The term Padania has been used mainly as a socio-economic denomination as the terms Pianura Padana or Val Padana are the standard denominations in geography textbooks and atlases.
Lega Nord, a political party created in 1991 by the union of several northern regional parties (including Lega Lombarda and Liga Veneta), later used the term for a larger geographical range than Fanti's and Brera's Padania, but with stronger political and socio-economic connotations.