Communist Refoundation Party
Encyclopedia
The Communist Refoundation Party (Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, PRC) is a communist
Italian political party. Its current secretary is Paolo Ferrero
.
The party participates both in the Party of the European Left
(of which Fausto Bertinotti
, a senior PRC member, was the first president) and the European Anticapitalist Left
. Its members in the European Parliament
sat in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left
group.
(PCI), led by Achille Occhetto
, became the Democratic Party of the Left
(PDS), dissidents led by Armando Cossutta
launched the Communist Refoundation Party. In the same year Proletarian Democracy
, a far left outfit, merged into the new party, which aimed to unite all Italian communists.
The first secretary of the PRC was Sergio Garavini
, who resigned in June 1993, being by Fausto Bertinotti
, a long-time Italian General Confederation of Labour
(CGIL) trade union leader, who had left the PDS only some months before. The leadership of Bertinotti was a turning point for the party, which jumped to 8.6% of vote in the 1996 general election
.
until 1998, when Bertinotti's Communists turned to opposition and the government lost its majority in Parliament. However this decision was divisive also in Bertinotti's camp, where a group of dissidents, led by President of the party Armando Cossutta, split off and founded a rival communist outfit, the Party of Italian Communists
(PdCI), which joined Massimo D'Alema
's government.
In October 2004, the PRC joined the centre-left
opposition and in April 2005, Nichi Vendola
, an openly gay politician and one of the emerging leaders of the party, was elected President of traditionally conservative Apulia
Region, due to the support of the whole centre-left and after a primary election, which saw Vendola beat a centrist
opponent. He was the only regional President ever belonging to the PRC.
After the 2006 general election
in which centre-left The Union
coalition won narrowly over the centre-right House of Freedoms
, party leader Fausto Bertinotti was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies
, and was replaced by Franco Giordano
as party secretary. The PRC joined the Prodi II Cabinet
, which included Paolo Ferrero
, a long-time member of the party, as Minister of Social Solidarity.
The decision to participate in the centre-left coalition government, and in particular the party's decision to vote to refinance the Italian military presence in Afghanistan and send troops to Lebanon attracted criticism from other sections of the European far left and provoked the splits of many groups, notably the Communist Workers' Party, the Communist Alternative Party
and Critical Left
.
with the Party of Italian Communists
, the Federation of the Greens
and Democratic Left
. This coalition was comprehensively defeated in the 2008 general election
: it won only 3.1% of the vote, compared to 10.2% won by the two communist parties and the Greens two years before.
In April 2008, following the severe defeat of the party in the 2008 general election
, a group of former Bertinottiani
, composed basically of former members of Proletarian Democracy
and led by Paolo Ferrero and Giovanni Russo Spena, allied with the other minority factions to force secretary Franco Giordano to resign. They criticised The Left – The Rainbow alliance and the political line of Fausto Bertinotti.
In the July congress the internal left-wing prevailed over Bertinottiani and Paolo Ferrero was elected new secretary. He was supported by barely 53% of the party delegates and the party was in fact very divided on factional and regional lines with Vendola, the standard-bearer of Bertinottiani, accusing Northern delegates of having absorbed leghismo and stating that "it was the end of the party I knew".
On 24 January 2009 the group around Vendola, including Giordano and with the silent support of Bertinotti, finally decided to leave the party and to transform their faction into a party under the name Movement for the Left
(MpS). The goal of MpS will be that of forming a new party with other left-wing groups, including the Federation of the Greens
, Democratic Left, Unite the Left
(splinters from the PdCI) and United to the Left
. However some members of RpS, including Giusto Catania
, Milziade Caprili and Tommaso Sodano, decided not to leave the PRC and re-organized themselves into To the Left with Refoundation
.
After the split of RpS/MpS, the PRC formed a joint list known as Anticapitalist List
with the PdCI, Socialism 2000
and United Consumers
for the 2009 European Parliament election
. Originally also Critical Left
was to join, but finally chose to step aside. The list received just 3.4% of the national vote and failed to return any MEPs.
In December 2009 the Anticapitalist List was trasformed into Federation of the Left
(FdS). The FdS held its first congress on 20–21 November 2010. Oliviero Diliberto
(PdCI) was elected spokerperson of the group by the national council.
