They dissented with the party's support to Raffaele Lombardo's fourth regional government and chose to vote in favour of Silvio Berlusconi in a vote of confidence on 29 September in the Chamber of Deputies.

[1][2] It was a damaging split for the UdC in Sicily, the party's historical stronghold, as 7 regional deputies out of 10 chose to follow Romano, additionally joined by a splinter from the Movement for the Autonomies, Lombardo's party.

Behind the scenes, the party was supported by Salvatore Cuffaro, senator and former President of Sicily, who was forced to leave politics in January 2011 due to a 7-year conviction for mafia-related crimes.

[8] On 20 January 2011 PID was a founding component of Responsible Initiative, a centre-right group in the Chamber, but Calogero Mannino refused to join it.

[9][10] In March Mannino finally left the party to start his own, which will be called Popular Initiative,[11] while Romano was appointed minister of Agriculture in Berlusconi IV Cabinet.