from the party: the European Republicans Movement (MRE), led by Luciana Sbarbati; and the Democratic Republicans, led by Giuseppe Ossorio. The PRI took part to Berlusconi's governments and La Malfa was appointed Minister of European Affairs in the Berlusconi III Cabinet. At the 2006 Italian general election, Nucara and La Malfa were elected on the Forza Italia's lists for the Chamber of Deputies while the party decided to run under its own banner for the Senate in some regions, obtaining little more than 0.1% of the vote. Del Pennino was elected senator on Forza Italia's list. At the 2008 Italian general election, the PRI got two deputies elected in the list of The People of Freedom (PdL): La Malfa and Nucara. At time, the party had 12,000 members. Re-unification and recent events The common battle in Parliament against electoral reform favoured a reconciliation between the MRE and the PRI. During the third congress of the MRE in February 2009, the two parties signed a joint declaration under which despite their different coalition allegiances, the two parties pledged to join forces in Parliament on some key issues such as civil liberties and freedom of research. In October, a joint committee was installed in order to reach an agreement of re-unification between the two parties. By February 2011, the MRE and Ossorio's Democratic Republicans reunited with the PRI. Another split loomed when La Malfa voted against rge Berlusconi IV Cabinet and was suspended from the party in December 2010. Moreover, La Malfa along with Sbarbati (MRE) took part to the foundation of the New Pole for Italy (NPI) instead. In May 2011 La Malfa was finally expelled from the party. In June 2011, Del Pennino, who had been a PdL candidate in 2008, returned to the Senate after the death of a PdL senator. In January 2012, Ossorio replaced a Democrat in the Chamber and joined the PRI sub-group. In the 2013 Italian general election, the PRI contested the election locally as a stand-alone list and obtained negligible results. In December 2013, Nucara resigned from secretary after more than twelve years at the top. He was replaced by two successive coordinators, Saverio Collura (from March 2014, when Nucara was contextually elected president, to December 2015) and Corrado Saponaro (from January 2016). In the 2014 European Parliament election in Italy, the PRI supported the European Choice electoral list, which won 0.7% of the