Future Italy

Future Italy
Founded July 2009
Founder Luca Cordero di Montezemolo
Type Think tank
Location
Key people
 Andrea Romano, Federico Vecchioni, Carlo Calenda, Lelio Alfonso, Simone Perillo, Vincenzo Camporini, Alessandro De Nicola, Vittorio Emanuele Parsi, Andrea Riccardi
Website www.italiafutura.it

Future Italy (Italia Futura, IF) is an Italian liberal-centrist think tank formed in 2009 by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari, former president of FIAT (2004–2010) and Confindustria (2004–2008).[1][2]

Since January 2013 to 2014 IF acted as a de facto internal faction of Civic Choice, the centrist party led by Mario Monti.

History

IF was launched in July 2009 by Montezemolo along with a substantial group of entrepreneurs, managers and intellectuals, notably including Diego Della Valle, Maria Paola Merloni, Gianni Punzo, Corrado Passera, Luigi Marino, Carlo Calenda, Andrea Romano, Vittorio Emanuele Parsi, Stefano Dambruoso, Irene Tinagli, Angelo Mellone, and Michel Martone.[1][3]

Romano, who was appointed IF director, was formerly close to Massimo D'Alema,[4] and many of IF leading members came from the centre-left.[5] A strong supporter of Montezemolo's project was Massimo Cacciari, philosopher, three-times mayor of Venice and disgruntled Democrat, who had inspired a Veneto-based regional party called Toward North (VN).[6] In Montezemolo's words, however, IF aimed at forming a new "popular, reform and authentically liberal force" which would hegemonize the political centre of Italian politics, in dialogue with "responsible people" of the established parties.[7]

In December 2011 Federico Vecchioni, a Venetian who had been president of Confagricoltura (2004–2011) and founder of IF in Tuscany, was appointed national coordinator, in what was described by some observers as a step toward the transformation of IF into a full-fledged political party.[8] As of October 2012, IF had organized regional sections virtually in all the regions of Italy.[9] A leading member of VN, Andrea Causin, was appointed as one of the three regional coordinators of IF in Veneto, and other key members of VN were co-opted in IF's regional committee.[10] Other local associations were integrated too.

After long speculation, in mid-2012, Montezemolo seemed ready to enter politics and that the think tank would be transformed into a political party. On 30 September 2012, in an interview to Corriere della Sera, Montezemolo announced that IF would take part to the 2013 general election and that it would support Mario Monti to serve a full term as Prime Minister of Italy.[7] According to some sources Montezemolo could have been the leader of a new centrist coalition composed of his movement and some of the parties which once formed the New Pole for Italy, mainly the Union of the Centre (UdC), Future and Freedom (FLI) and Alliance for Italy (ApI).[11]

IF however distanced from established parties as the UdC in favour of an entirely new political proposal.[12] On 17 November 2012 IF took part to the founding of Toward the Third Republic (VTR).[13] The week before Vecchioni had resigned from coordinator amid allegations of fraud,[14][15] and was replaced by Calenda.

In January 2013 IF was instrumental to the foundation of Mario Monti's Civic Choice (SC).[16][17] At the 2013 general election SC, which led a coalition comprising also the UdC and FLI, garnered 8.3% of the vote.[18] Several IF leading members, notably including Romano, Calenda, Merloni, Tinagli, Dambruoso, Causin were elected to the Italian Parliament.[19][20] Calenda, who left the post of coordinator, was appointed deputy minister of Economic Development in Letta Cabinet.[21]

After the election, Nicola Rossi, a former senator of the Democrats of the Left and president of Bruno Leoni Institute, was elected new IF president, while Simone Perillo was appointed director.[22] According to Montezemolo and Rossi, far from becoming a faction within SC, IF would return to its original nature of think tank, while the MPs hailing from IF would be a "liberal and reform-minded" force within Parliament.[23] However, in October 2013, Rossi abruptly left the presidency of IF.[24] According to Formiche.net, an online journal, this was the consequence of Montezemolo's contempt for Rossi's ultra-liberalism,[25][26] while SC seemed oriented at joining the European People's Party[27] and not the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party as IF would like.[28][29][30]

In March 2014 Carlo Pontecorvo was sworn in as new IF president.[31][32]

