The Network 2018

{{Infobox political party

| name = The Network 2018

| native_name = La Rete 2018

| logo =

| leader = Leoluca Orlando

| split = Italy of Values

| foundation = 21 March 2011

| dissolution = 26 January 2018

| merged = Democratic Party

| headquarters =

| newspaper =

| membership_year =

| membership =

| ideology = Progressivism
Anti-corruption
Environmentalism

| position = Centre-left to left-wing

| national = RC (2013 election)

| international =

| european =

| europarl =

| website = [http://www.laretitudine.net www.laretitudine.net]

| colorcode = {{party color|The Network (political party)}}

| country = Italy

}}

The Network 2018 ({{langx|it|La Rete 2018}}) was a centre-left political party in Italy led by Leoluca Orlando, former leading member of Christian Democracy in Sicily, founder of The Network and The Democrats, and five-time mayor of Palermo.

The party, which considered itself a re-foundation{{Cite web|url=http://www.laretitudine.net/la-retitudin-e/|title=La RETE (Retitudine) è|access-date=2015-10-30|archive-date=2020-01-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106020045/http://www.laretitudine.net/la-retitudin-e/|url-status=dead}} of The Network (established, among others, by Orlando in 1991),{{cite book|first=Liubomir K.|last=Topaloff|title=Political Parties and Euroscepticism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=69QtbwLss0oC&pg=PA88|date=7 August 2012|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-36176-8|page=88}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite book|first1=Philip|last1=Daniels|title=Italy: Rupture or Regeneration |work=Changing Party Systems in Western Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NkDNoNiBEjUC&pg=PA78|year=1999|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=1-85567-328-2|page=78}}{{Cite book |first=John M. |last=Foot |title=The 'Left Opposition' and the crisis: Rifondazione Comunista and La Rete |work=The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi |publisher=Routledge |year=1996 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newitalianrepubl00/page/173 173–188] |isbn=0-415-12161-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newitalianrepubl00/page/173 }} was launched in 2011 and caused a split from Italy of Values (IdV) in 2013.{{cite web |url=http://livesicilia.it/2013/04/06/orlando-dice-addio-allidv-e-pensa-alla-nuova-rete_293141/ |title=Orlando dice addio all'Idv e pensa alla nuova Rete - Live Sicilia |website=livesicilia.it |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409073616/http://livesicilia.it/2013/04/06/orlando-dice-addio-allidv-e-pensa-alla-nuova-rete_293141/ |archive-date=2013-04-09}} Along Orlando, splinters from IdV notably included Fabio Giambrone, a former member of the Chamber of Deputies, and Niccolò Rinaldi, a former member of the European Parliament.{{Cite web|url=http://www.laretitudine.net/organizzazione/|title = Organizzazione}}

In 2013 Orlando launched a parallel party named 139 Movement along with two other leading IdV dissidents, Felice Belisario (former IdV floor leader in the Senate) and Carlo Costantini (regional councillor in Abruzzo). The name was a reference to the 139 articles of the Constitution of Italy.{{cite web|url=http://www.palermotoday.it/politica/nasce-movimento-139-leoluca-orlando.html|title=Nasce "Movimento 139", il nuovo partito di Orlando|publisher=|accessdate=20 October 2017}} In the 2017 Italian local elections in Palermo the M139 obtained 8.6% of the vote, enough to be the largest party of the fractured local centre-left coalition.{{cite web | url=https://www.repubblica.it/static/speciale/2017/elezioni/comunali/palermo.html | title=Comune di Palermo - Sicilia - Elezioni Comunali Italia - Risultati - 11-25 giugno 2017 - la Repubblica.it }}

In 2018 Orlando and his closest allies, notably including his deputy mayor Giambrone,{{cite web | url=https://www.ilsicilia.it/leoluca-orlando-aderisce-al-pd-con-lui-anche-giambrone/ | title=Leoluca Orlando aderisce al Pd, con lui anche Fabio Giambrone | date=25 January 2018 }} joined the Democratic Party.{{Cite web|url=http://www.lasicilia.it/news/politica/135917/la-scelta-personale-di-leoluca-orlando-ho-deciso-di-aderire-al-pd.html|title = La scelta personale di Orlando: "Ho deciso di aderire al Pd"| date=25 January 2018 }}{{Cite web|url=http://palermo.gds.it/2018/01/25/leoluca-orlando-aderisce-al-pd-scelta-contro-i-populismi-di-m5s-e-berlusconi_792563|title = Leoluca Orlando aderisce al Pd: "Scelta contro i populismi di M5s e Berlusconi"| date=25 January 2018 }}{{cite web |url=http://livesicilia.it/2018/01/25/orlando-conferenza-stampa-giambrone-pd-diretta_926374 |title=Orlando e Giambrone nel Pd "Ma Palermo resta il mio partito" - Live Sicilia |website=livesicilia.it |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125171835/http://livesicilia.it/2018/01/25/orlando-conferenza-stampa-giambrone-pd-diretta_926374/ |archive-date=2018-01-25}} For their part, Rinaldi returned to his original affiliation to the Italian Republican Party,{{cite web | url=https://www.qdmnotizie.it/jesi-europee-i-repubblicani-hanno-presentato-il-candidato-niccolo-rinaldi | title=Jesi / Europee: I Repubblicani Hanno Presentato Il Candidato Niccolò Rinaldi | date=24 May 2019 }} Belisario abandoned active politics and Costantini joined Action.{{cite web | url=https://www.rete8.it/cronaca/pescara-carlo-costantini-entra-nel-progetto-di-calenda-aderendo-a-abruzzo-in-azione | title=Pescara: Carlo Costantini entra nel progetto di Calenda aderendo a "Abruzzo in Azione" | date=30 September 2021 }}{{cite web | url=https://abruzzoweb.it/pescara-lex-deputato-e-consigliere-regionale-carlo-costantini-aderisce-ad-azione | title=PESCARA: l'EX DEPUTATO e CONSIGLIERE REGIONALE CARLO COSTANTINI ADERISCE AD AZIONE | Ultime notizie di cronaca Abruzzo - AbruzzoWeb | date=29 September 2021 }}