New Centre-Right

New Centre-Right
Nuovo Centrodestra
Abbreviation	NCD
President	Angelino Alfano
Coordinator	Gaetano Quagliariello
Founded	15 November 2013
Split from	The People of Freedom
Headquarters	Via Arcione 71 00186 Rome
Newspaper	l'Occidentale (online)
Youth wing	Youth NCD
Membership  (2014)	100,000[1]
Ideology	Conservatism[2] Christian democracy[3]
Political position	Centre-right
National affiliation	Popular Area
International affiliation	none
European affiliation	European People's Party
European Parliament group	European People's Party
Colours	Blue
Chamber of Deputies	27 / 630
Senate	31 / 315
European Parliament	2 / 73
Website
www.nuovocentrodestra.it
Politics of Italy Political parties Elections

New Centre-Right (Italian: Nuovo Centrodestra, NCD) is a centre-right political party in Italy.^[4] Its leader is Angelino Alfano, who had been Silvio Berlusconi's protégé and national secretary of The People of Freedom (PdL) from 2011 to 2013.

On 11 September 2014 the NCD was officially accepted into the European People's Party (EPP).^[5][6]

History

The party was formed by splinters from the PdL on 15 November 2013. Its founders, lately known as "doves" in the party, were strong supporters of Enrico Letta's government and refused to join the new Forza Italia (FI), founded upon the dissolution of the PdL. All five PdL ministers, three under-secretaries, 30 senators and 27 deputies immediately joined the NCD.^[7] Most were Christian democrats and many came from the southern regions of Calabria and Sicily.^[8]

Besides Alfano (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior), leading members included Maurizio Lupi (Minister of Infrastructure and Transport), Nunzia De Girolamo (Minister of Agriculture), Beatrice Lorenzin (Minister of Health), Gaetano Quagliariello (Minister of Constitutional Reforms), Giuseppe Scopelliti (President of Calabria), Roberto Formigoni (former President of Lombardy), Renato Schifani (former President of the Senate and PdL floor leader until November 2013), Fabrizio Cicchitto (former PdL leader in the Chamber in 2008–2013) and Carlo Giovanardi (a former minister for the UDC).^[9]

In February 2014, after the fall of Letta's government, the NCD joined a new coalition government led by Matteo Renzi, who had been elected secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) in December 2013. In the new government the NCD retained three ministers: Alfano at the Interior, Lupi at Infrastrctures and Transports, and Lorenzin at Health.^[10] Quagliariello, who had not been confirmed as minister of Institutional Reforms, was elected party coordinator by the assembly of the parliamentary groups.^[11]

The party ran in the 2014 European Parliament election on a joint list with the Union of the Centre (UdC). The list obtained 4.4% of the vote and three MEPs, two for the NCD and one for the UdC.

In December 2014 the NCD formed joint parliamentary groups with the UdC in both the Chamber of Deputies and Senate called Popular Area. The move was a step toward a complete merger of the two parties.^[12]

Following Alfano's decision to support Sergio Mattarella's bid to become President of Italy during the 2015 presidential election (Matteralla was effectively elected on 31 January), the NCD experienced an internal crisis. Most notably, Barbara Saltamartini and Maurizio Sacconi resigned from party's spokesperson and leader in the Senate, respectively.^[13][14][15] Schifani was unanimously elected to succeed to Sacconi,^[16] while Saltamartini left the party altogether.^[17]

In March Lupi resigned from minister of Infrastrctures and Transports, after he was hit by a minor corruption scandal.^[18][19] As result, the party was represented in the government only by two ministers. In April De Girolamo, another critic of the government since Mattarella's election, was replaced as leader in the Chamber by Lupi.^[20][21]

Ideology and factions

Despite being home to some social democrats (We Reformers, Reformers and Freedom), the party is mainly a Christian-democratic party with a social-conservative streak. According to Corriere della Sera, differently from FI, NCD's stances on the "so-called ethical issues" (abortion, gay rights, etc.) are "closer to those of the European traditionalist right" and "thus not very compatible with those of the EPP's parties in big countries such as Germany".^[22]

