Valdostan Union

Valdostan Union Union Valdôtaine
President	Ennio Pastoret
Founded	13 September 1945
Headquarters	29, avenue des maquisards 11100 Aosta
Newspaper	Le Peuple Valdôtain
Membership	unknown
Ideology	Regionalism[1] Centrism[1] French-speaking minority politics[1]
National affiliation	Vallée d'Aoste
International affiliation	none
European affiliation	none
European Parliament group	no MEPs
Chamber of Deputies	0 / 630
Senate	1 / 315
European Parliament	0 / 73
Council of the Valley	13 / 35
Regional Government	1 / 20
Website
http://www.unionvaldotaine.org
Politics of Aosta Valley Political parties Elections

The Valdostan Union^[2][3] or Valdostian Union^[4][5] (French: Union Valdôtaine, UV) is a regionalist^[6] and centrist political party in Aosta Valley, Italy. Its leaders are Ennio Pastoret, party president, and Augusto Rollandin, President of the Region.

UV has been steadily represented in the Italian Parliament since 1976 and, due to the disappearance of Christian Democracy in the early 1990s, it has become the catch-all party of the Region, similarly to the South Tyrolean People's Party in South Tyrol. Indeed the party steadily increased its share of vote from the 11.5% of 1973 to the 47.2% of 2003. UV has led the regional government since 1974 (with the exception of only three years).

History

Early years

The party was founded on 3 September 1945. Originally a close ally of Christian Democracy, with which it shared government between 1946 and 1954, it soon distanced itself from that party, while approaching and strengthening its ties with left-wing parties.

After five years of opposition, in 1959 UV won the regional election in coalition with the Italian Communist Party (PCI) and the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) with 51.6% against the 48.6% of a coalition composed by the Christian Democracy (DC), the Italian Liberal Party (PLI), the Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI) and the Italian Republican Party (PRI). The three-party coalition composed of UV, PCI and PSI governed until 1966, when the Socialists decided to switch sides and to enter in coalition with DC, as they had done at the national level three years before.

At that point UV suffered a split by its conservative faction, which established the Valdostan Rally (RV), in order to support the coalition led by Christian Democrat Cesare Bondaz. In the 1968 regional election UV won only 16.7% of the vote (RV 5.4%), while in 1973, after the split of the social-democratic faction, the Progressive Valdostan Union (UPV), UV stopped at 11.5%, damaged both by the result of UPV (6.7%) and RV (1.6%), as well as by the success of the Popular Democrats (22.4%), born by the split from DC of the internal left.

Resurgence

UV returned in government in 1974 at the head of a regionalist coalition led by Mario Andrione composed also of UPV and RV, which was enlarged in 1975 to DC and PSI. In 1978, after a regional election in which UV had become the largest party in the Region with 24.7%, DP, PSDI and PRI replaced PSI as coalition partners of UV, DC, UPV and RV.

In 1984 Andrione was replaced by Augusto Rollandin at the head of the government, which was composed by UV, DC, DP, UPV and PRI from 1983 to 1988. In the 1980s UV strengthened its role as largest party in the Region: 27.1% in 1983 and 34.2% in 1988. After the 1988 election, Rollandin governed at the head of a coalition composed of UV, DC, PSI, PRI and the Autonomists Democrats Progressives (ADP), born by the merger of DP and UVP.

After having been excluded from government for two years and from the leadership of the Region for three years, UV was back in government in 1993, at the head of a centre-left coalition led by Dino Viérin and composed of UV, the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), the Greens, ADP, PSI and PRI. The coalition was continued in 1998–2006 by of UV and the Democrats of the Left (DS).

Despite its close ties with the parties of the centre-left, UV contested the 2006 general election in competition with The Union (rallied in the Autonomy Liberty Democracy list), as part of the regionalist coalition named Aosta Valley List, causing the split of the Valdostan Renewal (RV), but it lost and since then the party was no more represented in the Italian Parliament. This was however a turning point in regional politics since UV dismissed DS as its coalition partner and formed a regionalist three-party coalition with Edelweiss Aosta Valley (SA) and the Autonomist Federation (FA).

The regionalist coalition

In the 2008 general election UV member Antonio Fosson was elected to the Senate for the regionalist coalition, defeating incumbent Carlo Perrin (41.4% against 37.4%), but was not able to take back also the seat in the Chamber of Deputies as Ego Perron was narrowly defeated by incumbent Roberto Nicco, member of the regional Democratic Party (37.8% against 39.1%). Senator Fosson, who abstained from the vote of confidence on Berlusconi IV Cabinet,^[7] joined a centrist group composed of the South Tyrolean People's Party, the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (three senators, all coming from Sicily), one senator of the Associative Movement Italians Abroad and three senators for life (Giulio Andreotti, Francesco Cossiga and Emilio Colombo).

In the 2008 regional election UV won 44.4% of the vote and 17 regional deputies (out of 35), while the three-party regionalist coalition won 62.0% and a large majority, composed of 22 regional deputies. Augusto Rollandin was the most voted regional deputy with 13,836 preference votes, while incumbent President Luciano Caveri was only seventh with 2,770 votes (down from 7,313) and party leader Guido Césal 25th thus failing the re-election.^[8] Rollandin was sworn in as new President of the Region, replacing Caveri, who said that "who takes more votes becomes President".^[9]

In November 2008 Ego Perron was elected new president of the party, after the debacle of Césal in the regional election.^[10]

In both the 2009 European Parliament election and the 2010 Aosta municipal election UV formed an alliance with The People of Freedom (PdL).

In the 2013 general election UV's Albert Lanièce was elected to the Senate and joined the "Autonomies" group.^[11]

In the 2013 regional election UV obtained 33.5% of the vote (–10.9% from 2008) and 13 seats, and the regionalist coalition retained a narrow majority in the Regional Council.^[12][13] Rollandin was the most voted politician in the Region with 10,872 preference votes (2964 less than five years before).^[14]

Popular support

The results of UV in Aosta Valley in regional elections since 1949 are shown in the table below.

Leadership

• President: Severino Caveri (1945–1974), Mario Andrione (1974–1975), Jean-Claude Perrin (1975–1984), Alexis Bétemps (1984–1996), Carlo Perrin (1996–1998), Augusto Rollandin (1998–2001), Aurelio Marguerettaz (2001–2003), Manuela Zublena (2003–2006), Guido Césal (2006–2008), Ego Perron (2008–2013), Ennio Pastoret (2013–present).

References

Sources

• Regional Council of Aosta Valley – History of Aosta Valley
• Regional Government of Aosta Valley – Governments since 1946
• Regional Government of Aosta Valley – Elections
• Cattaneo Institute – Archive of Election Data
• Parties and Elections in Europe – Aosta Valley
• Ministry of the Interior – Historical Archive of Elections

External links

• Official website

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