(59.2%) and it views itself as the party representing the anti-globalization
movement in the Italian political scene. Nothwithstanding, during that congress the party included some recognised factions, which opposed the line imposed by Bertinotti: the hardline communists of Being Communists
(26.2%), what remains of the late faction led by Armando Cossutta
, and trotskyists
of Critical Left
, Communist Project
and HammerSickle
(14.6% altogether).
Communist Project left the party shortly after the 2006 general election
because of its opposition to the participation of the party in The Union
and the Prodi II Cabinet
: a group led by Marco Ferrando
formed the Communist Workers' Party, while others, led by Francesco Ricci formed the Communist Alternative Party
. A tiny minority of the former Communist Project decided not to leave the party and gathered in a new faction named Countercurrent.
In February 2007 Senator Franco Turigliatto, one of the leaders of Critical Left along with Salvatore Cannavò, voted against two motions on the government's foreign policy, leading Romano Prodi
to temporarily resign as Prime Minister
. In April Turigliatto was expelled from the party and thus Critical Left was suspended from it. In December the group officially left PRC to be transformed into a party.
At that point Being Communists suffered a split by those who opposed the decision of leader Claudio Grassi to vote in favour of the expulsion of Senator Turigliatto from the party: a group, led by Fosco Giannini, left the faction and launched The Ernesto
, without leaving the party itself.
In April 2008, following the severe defeat of the party in the 2008 general election
, a group of former Bertinottiani
, composed basically of former members of Proletarian Democracy
and led by Paolo Ferrero
and Giovanni Russo Spena, allied with the other minority factions to force Secretary Franco Giordano
to resign. They criticized The Left – The Rainbow
alliance and the political line of Fausto Bertinotti.
In the 24–27 July 2008 congress the Refoundation in Movement
motion of Ferrero and Grassi (40.1%) faced the bulk of Bertinottiani, who organized themselves around the motion titled Manifesto for the Refoundation (47.6%) with Nichi Vendola
as standard-bearer. The Ernesto of Giannini and Counter-current (7.7%), HammerSickle of Claudio Bellotti (3.2%) and a minor group of former Bertinottiani called "Disarm, Renew, Refound" (1.5%) decided to join forces with the Ferrero-Grassi group. Vendola, defeated by Ferrero, announced the creation of a new minority faction, Refoundation for the Left
(RpS).
On 24 January 2009 that faction finally left the party to form the Movement for the Left
. However several members of RpS led by Augusto Rocchi decided to stay in the PRC and launched To the Left with Refoundation
.
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
Italian political party. Its current secretary is Paolo Ferrero
Paolo Ferrero
Paolo Ferrero is an Italian politician, member of the Communist Refoundation Party and former Italian Minister of Social Solidarity in the Prodi II Cabinet.-Career:...
.
The party participates both in the Party of the European Left
Party of the European Left
The Party of the European Left, commonly abbreviated to just the European Left, is a political party at European level and an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed in January 2004 for the purposes of...
(of which Fausto Bertinotti
Fausto Bertinotti
Fausto Bertinotti is an Italian politician and former leader of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista. On April 29, 2006, after the center-left coalition's victory in the Italian general election, he was chosen by the new parliament as President of the Chamber of Deputies .-Trade...
, a senior PRC member, was the first president) and the European Anticapitalist Left
European Anticapitalist Left
The European Anticapitalist Left is an informal network for European anticapitalist left wing parties. EACL met for the first time in Lisbon in March 2000 with the representation of the Scottish Socialist Party, the Portuguese Left Bloc, the Danish Red-Green Alliance, the French LCR, and the...
. Its members in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
sat in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left
European United Left–Nordic Green Left
European United Left/Nordic Green Left is a left-wing political group with seats in the European Parliament since 1995.-Position:According to its 1994 constituent declaration, the group is opposed to the present European political structure, but committed to integration...
group.
Foundation
In 1991, when the Italian Communist PartyItalian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
(PCI), led by Achille Occhetto
Achille Occhetto
Achille Occhetto , nicknamed Akel, is an Italian political figure.-Biography:Occhetto was born in Turin. He served as the secretary-general of the Italian Communist Party between 1988 and 1994 Achille Occhetto (born 3 March 1936), nicknamed Akel, is an Italian political figure.-Biography:Occhetto...
, became the Democratic Party of the Left
Democratic Party of the Left
The Democratic Party of the Left was a post-communist, democratic socialist political party in Italy.-History:...