In January 2014 three bigwigs of the party (Gaetano Quagliariello, Eugenia Roccella and Maurizio Sacconi) published a book titled Moderati. Per un nuovo umanesimo politico ("Moderates: For a new political humanism"), a sort of manifesto of the party. The book, whose key words are "person", "family", "enterprise" and "tradition", emphasises institutional reforms (including direct election of the President and federalism), ethical issues (marriage, opposition to abortion, limits to assisted reproductive technology, etc.) and the need for a smaller state ("less public law, more private rights").^[23][24][25] According to Benedetto Ippolito, NCD members insist the party is "moderate", but in fact it is "conservative" and "anti-progressive", albeit not "berlusconiano".^[26]

In February 2014 the NCD unveiled a platform on labour, including a universal protection system safety net for the unemployed, a tax relief for entrepreneurs hiring the young, the reduction of the tax wedge on labour and the overcoming of article 18 of the "Statute of Workers", making easier for entrepreneurs to hire and fire employees.^[27]

Former PdL-affiliated factions or think tanks which joined the NCD include:

• Network Italy (Rete Italia)^[28] – ideology: Christian democracy; leader: Roberto Formigoni
• Liberal Populars (Popolari Liberali)^[29] – ideology: Christian democracy; leader: Carlo Giovanardi
• Christian Populars (Cristiano Popolari)^[30] – ideology: Christian democracy; leader: Mario Baccini
• Christian Reformists (Cristiano Riformisti) – ideology: Christian democracy; leader: Antonio Mazzocchi
• Magna Carta (Magna Carta)^[31] – ideology: Liberal conservatism; leader: Gaetano Quagliariello
• Reformism and Freedom (Riformismo e Libertà) – ideology: Social democracy; leader: Fabrizio Cicchitto
• We Reformers (Noi Riformatori)^[32] – ideology: Social democracy; leader: Francesco Colucci

Electoral results

European Parliament

Regional Councils

Leadership

• President: Renato Schifani (acting,^[33] 2013–2014), Angelino Alfano (2014–present)
  • Coordinator: Gaetano Quagliariello (2014–present)
  • Spokesperson: Barbara Saltamartini (2014–2015), Valentina Castaldini (2015–present)

• Party Leader in the Chamber of Deputies: Enrico Costa (2013–2014), Nunzia De Girolamo (2014–2015), Maurizio Lupi (2015–present)
• Party Leader in the Senate: Maurizio Sacconi (2013–2015), Renato Schifani (2015–present)
• Party Leader in the European Parliament: Giovanni La Via (2013–present)

Symbols

• 

  2013–present

• 

  Electoral logo

• 

  2014 European election

External links

• Official website

References

Political parties in Italy Major Democratic Party Five Star Movement Medium Forza Italia Lega Nord New Centre-Right Left Ecology Freedom Minor Brothers of Italy Green Italy–Federation of the Greens Civic Choice Italy of Values Democrazia Solidale Free Alternative Union of the Centre Italian Socialist Party Populars for Italy X Movement Democratic Centre Movement for the Autonomies Great South Christian Democracy Italy Work in Progress Popular Construction New Italian Socialist Party Alliance for Italy Italian Liberal Party Us with Salvini Communist Refoundation Party The Right Party of Italian Communists Union of Democrats for Europe Regional Aosta Valley Valdostan Union Progressive Valdostan Union Autonomy Liberty Participation Ecology Edelweiss Piedmont Lega Nord Piemont 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 Veneto Liga Veneta Veneto First Tosi List for Veneto Popular Future Friuli-Venezia Giulia 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 Campania Forza Campania Autonomy South Apulia Apulia First of All Moderates and Populars Basilicata Reality Italy Calabria The DemoKRats Autonomy and Rights Sicily Party of Sicilians The Megaphone Democratic Sicily Article Four Reformist Democrats for Sicily Sardinia Sardinian Reformers Sardinian Action Party United Abroad South America Associative Movement Italians Abroad South American Union Italian Emigrants Politics of Italy List of political parties in Italy Historical parties