House of Freedoms

Infobox_Italy_Political_Coalition
coalition_name = House of Freedoms
coalition_name_italian = La Casa delle Libertà
coalition_
coalition_status = Italian National Coalition
leader = Silvio Berlusconi
ideology = Centre-right
website =

Casa delle Libertà (CDL; Italian for House of Freedoms), was a major Italian center-right political alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi. It was composed of several political parties:
*Forza Italia
*National Alliance
*Union of Christian and Centre Democrats
*Lega Nord (Northern League)
*Movement for Autonomy
*Christian Democracy for the Autonomies
*New Italian Socialist Party
*Italian Republican Party
*Liberal Reformers

The Italian Republican Party and New Italian Socialist Party were once part of the coalition but since left.

The alliance won the 1994 general elections under the name Polo delle Libertà, but the resulting government was short-lived, as the Northern League withdrew their support and went to opposition. Particularly unstable had been the relationship within the federalist Lega Nord movement and the conservative, pro-central government National Alliance. As such, the first Berlusconi government lasted only nine months.

After a five-year centre-left government, Berlusconi managed to keep at bay some of the most uncompromising Lega Nord proposals and won the 2001 general election, this time with a view to create a stable government. It sought to undermine the proportionality rules of the Italian Additional Member System of elections by running many of its constituency candidates under a decoy list called "Abolizione Scorporo", a title which explicitly stated its opposition to the counting rules; its tactic largely worked because it had more support than the leftist United in the Olive Tree ("Uniti nell'Ulivo") alliance.

In 2003 House of Freedoms was routed in local elections by the Olive Tree alliance, and the League threatened to pull out of the House of Freedoms. In 2005, once again, House of Freedoms was severely routed in regional elections, losing six of eight Italian regions. This led to a crisis of the government, particularly after the UDC pulled its four ministers out. A few weeks later, a new government was formed on April 23, 2005 with the same six parties (FI, AN, LN, UDC, NPSI, PRI) and a minor Cabinet reshuffle (Berlusconi III Cabinet).

Inclusion of neo-fascist movements

In February 2006, two months ahead of the general elections of 2006, UDC secretary Lorenzo Cesa and others protested against the inclusion of neo-fascists such as Adriano Tilgher, Roberto Fiore, Alessandra Mussolini, Gaetano Saya and Pino Rauti in the alliance, branding them "impresentabili" (unsuitable).

It appeared for some time that these neo-fascist leading figures were going to receive a few almost-guaranteed seats in the Parliament on Forza Italia's ticket. [http://www.unita.it/index.asp?SEZIONE_COD=HP&TOPIC_TIPO=&TOPIC_ID=47451] , as claimed by political opposers, while Berlusconi definitely ruled out this possibility. [http://www.tgcom.mediaset.it/politica/articoli/articolo296617.shtml]

Berlusconi confirmed negotiating with Alessandra Mussolini, but claimed he would request her not to include people like Tilgher and Fiore. [http://www.repubblica.it/2006/b/sezioni/politica/versoelezioni24/bercap/bercap.html] . Mussolini had previously contended she would not accept any veto. Berlusconi had been photographed with Gaetano Saya's wife, who is also secretary of an extremist neo-fascist party that claims to have such an agreement with the House of Freedoms. [http://www.destranazionale.org/deleg1.htm]

Eventually, Mussolini declared that neither she nor other neo-fascists would be candidates, but her alliance of neo-fascist movements, Alternativa Sociale, would support the House of Freedoms. [http://www.repubblica.it/2006/b/sezioni/politica/versoelezioni25/nofiore/nofiore.html]

Transformation into the People of Freedom Party

In December of 2007, Berlusconi announced a plan for the creation of a successor to the House of Freedoms, the People of Freedom, hoping to unify much of the Italian right into a single party. With the unexpected fall of the Prodi government in January, 2008, the organization of the People of Freedom was completed, but only two parties formally joined, Berlusconi's Forza Italia and the National Alliance. For the 2008 general elections, People of Freedom is running in an unnamed coalition with the Northern League and its ally the Movement for Autonomy. Centrist Christian democrats from the House of Freedoms refused to join either People of Freedom or its coalition, and are standing independently as the Union of the Centre ("Unione di Centro").

Results in the 2006 Senate election