Lega Nord Sud Tirolo

Lega Nord Sud Tirolo/Lega Nord Südtirol (North League South Tyrol) is regionalist Italian political party which is the provincial section of Lega Nord in the Province of Bolzano. It is basically the only inter-ethnic party in the Province, along with the Greens. [http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2008/agosto/10/Ciampi_Brunetta_Alto_Adige_resti_co_9_080810009.shtml] The current national secretary is Kurt Pancheri.

For the upcoming 2008 provincial election Lega Nord, as always, will present a list with both Italian- and German-speaking candidates. During the months prior the election there were strong rumors that the list might include Roland Atz, former Vice President of the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Region and leading member of the South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP), and Giovanni Benussi, who has been briefly Mayor of Bolzano for Forza Italia and National Alliance. [http://www.dolomiten.it/nachrichten/artikel.asp?KatID=fa&p=5&ArtID=121113] [http://www.dolomiten.it/nachrichten/artikel.asp?KatID=fa&p=5&ArtID=121648] [http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2008/agosto/09/Trentino_Alto_Adige_voto_ottobre_co_9_080809019.shtml] This strategy and the mediation of Roberto Calderoli, who is working on federal reform and who proclaims himself a "friend of Alto Adige", might also lead SVP into an alliance with Lega Nord and The People of Freedom both at the regional and national level. [http://www.ilgiornale.it/a.pic1?ID=281979] [http://espresso.repubblica.it/dettaglio-local/%C2%ABNoi-ci-siamo-ma-l-Svp-ora-si-smarchi%C2%BB/2036877]

In early September Benussi decided not to run with Lega Nord, which instead gained the support of Roland Atz and Elena Artioli, another splinter from SVP and only multilingual provincial deputy of that party, and subsequently Kurt Pancheri resigned as national secretary. [http://altoadige.repubblica.it/dettaglio/Lega-Nord-senza-Benussi-Alla-guida-Artioli-e-Atz/1507932] In order to replace Benussi in party list, Lega Nord recruited Paolo Bassani, a centrist politician who had been previously member of the Italian Liberal Party, Forza Italia and finally the Italian Republican Party. [http://ricerca.quotidianiespresso.it/altoadige/archivio/altoadige/2008/09/11/AZ6PO_AZ601.html]

Popular support

The party is a tiny one compared to other "national" sections of Lega Nord. In the 2008 general election it won only 2.0% of the votes in the Province of Bolzano, due to the electoral strength of German-speaking regionalist parties, notably the South Tyrolean People's Party, Union for South Tyrol and The Libertarians. Its counterpart in the Province of Trento, Lega Nord Trentino, is much stronger (16.4% in 2008).

The electoral results of Lega Nord Sud Tirolo in the Province of Bolzano are shown in the table below.

References

Leadership

*National Secretary: Kurt Pancheri ("resigned")
*National President: "unknown"