(PDS), dissidents led by Armando Cossutta
Armando Cossutta
-Life:Born in Milan, Cosutta joined the Italian Communist Party in 1943, and took part in the Italian resistance movement as a partisan. After World War II, he became one of the leading members of the party, representing the most pro-Soviet Union tendency; his belief in that country as the...
launched the Communist Refoundation Party. In the same year Proletarian Democracy
Proletarian Democracy
Proletarian Democracy was a political party in Italy.-1970s:DP was founded in 1975 as a joint electoral front of the Proletarian Unity Party , Workers Vanguard and the Workers Movement for Socialism...
, a far left outfit, merged into the new party, which aimed to unite all Italian communists.
The first secretary of the PRC was Sergio Garavini
Sergio Garavini
Sergio Garavini was an Italian politician, writer and trade unionist.-Biography:Garavini was born in Turin....
, who resigned in June 1993, being by Fausto Bertinotti
Fausto Bertinotti
Fausto Bertinotti is an Italian politician and former leader of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista. On April 29, 2006, after the center-left coalition's victory in the Italian general election, he was chosen by the new parliament as President of the Chamber of Deputies .-Trade...
, a long-time Italian General Confederation of Labour
Italian General Confederation of Labour
-External links:**...
(CGIL) trade union leader, who had left the PDS only some months before. The leadership of Bertinotti was a turning point for the party, which jumped to 8.6% of vote in the 1996 general election
Italian general election, 1996
An early national general election was held in Italy on 21 April, 1996 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic...
.
The centre-left
The party supported the Prodi I CabinetProdi I Cabinet
The Prodi I Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 18 May 1996 to 21 October 1998.-Sources:*...
until 1998, when Bertinotti's Communists turned to opposition and the government lost its majority in Parliament. However this decision was divisive also in Bertinotti's camp, where a group of dissidents, led by President of the party Armando Cossutta, split off and founded a rival communist outfit, the Party of Italian Communists
Party of Italian Communists
The Party of Italian Communists is a communist political party in Italy. Its long-time leader is Oliviero Diliberto.-Foundation and early years:...
(PdCI), which joined Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...
's government.
In October 2004, the PRC joined the centre-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
opposition and in April 2005, Nichi Vendola
Nichi Vendola
Nicola "Nichi" Vendola is an Italian left-wing politician and currently the President of Apulia.-Life:Born in Terlizzi, province of Bari , Vendola had been a member of the Italian Communist Youth Federation since the age of 14; he studied literature in university, presenting a dissertation about...
, an openly gay politician and one of the emerging leaders of the party, was elected President of traditionally conservative Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
Region, due to the support of the whole centre-left and after a primary election, which saw Vendola beat a centrist
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
opponent. He was the only regional President ever belonging to the PRC.
After the 2006 general election
Italian general election, 2006
In the Italian general election, 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006 the incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the center-right House of Freedoms, was narrowly defeated by Romano Prodi, leader of the center-left The...
in which centre-left The Union
The Union (political coalition)
The Union was an centre-left coalition of political parties in Italy. It was led by Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy from April 2006 to April 2008, and former President of the European Commission.-Parties:...
coalition won narrowly over the centre-right House of Freedoms
House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms , was a major Italian centre-right political and electoral alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi. It was initially composed of several political parties:*Forza Italia *National Alliance...
, party leader Fausto Bertinotti was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
, and was replaced by Franco Giordano
Franco Giordano
Francesco "Franco" Giordano is an Italian politician.Born in Bari, he became a member of the Italian Communist Party in 1974. In 1985-1987 he was member of the national leadership of Federation of Young Italian Communists, and, in 1987-1990, of the local PCI leadership of the province of Bari...
as party secretary. The PRC joined the Prodi II Cabinet
Prodi II Cabinet
The Prodi II Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days...
, which included Paolo Ferrero
Paolo Ferrero
Paolo Ferrero is an Italian politician, member of the Communist Refoundation Party and former Italian Minister of Social Solidarity in the Prodi II Cabinet.-Career:...
, a long-time member of the party, as Minister of Social Solidarity.
The decision to participate in the centre-left coalition government, and in particular the party's decision to vote to refinance the Italian military presence in Afghanistan and send troops to Lebanon attracted criticism from other sections of the European far left and provoked the splits of many groups, notably the Communist Workers' Party, the Communist Alternative Party
Communist Alternative Party
The Communist Alternative Party is a communist political party in Italy. Its leader and founder is Francesco Ricci.-History:...
and Critical Left
Critical Left
Critical Left is a communist political party in Italy.-History:Originally a Trotskyist faction within the Communist Refoundation Party , it broke ranks on 8 December 2007 to become an independent political party. From 2006 to 2008 SC had a member of the deputy, Salvatore Cannavò, and a senator,...
