Marco Follini

Marco Follini (born on 26 September 1954) is an Italian centre-wing politician.

Follini was born in Rome. He was National Secretary of the Democrats' Centre Union party until October 15, 2005. He was also Vice-Prime Minister of Berlusconi's second government, taking office up to April 2005.

A former member of the Christian Democracy party, he then joined the UDC, and became national party leader in 2002, succeeding Pierferdinando Casini, after the latter's election as President of the Chamber of Deputies. He unexpectedly resigned from his UDC leader position on October 15, 2005, following the approval of a new proportional electoral law by the ruling coalition the House of Freedoms, stating this was not the electoral law he actually wished.

Elected in the 2006 general election as Senator, he, along with Bruno Tabacci continued to show his disagreement of Berlusconi's leadership in the House of Freedoms. Follini also clashed with the rest of his party on several occasions, supporting, again with Bruno Tabacci's support, Giorgio Napolitano's candidacy in the presidential election and successfully campaigning in opposition to the constitutional reform approved by the House of Freedoms in 2005, then cancelled by a referendum.

On October 18, 2006, Follini officially left UDC, and announced the foundation of a new centrist movement, called Middle-of-the-Road Italy (Italia di Mezzo). On February 24, 2007, after President Giorgio Napolitano sent the resigning Prodi cabinet to the Senate for a confidence vote, Marco Follini announced he would vote in favour of it.

On May 22, 2007, he was appointed a member of the organizing committee of the embryonic centre-left Democratic Party.