, 1993 In 1989,
Silvius Magnago, long-time SVP leader and
governor of South Tyrol since 1960, handed his office to
Luis Durnwalder, who would keep the post until 2013. Under Durnwalder's long reign, the SVP continued to be the largest party in the Province, garnering more than 50% of the vote in most elections, despite growing competition, chiefly from right-wing parties, i.e. the
Union for South Tyrol and
Die Freiheitlichen. Most importantly, Durnwalder managed to keep the party, often riven in internal disputes between opposing factions, united. The SVP joined the
European People's Party as an observer member in 1993 and became a full member later. In the
1996 and
2001 general election, the SVP was affiliated to
The Olive Tree, on the
Populars for Prodi list (led by the
Italian People's Party) and on its own list, respectively.
2003–2006 elections In the
2003 provincial election, the SVP won 55.6% of the vote and 21 provincial councillors out of 35. Durnwalder, governor since 1989, was returned for the fourth time in office, in coalition composed by the
Democrats of the Left (DS) and the
Democratic Union of Alto Adige. In the
2004 European Parliament election, the SVP formed an electoral alliance with The Olive Tree joint list, including the DS. The party's share of votes fell below 50% for the first time, to 46.7% (–9.3pp from 1999, mainly because of the big win of the
Greens (13.2%, +6.5%). However,
Michl Ebner was elected
MEP with more than 90,000 preferences and a Green,
Sepp Kusstatscher (a former member of the internal left of the SVP), was elected too, the first time that the province had two MEPs. Also in 2004, the centrist
Siegfried Brugger, party chairman since 1992, stepped down and was replaced by
Elmar Pichler Rolle, another centrist. In the
2006 general election, the party was part of the victorious
The Union centre-left coalition, and garnered four deputies, including one for its sister-party in Trentino, the
Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party (PATT) – long-serving Siegfried Brugger,
Karl Zeller,
Johann Georg Widmann and PATT's
Giacomo Bezzi –, and three senators –
Helga Thaler Ausserhofer (representing the party's conservative wing),
Oskar Peterlini (from the party's social-democratic faction) and
Manfred Pinzger.
2008–2009 elections In the
2008 general election, the party obtained 44.3% (–9.1pp from 2006 and –16.2pp from 2001), returning only two deputies, Siegfried Brugger and Karl Zeller. In the Senate election, thanks to the
plurality voting system, the SVP got its three senators – Helga Thaler Ausserhofer, Oskar Peterlini and Manfred Pinzger – re-elected. The low number of elects in the Chamber was due both to the strong showing of
Die Freiheitlichen (9.4%) on the right and the decision not to enter in alliance for the Chamber of Deputies either with the centre-left led by the
Democratic Party (PD, 18.0%) – successor of the DS – or the centre-right led by
The People of Freedom (PdL,16.0%). In the
2008 provincial election, the SVP won 48.1% of the vote in the province (–7.5%), while its right-wing rivals (The Freedomites,
South Tyrolean Freedom and
Union for South Tyrol) gained a combined 21.5% of the vote. During the electoral campaign the party did not endorse its traditional counterparts in
Trentino (the
Daisy Civic List/
Union for Trentino, UpT, and the PATT), in order not to hurt the relations with
Lega Nord (LN), whose Trentino section,
Lega Trentino, provided the opposition candidate,
Sergio Divina, who was however defeated Despite rumors on an alliance with
Lega Alto Adige Südtirol, after the election the SVP continued its alliance with the PD, which was the largest party in Trentino. In April 2009,
Richard Theiner, a member of the
Arbeitnehmer ("employees") left-leaning wing, was elected party chairman, due to an agreement between the opposing factions. Since then he was assisted by three deputy chairpersons:
Thomas Widmann (
Wirtschaft or "business" faction),
Martha Stocker and
Paola Bioc Gasser (representative of the Ladin section). The latter was replaced by
Daniel Alfreider in 2012. Widmann would later leave the party in 2023. In the
2009 European Parliament election, due to the absence of its rival parties on the right, the SVP won 52.1% of the vote, electing
Herbert Dorfmann.
