Its founders, lately known as "doves" in the party, were strong supporters of Enrico Letta's government and refused to join the new Forza Italia (FI), founded upon the dissolution of the PdL.

A bigger blow to Alfano came in October, when Quaglieriello resigned from coordinator and threatened to lead a splinter group out of the party if the NCD were to continue its support to Renzi.

Two deputies (Vincenso Piso[33][34] and Eugenia Roccella)[33] and two colleagues of Quaglieriello (Andrea Augello[34][35] and Giovanardi)[36][37] in the Senate followed suit.

[43][44] In July 2016 Schifani, who criticised the party's permanence in the government and aimed at re-unifying the Italian fractured centre-right, stepped down from leader in the Senate[45][46] and was replaced by Laura Bianconi, a close ally of Alfano.

[49][50][51] The referendum's result and the demise of Renzi Cabinet revived NCD's internal tensions too, that led to splits (one deputy left in December,[50][52] one senator in February).

According to Corriere della Sera, differently from FI, NCD's stances on the "so-called ethical issues" (abortion, LGBT rights, etc.)

[57] In addition, the NCD, as part of centre-left governments, proved more progressive than FI on the management of illegal immigration, which was negatively evaluated by Berlusconi's party.

[58] Precisely for these and other reasons, several NCD politicians left the party to either form Identity and Action (IdeA) led by Gaetano Quagliariello or re-joined FI (e.g. Nunzia De Girolamo, Renato Schifani and Massimiliano Salini),[59] in both cases re-aligning with the FI-led centre-right coalition.

The book, whose key words are "person", "family", "enterprise" and "tradition", emphasises institutional reforms (including direct election of the President and federalism), ethical issues (marriage, opposition to abortion, limits to assisted reproductive technology, etc.)

[66][67][68] According to Benedetto Ippolito, a university professor of history of philosophy, while NCD members insist that their party is "moderate", it is in fact "conservative" and "anti-progressive", albeit not "berlusconiano".

[2] In February 2014 the NCD unveiled a platform on labour, including a universal protection system safety net for the unemployed, a tax relief for entrepreneurs hiring the young, the reduction of the tax wedge on labour and the overcoming of article 18 of the "Statute of Workers", making easier for entrepreneurs to hire and fire employees.