It was widely criticised as a copy of the Lodo Schifani, declared unconstitutional in 2004, and was seen by critics as an ad personam law aimed primarily at stopping trials involving Berlusconi.

[5] On 1 June 2011 Angelino Alfano was appointed Political Secretary of the People of Freedom by party President Silvio Berlusconi in order to reorganise and lead it in the next election.

[6] On 24 April 2013, the Vice-Secretary of the Democratic Party, Enrico Letta, was invited to form a government by President Giorgio Napolitano, after the resignation of Pier Luigi Bersani following weeks of political deadlock after the 2013 general election.

[7] On 27 April Letta formally accepted the task of leading a grand coalition government with support from the centre-left Democratic Party, the centre-right People of Freedom, and the centrist Civic Choice.

A major problem Alfano has faced, as Interior Minister, is illegal immigration to Italy, which emerged as a result of the Libyan and Syrian civil wars.

On 8 August 2014, the Italian Cabinet approved a law-decree contrasting the phenomenon of lawlessness and violence at sporting events and provided for the international protection of migrants.

[17] On 18 March 2017, Alfano, Maurizio Lupi, Roberto Formigoni, Beatrice Lorenzin, Fabrizio Cicchitto and other important members of NCD, announced the dissolution of the New Centre-Right and founded the new party, Popular Alternative.

[19] However, in December 2017, Alfano officially announced that he would not participate anymore in the 2018 general election, as his party was deeply split between following the center-left of Renzi, which they were currently supporting in the government, or the center-right of Berlusconi, which had been their original roots.

[20] Finally, the remaining bulk of his party under the leadership of his ally Beatrice Lorenzin joined the centre-left coalition as Popular Civic List and won two seats.

In 2002, La Repubblica reported the presence of Alfano at the 1996 wedding of the daughter of Croce Napoli (died 2001), believed by investigators[citation needed] to be the Mafia boss of Palma di Montechiaro.