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo

Leadership

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2009/luglio/01/Via_Italiafutura_pensatoio_Montezemolo_co_9_090701023.shtml
  2. ↑ http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2009/ottobre/08/debutto_Italiafutura_Non_siamo_partito_co_8_091008020.shtml
  3. ↑ http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2009/ottobre/07/think_tank_per_suggerire_soluzioni_co_9_091007032.shtml
  4. ↑ http://www.italiafutura.it/gw/producer/producer.aspx?t=/documenti/indice_staff.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.italiafutura.it/gw/producer/producer.aspx?t=/documenti/indice_autore.htm
  6. ↑ http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2011/aprile/04/Montezemolo_prepara_una_lista_Aspetta_co_9_110404010.shtml
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2012/settembre/30/campo_per_Monti_bis__co_0_20120930_efdf4c2e-0abd-11e2-9a73-27cd317c843f.shtml
  8. ↑ http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2011/dicembre/23/Italia_Futura_mette_moto_nuovo_co_8_1112235710.shtml
  9. ↑ http://www.italiafutura.it/gw/producer/producer.aspx?t=/documenti/indice_associazioni.htm
  10. ↑ http://corrieredelveneto.corriere.it/veneto/notizie/politica/2012/3-marzo-2012/italia-futura-arriva-veneto-partito-montezemolo-2003532526454.shtml
  11. ↑ http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2011/aprile/02/Montezemolo_cresce_tentazione_fare_politica_co_8_110402013.shtml
  12. ↑ http://www.corriere.it/politica/12_settembre_10/italia-futura-casini-monti-montezemolo_ef93b01e-fb5b-11e1-9366-7e3ba757dba7.shtml
  13. ↑ http://www.corriere.it/politica/12_novembre_17/montezemolo-candida-monti-scendiamo-campo-appoggio-democratico-politico_3b8d0364-30ca-11e2-baec-20f01743e162.shtml
  14. ↑ http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2012/novembre/08/Vecchioni_giudizio_Lui_nessuna_irregolarita_co_0_20121108_06d98a20-296d-11e2-b7e7-44c2af9f1398.shtml
  15. ↑ http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2012/novembre/09/Italia_Futura_Vecchioni_imputato_dimette_co_0_20121109_4823c188-2a37-11e2-8158-e1332556f42a.shtml
  16. ↑ http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2013/gennaio/05/Montecitorio_spazio_solo_alla_societa_co_0_20130105_96153918-56ff-11e2-b61e-ffe012b3f492.shtml
  17. ↑ http://www.ilfoglio.it/soloqui/16856
  18. ↑ http://elezioni.interno.it/camera/scrutini/20130224/C000000000.htm
  19. ↑ http://www.camera.it/leg17/217?idlegislatura=17&idGruppo=1613&idGruppoMisto=&tipoVis=
  20. ↑ http://www.senato.it/leg/17/BGT/Schede_v3/Gruppi/00000070.htm
  21. ↑ http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2013-05-02/carlo-calenda-viceministro-sviluppo-230137.shtml?uuid=Ab8WGZsH
  22. ↑ http://www.italiafutura.it/dettaglio/115898/comunicato_stampa_italia_futura
  23. ↑ http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2013/maggio/15/Strappo_Italia_Futura_Subito_fase_co_0_20130515_e4d56dc2-bd50-11e2-9dfe-ba08f2118ee4.shtml
  24. ↑ http://www.italiafutura.it/italia-futura-nicola-rossi-lascia-la-presidenza/
  25. ↑ http://www.formiche.net/2013/10/11/italia-futura-nicola-rossi-verso-labbandono-dei-montezemoliani/
  26. ↑ http://www.formiche.net/2013/10/14/addio-montezemolo-italia-futura-firmato-nicola-rossi/
  27. ↑ http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2013/10/11/news/mario_monti_o_il_governo_fa_le_riforme_o_non_ci_interessa_pi_farne_parte_stiamo_con_il_ppe_mai_con_il_pdl_di_andrea_bonan-68369659/
  28. ↑ http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2013/luglio/31/Scelta_civica_spacca_Monti_avvisa_co_0_20130731_df881c5a-f9a2-11e2-8d40-19731efe341b.shtml
  29. ↑ http://www.italiafutura.it/per-gli-stati-generali-dei-liberali/
  30. ↑ http://www.formiche.net/2013/10/11/addio-monti-firmato-montezemolo/
  31. ↑ http://www.corriere.it/politica/14_marzo_01/luca-montezemolo-lascia-presidenza-italia-futura-carlo-pontecorvo-ferrarelle-95905a9e-a128-11e3-b365-272f64db5437.shtml
  32. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.it/2014/03/01/luca-montezemolo-lascia-italia-futura-carlo-pontecorvo_n_4879527.html

External links