.
Out of Parliament
In December 2007 the party took part in the creation of The Left – The RainbowThe Left – The Rainbow
The Left – The Rainbow , frequently referred as Rainbow Left , was a left-wing federation of parties in Italy....
with the Party of Italian Communists
Party of Italian Communists
The Party of Italian Communists is a communist political party in Italy. Its long-time leader is Oliviero Diliberto.-Foundation and early years:...
, the Federation of the Greens
Federation of the Greens
The Federation of the Greens is a green political party in Italy, which includes also a large eco-socialist faction. Since 2009 the party leader is Angelo Bonelli.-Early years:...
and Democratic Left
Democratic Left (Italy)
Democratic Left was a democratic socialist political party in Italy.It was founded on 5 May 2007 by splinters of the Democrats of the Left centred around Fabio Mussi and Gavino Angius, who opposed the merger of the DS into the Democratic Party...
. This coalition was comprehensively defeated in the 2008 general election
Italian general election, 2008
A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote, and the unsuccessful tentative...
: it won only 3.1% of the vote, compared to 10.2% won by the two communist parties and the Greens two years before.
In April 2008, following the severe defeat of the party in the 2008 general election
Italian general election, 2008
A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote, and the unsuccessful tentative...
, a group of former Bertinottiani
Bertinottiani
Bertinottiani referred to the faction around Fausto Bertinotti, a leading member of the Communist Refoundation Party , a political party in Italy....
, composed basically of former members of Proletarian Democracy
Proletarian Democracy
Proletarian Democracy was a political party in Italy.-1970s:DP was founded in 1975 as a joint electoral front of the Proletarian Unity Party , Workers Vanguard and the Workers Movement for Socialism...
and led by Paolo Ferrero and Giovanni Russo Spena, allied with the other minority factions to force secretary Franco Giordano to resign. They criticised The Left – The Rainbow alliance and the political line of Fausto Bertinotti.
In the July congress the internal left-wing prevailed over Bertinottiani and Paolo Ferrero was elected new secretary. He was supported by barely 53% of the party delegates and the party was in fact very divided on factional and regional lines with Vendola, the standard-bearer of Bertinottiani, accusing Northern delegates of having absorbed leghismo and stating that "it was the end of the party I knew".
On 24 January 2009 the group around Vendola, including Giordano and with the silent support of Bertinotti, finally decided to leave the party and to transform their faction into a party under the name Movement for the Left
Movement for the Left
Movement for the Left was a socialist and communist political party in Italy, emerged by a split from the Communist Refoundation Party...
(MpS). The goal of MpS will be that of forming a new party with other left-wing groups, including the Federation of the Greens
Federation of the Greens
The Federation of the Greens is a green political party in Italy, which includes also a large eco-socialist faction. Since 2009 the party leader is Angelo Bonelli.-Early years:...
, Democratic Left, Unite the Left
Unite the Left
Unite the Left is the minority faction within the Party of Italian Communists , a political party in Italy. Its leaders include former minister Katia Belillo and MEP Umberto Guidoni....
(splinters from the PdCI) and United to the Left
United to the Left
United to the Left was a network of leftist groups associated with the Communist Refoundation Party in Italy from 2005 to 2009...
. However some members of RpS, including Giusto Catania
Giusto Catania
Giusto Catania is an Italian politician and former Member of the European Parliament for North-West with the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista , part of the European Left and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.He was a substitute for the...
, Milziade Caprili and Tommaso Sodano, decided not to leave the PRC and re-organized themselves into To the Left with Refoundation
To the Left with Refoundation
To the Left with Refoundation is a faction within the Communist Refoundation Party, a communist political party in Italy...
.
After the split of RpS/MpS, the PRC formed a joint list known as Anticapitalist List
Anticapitalist List
The Anticapitalist List was a communist coalition of political parties in Italy, formed in the run-up to the 2009 European Parliament election in order to overcome the 4% threshold introduced by the new electoral law....
with the PdCI, Socialism 2000
Socialism 2000
Socialism 2000 is a democratic socialist political association in Italy led by Cesare Salvi.-History:The group was launched in August 2000 as a left-wing faction within the Democrats of the Left . Socialism 2000 was since then part of the internal left of the party...
and United Consumers
United Consumers
The United Consumers is a political party in Italy led by Bruno De Vita.Since the 2006 general election the party was affiliated to The Union, the centre-left coalition led by Romano Prodi, and in that occasion it took part to a joint list with the Federation of the Greens and the Party of Italian...
for the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009 (Italy)
European elections to elect 72 members of the European Parliament representing Italy were held on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June 2009, as decided by the Italian government on December 18, 2008...
