Rutelliani
Rutelliani referred to the followers of Francesco Rutelli, a former leading member of the Democratic Party, and later leader of Alliance for Italy. The followers of Rutelli were mainly centrists who wanted the party to be modelled on the Democratic Party of the United States and to join the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and the Alliance of Democrats. They included both liberals and Christian-democrats.
Some groups considered close to Rutelli were:
- Liberal PD
- Democratic Ecologists
- Teodem/Persons and Networks
However, in June 2009 all Rutelliani, including Gentiloni and Realacci, rallied again around Rutelli and joined his new association, the Free Democrats and chose to support the candidacy of Dario Franceschini in the 2009 Democratic Party leadership election. In the aftermath of the election, which saw the victory of Pier Luigi Bersani, Rutelli and a large portion of the faction left the party in order to set up an independent party, Alliance for Italy. Some Rutelliani, including Gentiloni and Realacci, chose to remain in the PD and, since September 2010, were part of Veltroni's Democratic Movement.