National Action (Italy)

National Action (Italian: Azione Nazionale, AN) is a conservative political party in Italy.

Its members initially insisted that National Action, whose acronym is intentionally identical to that of the defunct National Alliance, was not a party, but a cultural association. The new AN's mentors are Gianfranco Fini (founder and leader of National Alliance, minister of Foreign Affairs, deputy prime minister and president of the Chamber of Deputies) and Gianni Alemanno (former leading member of National Alliance, minister of Agricolture and mayor of Rome).^[1][2][3]

National Action includes people affiliated to several groups, notably including FreeRight (a liberal-conservative association led by Fini),^[4][5][6] Italy First (a national- and social-conservative party led by Alemanno)^[7][8] and Alto Adige in the Heart (a regional party led by Alessandro Urzì in South Tyrol), and various individuals who had been previously active in the old AN.

History

The roots of the party can be traced in the tradition of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), the party of the post-fascist right, and its successor, National Alliance (AN), launched in 1993 and established in 1995.

In October 2015 the assembly of the "National Alliance Foundation", the association in charge of administering the assets of the defunct party (which was merged with Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia into The People of Freedom, PdL in 2009), confirmed the license to use the name and the symbol to Brothers of Italy (FdI), a right-wing party led by Giorgia Meloni. A front inspired by Fini, who was not a member of the Foundation, and led by Alemanno, who had proposed to form a larger party (including FdI), opposed the decision. After his defeat during the assembly, Alemanno announced that he would create a "movement for the united right".^[9][10]

The new AN was launched on 9 Novembre 2015 by a group of former AN members (most of whom active in regional and local government), who had joined forces with Alemanno during the Foundation's latest assembly. Fausto Orsomarso (regional councillor in Calabria elected with the PdL and re-elected with the new Forza Italia) was appointed coordinator, Pasquale Viespoli (a former senator of the PdL, FLI and National Cohesion) president. Fini did not participate in the party's first press conference and Alemanno was silent, but the symbol was registered by Roberto Menia (a close ally of Fini and former coordinator of FLI), Marco Cerreto (a close ally of Alemanno and splinter from FdI) and Giuseppe Scopelliti (a former President of Calabria who left the PdL in order to join the New Centre-Right in 2013).^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]}

AN is planning to join forces with The Right, Storace's own party, into a "constituent assembly of the right".^{[17][18][19][20]}

Ideology

National Action includes people with very different political sensibilities, despite being mostly former members of National Alliance. In fact, over the years, Fini had become a staunch Europeanist and much of a social liberal when it comes to abortion, LGBT issues, euthanasia, immigration and separation of church and state (in 2010 he broke with Berlusconi and launched his own Future and Freedom party), while Alemanno has always been a representative of the Social Right, whose program included traditional values and suspicion of the free market, and opposes the Euro (he remained a member of the PdL until 2013, after which he briefly joined FdI). According to Fini's most recent remarks, the new AN would be a bulwark of the moderate right as opposed to the one represented by FdI and Lega Nord,^[21][22] the old AN's nemesis.

The party's credo is, however, quite traditional and socially conservative. AN wants to "guarantee Italians first", supports life "from conception to natural death", gives emphasis to Italian sovereignty (and unity), and takes a critical approach toward the European Union as it is currently organised.^[23]

Leadership

• Coordinator: Fausto Orsomarso (2015–present)
• President: Pasquale Viespoli (2015–present)

External links

• Official website

References

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–Democratic Centre Possible–Free Alternative Identity and Action Act! Italian Socialist Party Union of the Centre Movement for the Autonomies Great South Communist Refoundation Party Alliance for Italy New Italian Socialist Party 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