in 1994 The CCD was founded in January 1994 by members of
Christian Democracy (DC) who opposed the party's transformation into the
Italian People's Party (PPI), and advocated an alliance with
Silvio Berlusconi's
Forza Italia (FI), which was launched on the same day, while the PPI advocated a
centrist alliance with the
Segni Pact called
Pact for Italy. Its leaders were
Pier Ferdinando Casini and
Clemente Mastella. The CCD represented the right wing of the defunct DC, while the PPI was largely the heir of the party's left wing, especially after the split of the
United Christian Democrats (CDU) from the PPI in 1995. In accordance with an agreement between the party presidents of CCD and PPI, the CCD "inherited" 15 percent of the DC's assets, while the PPI was awarded the remainder. In the
1994 general election the CCD joined FI as a member of the
Pole of Freedoms in
Northern Italy and the
Pole of Good Government in
Southern Italy, forming a joint list with FI, and gaining 27 deputies and 12 senators. After the election the CCD joined the
Berlusconi I Cabinet, with Mastella minister of Labour and
Francesco D'Onofrio minister of Education. After the sudden fall of the government in December 1994, caused by
Lega Nord's exit, a
new general election took place in 1996. The CCD formed a joint list with the CDU. The alliance proved successful, gaining 5.8% of the vote, 30 deputies and 15 senators. However, as the centre-right lost the election to
The Olive Tree centre-left coalition, the party was in
opposition. In 1998 Mastella and several MPs left the party to form, along with the CDU, the
Christian Democrats for the Republic (CDR), which was later folded into the
Democratic Union for the Republic (UDR) and supported the centre-left
government led by
Massimo D'Alema. In 1999 the UDR was transformed into the
Union of Democrats for Europe (UDEUR), while the CDU was re-organised as an independent party and returned to the alliance with the CCD. Once again, the CCD and the CDU formed a joint list (the so-called
White Flower) for the
2001 general election, this time gaining only 3.2% of the vote, as part of the winning
House of Freedoms coalition composed mainly of FI,
National Alliance and Lega Nord. Casini was elected
President of the Chamber of Deputies, while
Carlo Giovanardi was appointed minister of Relations with Parliament in
Berlusconi II Cabinet. In 2002 the CCD, the CDU and
European Democracy (DE), which had won 2.3% in 2001, gave birth to the
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC). ==Electoral results==