2013–2014 elections The SVP contested the
2013 general election as part of the centre-left coalition,
Italy. Common Good. Some long-serving MPs, notably Siegfried Brugger and Helga Thaler Ausserhofer, chose not to run for re-election and the party selected its candidates through a
primary election. In the general election, the SVP won 44.2% of the provincial vote (–0.1pp from 2008) and, being part of the coalition winning the national majority premium, obtained five deputies:
Albrecht Plangger,
Renate Gebhard, Daniel Alfreider, PATT's
Mauro Ottobre and
Manfred Schullian. For the Senate, the SVP ran alone in the constituencies of
Merano and
Brixen, winning both: in Merano outgoing deputy Karl Zeller took 53.5%, while in Brixen
Hans Berger 55.4%. The SVP, in alliance with the PD, the UpT and the PATT, contributed also to the election of centre-left or autonomist candidates in the constituency of
Bolzano and in those of Trentino. On 21 April, in a party primary, the SVP selected
Arno Kompatscher as its head of the list for the
2013 provincial election, in place of Durnwalder. Kompatscher, 42-year-old mayor of
Völs am Schlern, won 82.4% of the vote, while former SVP leader
Elmar Pichler Rolle a mere 17.6%. In the October election, the SVP won 45.7% of the vote in the province (–2.4pp) and lost its 65-year-long absolute majority. Both the German right-wing parties (whose combined share of the vote was 27.2%, +5.7%) and the Greens (8.7%, +2.9%) gained votes. Kompatscher obtained more than 80,000 preference votes and was appointed governor, in coalition with the PD. In May 2014, Theiner was replaced by
Philipp Achammer as party's chairman. Daniel Alfreider,
Zeno Christanell and
Angelika Wiedmer were appointed vice chairpersons. Kompatscher and 28-year-old Achammer formed an entirely new leadership team and represented the party's renewal. In the
2014 European Parliament election, the SVP won 48.0% of the vote in the province and Dorfmann was re-elected to the European Parliament.
2018–2019 elections The SVP, which again chose its candidates through a primary election, contested the
2018 general election in a joint list with the PATT, within the
centre-left coalition. The German right-wing parties did not participate, leading the SVP to obtain 48.8% of the vote in the province (+4.6pp). However, due to the new electoral system, it secured four deputies, including one for the PATT, and three senators. For the Chamber, Plangger was elected in Meran (61.2%), Gebhard in Brixen (65.0%), Schullian and PATT's
Emanuela Rossini from the PR list. For the Senate,
Julia Unterberger was elected in Merano (61.1%),
Meinhard Durnwalder in Brixen (66.5%) and
Dieter Steger from the PR list. The SVP's support granted the election of PD's candidates for the Chamber and the Senate in Bolzano, but for the first time the centre-left lost badly in Trentino, where the LN – re-styled as "Lega" – became the largest party. In the
2018 provincial election, incumbent governor Kompatscher was the party's leading candidate. In the election on 21 October 2018, the party gained 41.9% (–3.8pp). The PD, SVP's traditional ally, did so poorly that the SVP needed to find a new coalition partner: after long negotiations, the party chose to team up with
Lega Alto Adige Südtirol in 2019. Additionally, for the
2019 European Parliament election, the party formed an electoral pact with the other two main members of the
European People's Party (EPP) from Italy,
Forza Italia (FI) and the
Union of the Centre (UdC). In the event, the SVP garnered 46.5% of the vote in the province and Dorfmann was re-elected to the European Parliament.
2022–2024 elections In the
2022 general election, the SVP decided to run independently with PATT and the
Trentino Project. In response, the centre-left coalition made deals with the
Team K and
Greens after this decision. The SVP obtained 44.1% (–4.7pp) of the vote at the provincial level. Fewer seats were at stake after the successful
2020 constitutional referendum. For the Chamber, Schullian was re-elected in Bolzano with 32.9%, Gebhard was re-elected in Brixen with 57.4% and incumbent senator Steger was elected from the PR list. For the Senate, the party's candidate narrowly lost in Bolzano, Unterberger was re-elected in Meran with 47.8% and Durnwalder was re-elected in Brixen with 46.1%. In the
2023 provincial election, the party was reduced to 34.5% of the vote (–7.4pp), with Kompatscher as the most voted candidate. That was due to the competition from a number of right-wing and populist German-speaking parties (combined 25.0% of the vote), as well as the split of
For South Tyrol with Widmann (3.4%). After the election, the SVP chose to pursue an alliance with the
Brothers of Italy (FdI, 6.0%),
Die Freiheitlichen (dF, 4.9%),
Lega Alto Adige Südtirol (LAAST, 3.1%) and
The Civic List (LC, 2.6%). Kompatscher, who favoured a centre-left coalition, stayed as governor. The new government was formed by eight ministers from the SVP and one each for FdI, dF and LAAST, while LC provided external support. In May 2024, Steger was elected party leader, replacing Achammer. In the run-up of the
2024 European Parliament election, the SVP confirmed its electoral pact with FI. In the event, the SVP garnered 47.0% of the vote in the province and Dorfmann was re-elected to the European Parliament. ==Ideology and factions==