Early Years and Prime (1982-1991)
It was formed on 30 August 1982 with the stated purpose of "defending Valencian identity" and ran for the first time in the Spanish general election, 1982. It particiapted as part of the larger Spain-wide right-wing block Alianza Popular and won a seat held by Miguel Ramón Izquierdo. This coalition was kept for the 1983 elections to the Valencian autonomous Parliament.
UV took part by itself in the 1986 general election. Miguel Ramón Izquierdo retained his seat in the Cortes Generales. In 1987, it entered the Corts Valencianes (Valencian regional parliament), winning six of the 89 seats in the parliament. It then doubled its presence at the Cortes Generales when two of its candidates won in the 1989 general election. One of the seats was won by its founder, Vicente González Lizondo.
UV reached its height in the Valencian regional elections of 1991, when it became the third largest party in the Valencian Community, overtaking the traditional third party in the territory (Esquerra Unida del País Valencià). This election elevated UV to its all time record, 10.5% of the total votes, with this figure remarkably higher in its electoral stronghold, the Valencian speaking areas in the Valencia province.
| UV's MPs in the Valencian autonomous Parliament | |||
| Constituency / Year | 1987 | 1991 | 1995 |
| Alicante | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Castellón | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Valencia | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 6 | 7 | 5 |
Read more about this topic: Valencian Union
Famous quotes containing the words early, years and/or prime:
“If there is a price to pay for the privilege of spending the early years of child rearing in the driver’s seat, it is our reluctance, our inability, to tolerate being demoted to the backseat. Spurred by our success in programming our children during the preschool years, we may find it difficult to forgo in later states the level of control that once afforded us so much satisfaction.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“Flood-tide below me! I see you face to face!
Clouds of the west—sun there half an hour
high—I see you also face to face.
Crowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes, how curious you are to me!
On the ferry-boats the hundreds and hundreds that cross, returning
home, are more curious to me than you suppose,
And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence are more to me, and more in my meditations, than you might suppose.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“One wants in a Prime Minister a good many things, but not very great things. He should be clever but need not be a genius; he should be conscientious but by no means strait-laced; he should be cautious but never timid, bold but never venturesome; he should have a good digestion, genial manners, and, above all, a thick skin.”
—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)