Popular Alternative
Popular Alternative (Italian: Alternativa Popolare, AP) is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy that was founded on 18 March 2017 after the dissolution of New Centre-Right (NCD), one of the two parties that emerged at the break-up of The People of Freedom (PdL, the main Italian centre-right party from 2008 to 2013). "Popular" is a reference to popolarismo, the Italian variety of Christian democracy. The party has been a member of the European People's Party (EPP) since its foundation, having inherited the membership of the NCD.
Popular Alternative Alternativa Popolare | |
|---|---|
| President | Paolo Alli |
| Coordinator | Stefano Bandecchi |
| Founder | Angelino Alfano |
| Founded | 18 March 2017 |
| Preceded by | New Centre-Right |
| Headquarters | Via Arcione 71, Rome |
| Ideology | Conservatism Christian democracy |
| Political position | Centre to centre-right |
| European affiliation | European People's Party |
| European Parliament group | European People's Party |
| Chamber of Deputies | 0 / 400 |
| Senate | 0 / 200 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 73 |
| Regional Councils | 0 / 897 |
| Website | |
| www.alternativapopolare.it | |
The party's founder was Angelino Alfano, a former protége of Silvio Berlusconi and secretary of PdL (2011–2013) who has served as Minister of Justice (Berlusconi IV Cabinet, 2008–2011), Interior (Letta and Renzi Cabinets, 2013–2016) and Foreign Affairs (Gentiloni Cabinet, 2016–2018). In December 2017 Alfano announced that he would not stand in the 2018 general election and the party suffered the split of a large centre-right faction, whose members wanted to re-align with the centre-right coalition. The rump of the party continued its alliance with the Democratic Party, by formally entering the centre-left coalition, and, with Alfano's backing, Beatrice Lorenzin, Minister of Health since 2013, became AP's de facto leader.
In 2019, what remained of the party made a right-wing turn and formed an alliance with The People of Family.