Identity and Action (Italian: Identità e Azione, IDeA) was a conservative political party in Italy, whose membership stretches from Christian democracy to liberal conservatism.

The party's leader was Gaetano Quagliariello, a former minister for Institutional Reforms.

History

The party, whose complete name is Identity and Action – People and Freedom (Identità e Azione – Popolo e Libertà), was formed on 25 November 2015 by a group of splinters from the New Centre-Right (NCD), a centre-right party which was then part of government led by Matteo Renzi, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). Two deputies (Vincenzo Piso and Eugenia Roccella) and four senators (Andrea Augello, Luigi Compagna, Carlo Giovanardi and Gaetano Quagliariello) left the NCD because they no longer supported its alliance with the PD. They were joined by two deputies, Guglielmo Vaccaro (ex-PD, later Unique Italy–IU) and Renata Bueno (South American Union Italian Emigrants–USEI), and several regional politicians, including Davide Bellomo (independent, Apulia), Stefano Casali (Tosi List for Veneto, Veneto), Giovanni Chiodi (independent, former President of Abruzzo) and Vittoriano Solazzi (Marche 2020, Marche).[5][6][7][8][9]

Since its foundation, IdeA aimed at being part of the larger centre-right coalition.[6] The party established a particularly close relationship with Unique Italy (IU), of which Quagliariello became speaker in the Senate.[10][11][12] In the meantime, the four deputies of IdeA, along with Aniello Formisano of Italy of Values (IdV, a party which had long been part of centre-left coalitions), formed a sub-group, named after the USEI (and, later, "USEI–IdeA"), within the Mixed Group of the Chamber,[13][14] while the party's four senators joined the heterogeneous Great Autonomies and Freedom (GAL) group.[15][16]

In May 2017 the party changed its allegiance both in the Chamber, where it formed a sub-group with the Union of the Centre (UdC) within the Mixed Group,[17] and the Senate, where it left the GAL group and launched the alternative Federation of Freedom (FdL) group along with the Italian Liberal Party (PLI) and others, under Quagliariello's leadership.[18][19][20]

In December 2017 IdeA was supposed to be a founding member of Us with Italy (NcI), a pro-Silvio Berlusconi centrist electoral list within the centre-right coalition for the 2018 general election, but finally stood out.[21][22][23] NcI was launched by splinters from Popular Alternative (AP – two groups, a Christian-democratic one led by Maurizio Lupi and a liberal one led by Enrico Costa), Direction Italy (DC), Civic Choice (SC), Act! (F!), Cantiere Popolare (CP) and the Movement for the Autonomies (MpA).[21][22][23] However, in early January 2018, after that NcI had been joined also by the UdC,[24][25][26] IdeA joined too,[27][28] with the goal of reaching 3%, required to win seats from proportional lists under a new electoral law.

In the election the NcI obtained a mere 1.3% of the vote and only Quagliariello was re-elected for IdeA. Soon after the election, the party quit NcI and, along with the UdC, formed a pact with FI and joined its parliamentary group.[29][30][31][32]

In the 2019 Basilicata regional election the party obtained 4.2% of the vote.

On 26 May 2021, IDeA joined forces with Cambiamo! and a number of independents – mostly former members of Forza Italia members, in the formation of the Coraggio Italia movement, led by the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, of which Quagliariello became vice-president on 14 July of that year.[33]

On 26 March 2022, Gaetano Quagliariello and Giovanni Toti launched the new party Italy in the Centre at a convention held at the Genoa Aquarium, with the senator becoming its national coordinator. At the same time, Toti and Quagliariello stepped down from their roles within Coraggio Italia, announcing a federation between the two parties, which would continue to share parliamentary groups.[34] On 23 June, the dissolution of the Coraggio Italia parliamentary group marked the definitive split between Brugnaro’s party and Italia al Centro.[35][36]

For the 2022 snap general election, the new party is fielding Us Moderates, a joint list alongside Us with Italy, Coraggio Italia and Union of the Centre within the centre-right coalition.[37] In the single-member constituency system, Quagliariello endorsed the candidacy of Pino Bicchielli in Salerno. In the elections on 25 September, the Us Moderates list secured 0.91 per cent of the vote in the Chamber of Deputies (255,505 votes) and 0.89 per cent in the Senate (244,363 votes), thus failing to exceed the 3 per cent electoral threshold and to elect its own MPs in the multi-member constituencies; however, in the single-member constituencies, the list managed to secure the election of 9 parliamentarians (7 deputies and 2 senators), including Bicchielli himself in the Chamber of Deputies.

