Federation of Progressive Democrats

Federation of Progressive Democrats
Leader	Dominic de Brincat
Chairperson	Magdalena Moretti
Founded	November 1, 1899 (1899-11-01)
Headquarters	Via Constituccione 1601, Timiocato 3272AA
Youth wing	Young Progressive Democrats
Ideology	Liberalism, conservatism, classical liberalism
Political position	Centre-right
Colours	Azure
Senato	0 / 100
Constazione	6 / 715
Website
www.fpd.org.pc
Political parties

The Federation of Progressive Democrats (FPD, Pacitalian: Federazione Democrate Progressivare, FDP) is a centre-right political party in Pacitalia. The FPD has been Pacitalia's only major modern liberal or conservative political party at the national level.

The party was founded in 1899 as a "third way" alternative that was politically between the entrenched two major parties of the time. The Liberal Party, which was further left on the political spectrum, and the more conservative, traditional Civil Party, had dominated Pacitalian politics since the mid-eighteenth century.

Just six years after its founding, it won the 1905 national elections and formed a government. For most of the twentieth century, and into the twenty-first, the values of the FPD largely mirrored that of wider society, leading many experts and the general public to christen it the country's "natural governing party". Shifting social attitudes, demographic changes, and a series of scandals affecting the party starting in the mid-2000s, have diminished the FPD's standing in recent years.

Since winning its first election, the Federation has governed Pacitalia for a total of approximately 69 years as of 2023, more than all other parties combined in the modern age. Many of the economic policies the FPD enacted while in office are credited with fostering Pacitalia's transition from a largely agrarian, conservative and insular nation, with rapid economic growth and industrialization in the twentieth century transforming the country into an economic power.

The party last governed at the national level prior to 2018, when Prime Minister Maurizio Conte's government failed to retain majority support in parliament following the 2017 elections. Shortly after, Archonate Vittoria Agradossa invited Democratic Nationalist Party leader Damián Moya to form a government, in a coalition arrangement with the Pacitalian Social Congress, ending a period where the FPD had governed – alone or as part of a coalition – for 28 out of a possible 30 years.

The FPD is currently the third-largest party by membership, and fourth-largest in fundraising income, as of 2023. It currently does not hold a majority of seats, or control, any of Pacitalia's regional councils.

The party had one of its worst-ever performances in the 2023 national elections. After decades as the pre-eminent centre-right political party in the country, it was reduced to a rump caucus and was nearly wiped out of holding any national representation, having been usurped by other right-wing parties like the Christian Democrats and Defence of the Republic.

Ideology

Ideologically, the FPD is a strong proponent of free markets, globalism and globalization. Its recent campaign platforms have called for the size of government to shrink in order to maximize personal freedoms "of all kinds". Historically pacifist and "dove-ish" on foreign policy, the FPD has long argued in favour of maintaining the Pacitalian military as a defensive force, believing international peace and stability can be attained through the use of soft power and by fostering economic growth and opportunity.

The FPD was previously regarded as a "big tent" political party, a term for a party that encompasses large factions of people with often diverging viewpoints who can still rally around a common cause. However, the party's size both in parliament and in terms of membership has shrunk in recent years. It has also faced increasing competition for public support and individual financial contributions from other parties on the right.

Its voting base tends to skew towards men, middle-aged and older voters, urban professionals and white-collar workers, particularly in the finance and tourism sectors, nuclear families, and people who identify as ethnically Pacitalian. Prior to 2023, the party was typically most popular in the suburban areas around major cities.

History

Notable policy achievements

• Creation of the autostrada road network (1948)
• Creation of the national high-speed rail network, Alta Velocità (1960)
• Judicial modernization (1962)
• Expansion of adoption rights and spousal benefits to same-sex couples (1996)
• Legalization of same-sex marriage (2002)
• Legalization of medically assisted dying (2008)

Party leaders

Name	Served from	Served until	Notes
Medinis Sorprantakis	August 2, 1900	January 20, 1915	Prime Minister (1905-1913)
Fabrizio dello Locarno	January 20, 1915	September 1, 1920
Marco Firmino	January 20, 1915	December 15, 1937	Prime Minister (1921-1937)
Paolo Imperiano	December 15, 1937	June 6, 1940	Prime Minister (1937)
Rabastiano Pietro Grazzo	June 6, 1940	September 30, 1957	Prime Minister (1945-1957)
Carlo Fadda	September 30, 1957	March 10, 1965	Prime Minister (1957-1965)†
Tiberio Damesco	March 10, 1965	January 30, 1969
Michelangelo Arzu	January 30, 1969	August 1, 1972
Arturo Bop-Mascarte	August 1, 1972	December 5, 1983
Camazo Vendalini	December 5, 1983	May 15, 1987
Francesco Santo Ragazzo	May 15, 1987	December 6, 1995	Prime Minister (1988-1996)
Timotaio Ell Petranescu-Calindara	December 6, 1995	December 15, 2005	Prime Minister (1996-2006)
Constantino Sorantanali	December 15, 2005	August 9, 2006	Prime Minister (2006)
Albinanda Serodini	August 9, 2006	December 10, 2006	Caretaker Prime Minister and party leader ad interim
Archetenia Nera	December 10, 2006	June 21, 2017	Prime Minister (2007-2009, 2011-2017
Maurizio Conte	June 21, 2017	May 16, 2020	Prime Minister (2017-2018)
Gemma Bianconi	May 16, 2020	June 4, 2022
Enzo Figo	June 4, 2022	April 16, 2023	Resigned after being charged with murder
Dominic de Brincat	April 16, 2023		Party leader ad interim

