People's Union (Italy)

The People's Union (Italian: Unione Popolare, UP) is a left-wing political alliance in Italy launched on 9 July 2022 by Luigi de Magistris.

People's Union Unione Popolare
Leader	Vacant
Founder	Luigi de Magistris
Founded	9 July 2022 (2022-07-09)
Ideology	Left-wing populism Socialism Factions: Democratic socialism Communism
Political position	Left-wing to far-left
Chamber of Deputies	0 / 400
Senate	0 / 200
European Parliament	0 / 73
Regional Councils	4 / 896
Website
unionepopolare.blog
Politics of Italy Political parties Elections

History

Background

During a national assembly of Democracy and Autonomy (DemA) in January 2022, Luigi de Magistris, party leader and former Mayor of Naples, announced his intention to create a new coalition of left-wing parties, starting from his own party.^[1] In February, four deputies founded a sub-group at the Chamber of Deputies called "ManifestA". All of them had been elected in the 2018 general election for the Five Star Movement, a big-tent populist party, and then left the party and joined either Power to the People (PaP) or Communist Refoundation Party (PRC).^[2][3]

In April, at the Chamber of Deputies, de Magistris and the four deputies of ManifestA, held a joint conference to launch a coalition of parties opposed to the Russo-Ukrainian war and Mario Draghi's government for the next general election, initially scheduled to be held in 2023. He also stated that the group would not join the centre-left coalition led by the Democratic Party.^[4][5][6]

In July, De Magistris organised an assembly named "Towards the People's Union", which was attended also by PaP, the PRC, ManifestA and other groups.^[7][8]

The alliance participated in the 2022 general election, receiving over 400,000 votes and zero seats.^[9]

In December, the 4th October Movement, a brekaway-party from the Five Star Movement, announced they will join the UP, along with their two regional councillors in Piedmont.^[10]

In the run-up of the 2024 European Parliament election some of the components of UP joined Peace Land Dignity, a pacifist electoral list proposed by journalist Michele Santoro, while others chose to support some individual candidacies in the Green and Left Alliance lists. In March 2024 de Magistris, after refusing to stand as a candidate in the upcoming election, left UP's leadership altogether.^[11]

Composition

Founding member parties

Party		Main ideology	Leader(s)
	Democracy and Autonomy (DemA)	Left-wing populism	Luigi de Magistris
	Communist Refoundation Party (PRC)	Communism	Maurizio Acerbo
	Power to the People (PaP)	Left-wing populism[12]	Giuliano Granato, Marta Collot
	ManifestA	Communism[13]	None
	Socialist Rebirth (RS)	Socialism	Franco Bartolomei
	Party of the South (PdS)[14]	Regionalism	Natale Cuccurese

Further members

Party		Main ideology	Leader(s)	Joined
	October 4th Movement	Environmentalism[10]	Francesca Frediani	16 December 2022[10]

Electoral results

Italian Parliament

Chamber of Deputies
Election year	Votes	%	Seats	+/−	Leaders
2022	402,964	1.43	0 / 400	–	Luigi de Magistris

Senate of the Republic
Election year	Votes	%	Seats	+/−	Leaders
2022	374,051	1.36	0 / 200	–	Luigi de Magistris

Regional Councils

Region	Election year	Votes	%	Seats	+/−
Lazio	2023	10,289 (14th)	0.7	0 / 51	-
Lombardy	2023	39,913 (11th)	1.4	0 / 51	-

References

1. "De Magistris annuncia un nuovo soggetto politico: 'Per rispondere alle esigenze degli italiani'". NapoliToday (in Italian). Retrieved 12 July 2022.
2. "Nasce «ManifestA», 4 ex M5S coi simboli di Pap e Rifondazione". il manifesto. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
3. "Da Rifondazione agli ex 5S, alla Camera nasce ManifestA. Nel 2023 De Magistris guiderà la sfida alla sinistra". la Repubblica (in Italian). 16 February 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
4. "De Magistris, impossibile convergenza elettorale con questo Pd - Puglia". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). 30 April 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
5. "Elezioni Politiche 2023, i lavori in corso della politica italiana: De Magistris lancia il cantiere della sinistra alternativo a Pd-5s-Si-Verdi". la Repubblica (in Italian). 28 April 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
6. "De Magistris lancia il partito con Rifondazione e Pap: «Contro la guerra e il liberismo»". il manifesto. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
7. "De Magistris prova a rilanciarsi con i movimenti in "Unione popolare"". la Repubblica (in Italian). 9 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
8. "Blog | Nasce Unione Popolare e il patto con i cittadini parte dal conflitto sociale". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
9. "Eligendo Archive". Ministry of the Interior. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
10. "La lista di Luigi De Magistris in Piemonte cresce: aderisce anche il Movimento 4 Ottobre". TorinoToday (in Italian). Retrieved 20 December 2022.
11. "L'annuncio di Luigi de Magistris: «Lascio Unione popolare e non mi candido alle Europee con Santoro»". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 4 March 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
12. "Potere al popolo, la via di sinistra al populismo: Ecco come il movimento vuole crescere". 24 August 2018.
13. "Da Rifondazione agli ex 5S, alla Camera nasce ManifestA. Nel 2023 De Magistris guiderà la sfida alla sinistra". la Repubblica. 16 February 2022.
14. "VERSO L' UNIONE POPOLARE!". Retrieved 12 July 2022.