Give a libertarian soul to the centre-right" together with famous journalists (Vittorio Feltri, Arturo Diaconale, Filippo Facci and Giordano Bruno Guerri), academics and politicians from both Forza Italia and National Alliance.[1]

On 1 November Della Vedova called on the Italian Radicals to join the centre-right in the next general election.[2][3] Some days earlier, Della Vedova had wished that he, Marco Pannella, Emma Bonino and Daniele Capezzone will found themselves together again in the centre-right and also announced that RL would certainly join the Freedom Party if it is founded.[4] On 7 November, when Capezzone finally left the Radicals and the centre-left, Della Vedova opened the doors of Forza Italia and the centre-right for him.[5]

As of November 2007, although remaining closely linked with Forza Italia and its leader Silvio Berlusconi, RL are engaged in a collaboration with other liberal groups, including the Italian Republican Party, the Italian Liberal Party and Decide!, that may lead to the formation of a new liberal party.

[edit] Ideology

Liberal Reformers have a libertarian platform, including a strong support for free market, privatizations, deregulation, lower taxes and competition in the health care and in the education systems. They also propose an American-styled reform of Italian political system (their slogan is "America, Market, Individual"), including presidentialism, competitive federalism and first-past-the-post. Despite being a small party, they are also keen supporters of a two-party system.

In foreign policy they are staunchly pro-American and very supportive of human rights all over the world. Internationally Liberal Reformers, alongside with the Italian Radicals, are members of the Transnational Radical Party, a NGO working at the UN level.

The party has a socially liberal stance on abortion and stem-cell research, despite not stressing too much the point. The party supports also civil unions for gay couples, but, differently from other liberal parties, opposes civil unions for opposite-sex couples and gay marriage. Della Vedova explain this position arguing that there is no need of regulation for free cohabitation of opposite-sex couples and, instead, he propose swift procedures for divorce, which are very lengthy in Italy.

Liberal Reformers are very keen on the return of Italy to the use of nuclear energy (which was prohibited by a referendum proposed by the Radical Party in 1987) and are also the party of the centre-right which is more involved in green politics. They contest the hegemony of the left-wing on these issues and proposed a new liberal-green parth for the centre-right. Explicitly inspired by the "Vote blue, go green" campaign of the British Conservative Party led by David Cameron, they recently launched their own campaign on the subject, named "+ Blue, + Green. A competition of ideas. A liberal policy on the environment for the program of the centre-right".[6]

[edit] Leadership

  • President: Benedetto Della Vedova (2005–...)
  • Spokesman: Marco Taradash (2005–...)
  • Coordinator: Giuseppe Calderisi (2005–...)
  • Secretary: Carmelo Palma (2005–...)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Manifesto "Give a libertarian soul to the centre-right"
  2. ^ Open letter from Benedetto Della Vedova to the Italian Radicals
  3. ^ Statement of Benedetto Della Vedova on the Italian Radicals' congress
  4. ^ Interview with Benedetto Della Vedova on political alliances
  5. ^ Appeal of Benedetto Della Vedova to Daniele Capezzone
  6. ^ http://www.riformatoriliberali.it/Multimedia/Annuncio_libero_go_green.pdf

[edit] External links


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