† Fadda stepped down as leader of the party in the spring of 1965 but continued to serve as a caretaker Prime Minister to allow his successor, Damesco, to assume the leadership of the party and run the campaign. The party was defeated in the 1965 election. This is the only instance in Pacitalian political history where a successor as party leader never served as Prime Minister at the same time (even if briefly).

Electoral performance

Constazione Repubblicana

Election	Leader	Electorate votes		Party list votes		Electorate seats		Party list seats		Total seats		Position	Result
		No.	Share	No.	Share	No.	±	No.	±	No.	±
2007	Archetenia Nera	135,165,624	49.7%	131,029,900	48.1%	249 / 270	N/Aa	214 / 445	N/Aa	463 / 715	193	1st	Majority government
2009	Archetenia Nera	81,401,487	28.5%	73,381,724	25.4%	80 / 270	169	118 / 445	96	198 / 715	265	2nd	Opposition
2011	Archetenia Nera	109,430,106	42.2%	114,410,433	43.3%	151 / 270	71	193 / 445	75	344 / 715	146	1st	Coalition government with Empordian League
2014	Archetenia Nera	94,018,375	33.8%	98,967,664	34.1%	186 / 270	35	152 / 445	41	338 / 715	6	1st	Coalition government with Empordian League
2017	Maurizio Conte	76,508,546	22.5%	79,227,811	24.3%	87 / 270	99	108 / 445	44	195 / 715	143	1stb	Opposition
2020	Gemma Bianconi	112,847,461	34.7%	84,843,057	26.1%	51 / 270	36	117 / 445	9	168 / 715	27	2nd	Opposition
2023	Dominic de Brincat	15,836,290	4.6%	4,478,833	1.3%	0 / 270	51	6 / 445	111	6 / 715	162	9th	Third party

^a First election contested under the new proportional electoral system of the Second Republic. The previous election was a form of first-past-the-post (single-member plurality) voting and did not have "electorate" and "party list" totals; therefore, the only appropriate seat comparison to the prior election is an overall count.
^bThough the party won the largest overall share of seats, it was not able to retain the confidence of parliament. The FPD government resigned and a PSC-DNP coalition replaced it.

Senato Repubblicana

Election	Leader	Votes		Seats		Position	Result
		No.	Share	No.	Share
2007	Archetenia Nera	125,502,382	47.9%	54 / 96	3c	1st	Majority (governing)
2009	Archetenia Nera	80,939,102	28.3%	22 / 96	22	2nd	Minority (opposition)
2011	Archetenia Nera	106,710,101	41.3%	39 / 96	17	1st	Majority (governing)
2014	Archetenia Nera	103,218,754	37.0%	41 / 96	2	1st	Majority (governing)
2017	Maurizio Conte	81,155,631	26.1%	24 / 96	17	2nd	Minority (opposition)
2020	Gemma Bianconi	109,354,709	33.9%	19 / 100	6d	2nd	Minority (opposition)
2023	Dominic de Brincat	12,591,833	3.8%	0 / 100	19	8th	None elected

^c As part of the political reforms of the Second Republic, the size of Pacitalia's upper house was decreased from 100 seats to 96. The FPD held 53 of 100 seats in the Senate before the 2007 election, resulting in a comparable net increase of three seats after the chamber was reduced in size.
^d The size of the Senate was reverted to 100 seats for the 2020 election. The FPD's comparable net seat decrease in a 100-seat chamber was six.

Archonate of the Pacitalian Republic

Election	Candidate	First-round votes			Runoff election			Result
		No.	Share	Position	No.	Share	Position
2007	Timotaio Ell Petranescu-Calindara	95,100,550	45.0%	1st	116,301,994	58.1%	1st	Elected
2010	Dragomir Dobrogeanu	115,743,500	40.2%	1st	123,858,190	47.4%	2nd	Lost in runoff
2016†	Domenico de Fiore	61,422,136	22.5%	3rd				No Eliminated in first round
2017†	Archetenia Nera	95,651,932	33.0%	1st	135,741,776	49.0%	2nd	Lost in runoff
2023	Maria Bosa Sanremo	15,031,330	5.3%	4th				No Eliminated in first round

† Election result was annulled due to the narrow margin of just 754 votes between the final two candidates, out of nearly 250 million valid votes cast. Voting irregularities and missing postal ballots that may have altered the final result were also noted during the tabulation process. The National Superior Court invalidated the election results as a precaution and officials re-ran the election in 2017.