Italian Parties and Europe: Problems of Identity, Representation and Scope of Governance in the Euromanifestos (1989–2004)

Abstract

This article analyses the nature of Italian political parties' attitudes towards the EU. Three main dimensions of the EU process and of its impact on the member states are focused upon: identity, representation and scope of governance. We document how these three dimensions structure the programmatic offer on the EU of the party system and how this structure has changed over time. Then, we analyse the preferences of the individual parties along these three dimensions so as to document their attitudes toward the EU. Finally, we conclude by explaining the attitudes of the Italian parties in the light of the main theoretical arguments available in the literature. The analysis shows that the Italian case has over-stepped the exceptional consensus on the EU that emerged in the country by the end of the 1980s, and has joined the typical pattern of competition on the EU that opposes the centre-left to the centre-right and, less intensely than elsewhere, moderate to radical parties.

Key Words:

• Italian parties
• EU
• Euromanifestos
• attitudes

Notes

This research was funded by a grant from the INTUNE project (Integrated and United: A Quest for Citizenship in An Ever Closer Europe) financed by the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Union, Priority 7, Citizens and Governance in a Knowledge Based Society (CIT3-CT-2005-513421). Although the article presents the results of a joint work, Conti is particularly responsible for section 1 and Memoli for section 2, while the introduction and conclusions have been written jointly by the two authors.

¹ As from 2008, the party is not represented in the Italian parliament anymore, therefore it has not participated in the ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty.

² The Index aggregates the variables on membership, national action in Europe and EU decision-making (MEMBERSHIP, NATACT, EUDEC) that are reported in the Appendix to the introduction of this special issue.

³ The Index aggregates the variables on foreign policy, defence, social policy, justice, immigration and environmental policy (SCFORE, SGDEF, SGSOC, SGJHA, SGIMM, SGENV).

⁴ The Index aggregates the variables national identity and culture (IDNAT, NACULTUR).

⁵ The Index aggregates the variables sub-national identity and culture (IDSUB, SUBCULTUR)

⁶ The variable is European cultural belonging (EUCULTUR).

⁷ As it is usual practice in Principal component analysis, due to their different metrics, we present Figures 2 and 3 separately.

⁸ This was an alliance of parties that later in 2007 merged for the largest part in the newly created Partito Democratico, now the main left-of-centre party and a member of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats within the European Parliament.

⁹ In 2008 this party has merged with Alleanza Nazionale to form the People of Freedom party.

¹⁰ All the manifesto excerpts have been translated by the authors.

¹¹ In 2004, only seven parties of all member states made use of the Euromanifesto of the transnational party federation. Among them, Forza Italia is the most relevant one in terms of size (Bressanelli, 2009).

¹² For instance, the party voted in favour of the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty while in government in 2008, although the party initially opposed the treaty and campaigned against it.