Us Moderates

Us Moderates (Italian: Noi moderati, NM) is a centrist^[1][2] political party in Italy, led by Maurizio Lupi.

The party has had several associated members and regional partners. At the European level, it is a member of the European People's Party. Most of NM's members and elected officials are former members of Forza Italia.

History

Us Moderates was launched as an electoral joint list within the centre-right coalition in the 2022 Italian general election,^[3] which obtained 0.9% of the vote, seven deputies and two senators. NM was originally composed of four founding members: Us with Italy (NcI), Italy in the Centre (IaC), the Union of the Centre (UdC) and Coraggio Italia (CI). After the election, NM formed parliamentary groups both in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate (Civics of Italy), thanks to the influx of some elects from the Brothers of Italy and the alliance with the Associative Movement of Italians Abroad (MAIE).

In May 2023 NM evolved into a unitary party,^[4] causing the splits of CI^[5] and the UdC. Maurizio Lupi, leader of NcI, became NM's leader and president, while Giovanni Toti, leader of IaC, was appointed president of the party's national council during the party's first congress, held in October 2023.^[6][7] In January 2024 Italy of Values (IdV), formerly aligned with the centre-left, joined and its leader Ignazio Messina became NM's spokesperson.^[8] In February UdC leader Lorenzo Cesa aligned his party with the League^[9] and subsequently left NM's group in the Chamber.^[10] In 2023 regional elections NM or its associate parties won 7.5% of the vote in Molise, 2.0% in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 1.2% in Lombardy and 1.1% in Lazio.

In the 2024 European Parliament election NM ran with Forza Italia (FI), obtaining 9.6% of the vote, but no seats for the party. In the subsequent Ligurian regional election two lists formed mostly by NM members ("Bucci for President" and "Ligurian Pride") obtained a combined score of 15.2% in a region that had been governed by Toti from 2015 to 2024 and where his Cambiamo! had obtained 22.9% in 2020. In the other 2024 regional elections where NM had fielded its own lists, the party had won 2.9% of the vote in Umbria, 2.7% in Abruzzo and 0.7% in Piedmont, while Sardinia 20Twenty, a regional partner of NM, formed mostly by former FI members, had obtained 5.5% in Sardinia.

In September 2024 Mara Carfagna, Mariastella Gelmini and Giusy Versace, all three former FI members who had joined Action in 2022, formed an association named "Popular Centre". In October they officially joined NM, as well as its parliamentary groups in the Chamber and the Senate.^[11] In November 2024 NM changed its symbol, adding to its name also "Populars for Europe", and it was announced that the party was seeking to join the European People's Party (EPP) in the coming months.^{[12][13][14][15]} The party was officially admitted into the EPP in January 2025.^[16] In March 2025 Carafagna was appointed secretary,^[17] while in July Ilaria Cavo, Toti's number two in Cambiamo! and IaC, was selected president of the national council, replacing her mentor.^[18]

In the 2025 regional elections the party fielded its own lists in most regions, aiming at strengthening its role as fourth pillar of the centre-right coalition^[19][20] and obtaining 4.0% of the vote and two regional councillors in Calabria (down from a combined score of CI and NcI of 8.7% in 2021), 1.6% in Marche, 1.3% in Campania, 1.2% in Tuscany, 1.1% in Veneto and 0.8% in Apulia.

Composition

Founding members merged into NM

Associate member parties

Regional member parties

Founding members that have left NM

Former associate member parties

Election results

National Parliament

European Parliament

Regional Councils

Leadership

• President: Maurizio Lupi (2022–present)
• Secretary: Mara Carfagna (2025–present)
• Coordinator: Francesco Saverio Romano (2023–present)
• President of the national council: Giovanni Toti (2023–2025), Ilaria Cavo (2025–present)
• Organisational Secretary: Alessandro Colucci (2023–present)
• Spokesperson: Ignazio Messina (2024–present)

Symbols