Italian political parties on the political compass (2024)
Where Brothers of Italy, the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement, the League, Forza Italia and five other Italian parties stand on the economic and social axes, using 2024 expert survey data.
Written by Ottavio Malatacca · Updated
- Radical right
- Conservative
- Liberal
- Socialist
- Green
- Regionalist
- No family
Reading the map
Italy's party system is easiest to read on the vertical axis. On economics the governing coalition is only moderately right of centre: Brothers of Italy sits at +2.8 and the League at +3.6, while Forza Italia, at +4.8, is the most market-oriented of the three. On social and cultural questions the coalition comes apart. Brothers of Italy (+8.3) and the League (+7.7) are close to the traditional/authoritarian edge of the compass; Forza Italia (+2.1) is much nearer the centre.
The opposition is spread across the libertarian half. The Democratic Party (−4.1, −5.3) and the Five Star Movement (−4.3, −3.5) are almost level on economics, and the two partners of the Green and Left Alliance sit further left still, with Italian Left the furthest left of any Italian party (−7.2). Experts rate the Five Star Movement's position on social questions as the most blurred in the country: 4.6 on a 0–10 scale of vagueness. The two liberal parties, Action–Italia Viva and More Europe, stand close to the economic centre (+0.4 and +0.5) but differ socially, and More Europe is the most socially liberal party in Italy (−7.3).
Of the issues in the table below, immigration and LGBTQ+ rights show the widest spread. On immigration the League scores 9.9 out of 10 towards a restrictive policy and Brothers of Italy 9.5, against 0.8 for Italian Left. European integration divides the right itself: on CHES's 1–7 scale Forza Italia is mildly in favour (5.3), Brothers of Italy leans against (3.3) and the League is the most opposed (1.6).
CHES lists the two partners of the Green and Left Alliance separately and divides the list's 3.6% of 2022 between them. Action and Italia Viva, which ran together in 2022, are rated as a single party.
Every party, by the numbers
| Party | Family | Vote 2022 | Economic | Social |
|---|---|---|---|---|
FdI · Brothers of Italy Fratelli d'Italia |
Radical right | 26.0% | +2.8 | +8.3 |
PD · Democratic Party Partito Democratico |
Socialist | 19.0% | −4.1 | −5.3 |
M5S · Five Star Movement Movimento 5 Stelle |
No family | 15.4% | −4.3 | −3.5 |
Lega · League Lega |
Radical right | 8.8% | +3.6 | +7.7 |
FI · Forza Italia |
Conservative | 8.1% | +4.8 | +2.1 |
A-IV · Action – Italia Viva Azione – Italia Viva |
Liberal | 7.8% | +0.4 | −3.1 |
+E · More Europe Più Europa |
Liberal | 2.8% | +0.5 | −7.3 |
SI · Italian Left Sinistra Italiana |
Socialist | 1.8% | −7.2 | −6.6 |
EV · Green Europe Europa Verde |
Green | 1.8% | −5.6 | −6.6 |
SVP · South Tyrolean People's Party Südtiroler Volkspartei |
Regionalist | 0.4% | 0.0 | +0.2 |
Economic: −10 left, +10 right. Social: −10 libertarian, +10 authoritarian. A dash means the dataset records no vote share for that election.
Where they stand on specific issues
Expert ratings on CHES's own scales: 0 to 10, except European integration, which runs from 1 to 7. The bar shows how far along the scale each party sits.
| Party | EU integration | Redistribution | Services vs taxes | Immigration | Climate policy | LGBTQ+ rights | Civil liberties vs law and order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FdI | 3.3 | 7.1 | 6.0 | 9.5 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 8.8 |
| PD | 6.8 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 3.3 |
| M5S | 4.1 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 4.3 |
| Lega | 1.6 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 9.9 | 7.1 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| FI | 5.3 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 6.5 | 6.1 | 6.8 | 6.3 |
| A-IV | 6.8 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| +E | 6.9 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| SI | 4.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 1.8 |
| EV | 5.7 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| SVP | 5.5 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 5.0 |
What the scales mean
- EU integration
- 1 strongly against → 7 strongly in favour
- Redistribution
- 0 strongly in favour → 10 strongly against
- Services vs taxes
- 0 improve public services → 10 cut taxes
- Immigration
- 0 liberal policy → 10 restrictive policy
- Climate policy
- 0 climate first, even at a cost to growth → 10 growth first
- LGBTQ+ rights
- 0 strongly supports → 10 strongly opposes
- Civil liberties vs law and order
- 0 civil liberties → 10 tough on crime
Where would you be on this map?
Take the 15-question test, then compare your result with these parties.
Take the test →How these positions were calculated
Source: Chapel Hill Expert Survey 2024 (Rovny et al., 2025). Conversion to the compass and commentary: PolitiCompass.