In May 2023, Italy in the Centre and Us with Italy began the process of transforming Us Moderates into a fully-fledged political party.[38][39]

References

  1. ↑ "Deliberazione n. 43/VAR del 6 settembre 2023" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "Superate 2.000 adesioni, iscriviti a IDEA!". 21 March 2017.
  3. ↑ Gianluca Roselli (January 14, 2017). "Ecco la nuova Idea di Quagliariello per un centrodestra liberal-conservatore". Formiche.net.
  4. ↑ Dario Tiengo (June 9, 2017). "Gaetano Quagliariello "La mia IDEA per un centrodestra liberale, conservatore e cristiano"". l'Occidentale. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Centrodestra, Quagliariello lancia "Idea". Alternativi a Renzi, guardando ai territori | l'Occidentale". loccidentale.it. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  6. 1 2 Car. Sol. "L'"Idea" di Quagliariello è puntare su Passera – Politica – iltempo". iltempo.it. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
  7. ↑ "Nasce Idea, il nuovo partito di Quagliariello – IlGiornale.it". ilgiornale.it. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
  8. ↑ "Tutte le sintonie tra Fitto, Marchini, Passera, Quagliariello e Tosi - Formiche.net". formiche.net. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
  9. ↑ "Ncd, Quagliariello lancia il quarto petalo. Cassano: "Voleva il Ministero" – Affaritaliani.it". affaritaliani.it. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  10. ↑ Altri articoli dalla categoria (2015-11-30). "Italia Unica entra in Parlamento con Quagliariello e Vaccaro". Repubblica.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  11. ↑ 2 dicembre 2015 (2015-12-02). "Italia Unica, Passera: entriamo in Parlamento. Speaker e "intesa" con Quagliariello". Il Sole 24 ORE. Retrieved 2016-05-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Redazione, L'Huffington Post (2 December 2015). "Italia Unica, Corrado Passera arruola l'ex pd Guglielmo Vaccaro alla Camera. Al Senato "intesa" con Gaetano Quagliariello". Huffingtonpost.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  13. ↑ "XVII Legislatura – Deputati e Organi Parlamentari – Composizione gruppi Parlamentari". Camera.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  14. ↑ "Italiani all'estero, è ufficiale: nasce componente USEI (che pende a sinistra)". Italiachiamaitalia.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  15. ↑ "Composizione del Gruppo Grandi Autonomie e Libertà (Grande Sud, Popolari per l'Italia, Moderati, Idea, Euro-Exit, M.P.L.-Movimento politico Libertas)". senato.it. 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  16. ↑ "Senatori IDEA lasciano AP e formano componente in GAL | l'Occidentale" (in Italian). Loccidentale.it. Retrieved 2016-05-08.[permanent dead link]
  17. ↑ "XVII Legislatura - XVII Legislatura - Deputati e Organi- Composizione gruppi Parlamentari".
  18. ↑ "Senato.it - Senato della Repubblica senato.it - Variazioni nei Gruppi parlamentari".
  19. ↑ "Federazione della libertà: al Senato nasce il gruppo anti-Rosatellum". www.huffingtonpost.it. Archived from the original on 2017-05-18.
  20. ↑ "Senato: Nasce gruppo Federazione libertà - Ultima Ora". 18 May 2017.
  21. 1 2 "Nasce "Noi con l'Italia", la lista dei centristi pro-Berlusconi - la Repubblica". 19 December 2017.
  22. 1 2 ""Noi con l'Italia", ecco la quarta gamba del centrodestra: ex FI, leghisti espulsi e alfaniani pentiti - Il Fatto Quotidiano". 19 December 2017.
  23. 1 2 "Nasce Noi con l'Italia, la 'quarta gamba' del centrodestra". 19 December 2017.
  24. ↑ "Udc-Noi con l'Italia, è accordo. Sulla lista torna lo scudo crociato". 29 December 2017.
  25. ↑ "Nasce la stampella centrista di Forza Italia". 30 December 2017.
  26. ↑ "Berlusconi si appella ai delusi dalla politica: "Sarà sfida coi 5 Stelle"". 30 December 2017.
  27. ↑ "La tela Fitto-Cesa si allarga su 'Idea' di Gaetano Quagliariello". 5 January 2018.
  28. ↑ "Saremo noi a garantire l'autosufficienza al centrodestra. Parla Gaetano Quagliariello". 5 January 2018.
  29. ↑ "Lettera del Presidente di IDEA Gaetano Quagliariello agli iscritti". 10 March 2018.
  30. ↑ "Sottoscritto in Senato accordo federativo tra IDEA e Gruppo Forza Italia". 23 March 2018.
  31. ↑ "In Senato accordo Fi-Udc-Idea, nasce gruppo unico in nome Ppe". Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  32. ↑ "Senato: Romani, con accordo Fi-Udc-Idea siamo secondo gruppo - Il Dubbio". Archived from the original on 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  33. ↑ "Coraggio Italia, il nuovo partito di Toti e Brugnaro fa il pieno di ex berlusconiani e grillini - Genova 24". Genova24.it (in Italian). 2021-05-27. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  34. ↑ "Toti lancia 'Italia al Centro', per le Comunali e per il 2023 - Notizie - Ansa.it". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  35. ↑ "Coraggio Italia si scioglie e Toti corteggia Di Maio". Today (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  36. ↑ "Nasce alla Camera Vinciamo Italia-Italia al Centro con Toti". Telenord (in Italian). 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  37. ↑ "Elezioni, nasce "Noi moderati": in un'unica lista i partiti di Toti, Lupi e Cesa". www.tgcom24.mediaset.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  38. ↑ "CENTRODESTRA: LUPI RIELETTO PRESIDENTE NCL, "NOI MODERATI DIVENTERA' PARTITO"". Abruzzo Web. 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  39. ↑ "Anche Italia al Centro entra in Noi Moderati". Rovigo.News (in Italian). 2023-09-11. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_and_Action