The Republica du Nord (also known as Lega Nord) was founded by Umberto Bossi in 1990. It is formed by an alliance of town-based leagues that demand the unification of the North of Italy and its disassociation from the rest of the country. This nationalist republic has a huge popular support in the North of Italy, and his political arm plays a very active role in both the local and national government and it even served briefly in the coalition government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.