FI is a smaller party than the early PdL,[17] which suffered three significant splits: Future and Freedom in 2010, Brothers of Italy in 2012, and the New Centre-Right in 2013.

[24] The day before a group of dissidents (mainly Christian democrats), led by Berlusconi's former protégé Angelino Alfano, had broken away by announcing the foundation of the alternative New Centre-Right (NCD).

[27] Among the supporters of the return to FI, the so-called "hawks"[28] and self-proclaimed "loyalists",[29] a leading role was played by Raffaele Fitto, who, despite the common Christian-democratic background, was a long-time rival of Alfano.

Loyalists included Antonio Martino, Renato Brunetta, Denis Verdini, Mariastella Gelmini, Mara Carfagna, Daniela Santanchè, Niccolò Ghedini and Daniele Capezzone, while Maurizio Gasparri, Altero Matteoli and Paolo Romani tried to mediate, but finally joined the new FI.

After months of bickering with Berlusconi over the so-called "Nazareno pact" with Matteo Renzi, leader of the Democratic Party and Prime Minister, in February 2015, Fitto launched his own faction, named "Rebuilders".

[44] Fitto's supporters included Capezzone, Maurizio Bianconi, Rocco Palese, Saverio Romano, Cinzia Bonfrisco, Augusto Minzolini and most Apulian MPs.

[46] In the run-up of the 2015 regional elections, the party was riven in internal disputes and was divided mainly in three groups: Berlusconi's loyalists, Fitto's "Rebuilders" and nostalgics of the "Nazareno pact".

Berlusconi chose Toti as candidate for president in Liguria, confirmed incumbent Stefano Caldoro as the party's standard-bearer in Campania and renewed their support of LN's Luca Zaia in Veneto.

[53] However, Berlusconi and Fitto did not find an agreement on the composition of the slates in Apulia, where the two wings of the party fielded opposing candidates for president,[54][55][56] and similar problems arose in Tuscany,[57] Verdini's (and Renzi's) home region and stronghold.

[58] By mid July, when CR was formally established as a party, nine deputies, ten senators and another MEP had left FI to follow Fitto.

[63][64][65] In the 2016 Milan municipal election, FI found a strong candidate for mayor in Stefano Parisi, a former director-general of Confindustria and CEO of Fastweb, who pulled the party to 20.2% (virtually double than the LN's score), but narrowly lost to his Democratic opponent in the run-off, Giuseppe Sala.

After the election, FI was basically divided in two camps: one led by Parisi, who did not officially joined the party and proposed a more traditional centre-right "liberal-popular" path, and the other led by Toti, who had formed a strong partnership with Roberto Maroni and Luca Zaia, the LN's presidents of Lombardy and Veneto, and was supportive of a full-scale alliance with LN and, possibly, of its leader Matteo Salvini's bid to become the leader of the centre-right coalition.

(F!, ex-LN) and two senators from the ALA.[75][74] Particularly, Enrico Costa left AP and resigned from minister of Regional Affairs in Paolo Gentiloni's centre-left government,[76] aiming at forming a "liberal centre" with FI.

[77] In the context of a more united centre-right, Costa might form the "fourth leg" of the coalition, after the LN, FI and the FdI, by uniting other AP splinters, DI, F!, Identity and Action (IdeA), the Italian Liberal Party (PLI), the Union of the Centre (UdC), and the Pensioners' Party (PP),[78][79][80] all variously affiliated with FI and the centre-right.

In July, Berlusconi appointed Tajani, who had been previously tipped as candidate for Prime Minister in the run-up of the 2018 general election,[82] vice president and Adriano Galliani coordinator of departments,[83][84][85] in an effort to restructure the party, which was shrinking in opinion polls.

[91] One of the main reasons for the split was Toti's support of an alliance with the League and the Brothers of Italy (FdI) at national-level, about which Berlusconi was reticent and Carfagna against.

[94] Subsequently, President Mattarella appointed Mario Draghi to form a cabinet,[95] which won support from FI, the League,[96] the PD[97] and the M5S.

[98] FI was given three ministers in the new government: Renato Brunetta at Public Administration, Mariastella Gelmini at Regional Affairs and Mara Carfagna at the South.

[117][118][119] In the run-up of the 2024 European Parliament election, FI formed a joint list with Us Moderates,[120] signed an electoral pact with the South Tyrolean People's Party[121] and welcomed candidates of the Sardinian Reformers.

[139][140] In 2018, Toti lost the title of "political counselor" (the closest thing to a number two so far) and Berlusconi appointed Antonio Tajani as vice president.

According to an article from Corriere della Sera, on the so-called "ethical issues" like abortion and LGBT rights, the party aimed at returning to its 1994's original values, including "liberalism, the socialist roots, even the radical component", respected its MPs' "freedom of conscience", and was open to civil unions, while NCD's positions were "closer to those of the European traditionalist right".

[141] In October 2014, Berlusconi personally endorsed Renzi's proposals on civil unions for gays and a quicker path to citizenship to Italian-born children of immigrants;[142] however, the party remained socially conservative.

[154] On foreign policy, the party supports the European Union (EU), despite elements of criticism, NATO, and a close relationship with the United States.