UDEUR Populars
The Unione Democratici per l'Europa ( UDEUR ) ( Union ( the ) Democrats for Europe ) is an Italian Christian Democratic party of the center. She has several times changed slightly its name, it was temporarily National Alliance Popolare - Unione Democratici per l' Europe and currently popolari - Unione Democratici per l' Europe.
The UDEUR was founded in 1999 by former Christian Democrats by Clemente Mastella, who left Silvio Berlusconi supporting DC successor parties. Mastella has since become chairman of the party. For the first time she appeared in the same year in the European elections and won 1.6 % of votes. First, had the popolari the goal of providing an alternative to the two big blocks, but from 2000 they supported the center-left coalition of Massimo D' Alema. At the 2001 elections, however, the UDEUR took as part of the Margherita list in part, not on the party's founding of La Margherita -. Democrazia è Libertà 2002 2005 she decided to participate in the center-left coalition L' Unione. When the internal primaries for the leadership of the Alliance Mastella was in third place, Romano Prodi, but did not become an overwhelming majority. In the parliamentary elections of 2006, the UDEUR reached a nationwide vote share of 1.4%. Clemente Mastella was after the election victory of the center-left coalition justice minister, but resigned at the outbreak of the corruption scandal surrounding the UDEUR on 16 January 2008 from the post back.
The party has its registered office in Rome and is in the House with 14 of the 630 and in the Senate, after the exclusion of Nuccio Cusumano of the UDEUR on 24 January 2008, now only represented by two of the 315 seats. Their strongholds it has. Southern regions, especially in Campania, where it enters results regularly to the 7% Armando Veneto represents the UDEUR in the European Parliament. He is, like his party, the European People's Party. At European level, the UDEUR advocates a federal system, its name emphasizes the pro-European stance.
Your daily newspaper, Il Campanile, the bell tower is also the party symbol.
Popolarismo describes an ideology similar to the Italian Christian Democracy. The name thus refers to the historical Partito Popolare Italiano, which existed from 1919-26 and whose members were known already as popolari.
When the Campanian prosecutor announced on 16 January 2008, to investigate 23 local and regional politicians UDEUR for corruption, embezzlement, abuse of office and complicity with a criminal organization, the Party is shaken up to the top party leadership. Among the 23 arrested or placed under house arrest persons is also Sandra Lonardo Mastella, President of the Campania Regional Parliament and wife of the incumbent Justice Minister Clemente Mastella, is also determined against. Clemente Mastella then submitted the same day you in a speech in the Italian Parliament in his resignation as Minister of Justice, and solved it by its voiced accusations against the judiciary an open power struggle and an institutional crisis. At the same time UDEUR resigned from the ruling government Prodi and put this an ultimatum to support Mastella attitude towards the judiciary. When it became clear that the government parties would not support Mastella attacks on the judiciary, UDEUR the Prodi government withdrew their support completely and plunged Italy into a government crisis.
In protest against this political decision, and Popular Democratici were split on 13 February 2008 by UDEUR from.
After the party had not taken part in the Italian elections of 2008, party leader Mastella announced in February 2009 in an alliance with Berlusconi's center-right party Popolo della Libertà, will be competing in the framework Mastella at the 2009 European elections on the PdL list. In return, the UDEUR will assist in the simultaneous municipal and provincial elections in Campania candidate of the center-right alliance.