. Originally also Critical Left
Critical Left
Critical Left is a communist political party in Italy.-History:Originally a Trotskyist faction within the Communist Refoundation Party , it broke ranks on 8 December 2007 to become an independent political party. From 2006 to 2008 SC had a member of the deputy, Salvatore Cannavò, and a senator,...
was to join, but finally chose to step aside. The list received just 3.4% of the national vote and failed to return any MEPs.
In December 2009 the Anticapitalist List was trasformed into Federation of the Left
Federation of the Left
Federation of the Left is a communist coalition of political parties in Italy.The coalition is the evolution of the Anticapitalist List and includes:*Communist Refoundation Party...
(FdS). The FdS held its first congress on 20–21 November 2010. Oliviero Diliberto
Oliviero Diliberto
Oliviero Diliberto is an Italian politician. He is the current leader of the Party of Italian Communists.- Early life :...
(PdCI) was elected spokerperson of the group by the national council.
Factions
The majority of the party following the October 2004 congress was led by Fausto BertinottiFausto Bertinotti
Fausto Bertinotti is an Italian politician and former leader of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista. On April 29, 2006, after the center-left coalition's victory in the Italian general election, he was chosen by the new parliament as President of the Chamber of Deputies .-Trade...
(59.2%) and it views itself as the party representing the anti-globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
movement in the Italian political scene. Nothwithstanding, during that congress the party included some recognised factions, which opposed the line imposed by Bertinotti: the hardline communists of Being Communists
Being Communists
Being Communists is a faction within the Communist Refoundation Party in Italy, formed basically of former followers of Armando Cossutta, who left the party in 1998 to form the Party of Italian Communists...
(26.2%), what remains of the late faction led by Armando Cossutta
Armando Cossutta
-Life:Born in Milan, Cosutta joined the Italian Communist Party in 1943, and took part in the Italian resistance movement as a partisan. After World War II, he became one of the leading members of the party, representing the most pro-Soviet Union tendency; his belief in that country as the...
, and trotskyists
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
of Critical Left
Critical Left
Critical Left is a communist political party in Italy.-History:Originally a Trotskyist faction within the Communist Refoundation Party , it broke ranks on 8 December 2007 to become an independent political party. From 2006 to 2008 SC had a member of the deputy, Salvatore Cannavò, and a senator,...
, Communist Project
Communist Project
The Revolutionary Marxist Association – Communist Project , more frequently referred simply as Communist Project, was a Trotskyist faction within the Communist Refoundation Party , a political party in Italy...
and HammerSickle
HammerSickle
FalceMartello is a Trotskyist faction within the Communist Refoundation Party a political party in Italy. The group, whose long-standing leader is Claudio Bellotti, is affiliated to the International Marxist Tendency.-Politics:...
(14.6% altogether).
Communist Project left the party shortly after the 2006 general election
Italian general election, 2006
In the Italian general election, 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006 the incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the center-right House of Freedoms, was narrowly defeated by Romano Prodi, leader of the center-left The...
because of its opposition to the participation of the party in The Union
The Union (political coalition)
The Union was an centre-left coalition of political parties in Italy. It was led by Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy from April 2006 to April 2008, and former President of the European Commission.-Parties:...
and the Prodi II Cabinet
Prodi II Cabinet
The Prodi II Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days...
: a group led by Marco Ferrando
Marco Ferrando
Marco Ferrando is an Italian Trotskyist activist and politician, the leading member of the AMR Progetto Comunista current in the Movimento per un Partito Comunista dei Lavoratori , and a member of the Co-ordinating Committee for the Refoundation of the Fourth International.In February 2006, in the...
formed the Communist Workers' Party, while others, led by Francesco Ricci formed the Communist Alternative Party
Communist Alternative Party
The Communist Alternative Party is a communist political party in Italy. Its leader and founder is Francesco Ricci.-History:...
. A tiny minority of the former Communist Project decided not to leave the party and gathered in a new faction named Countercurrent.
In February 2007 Senator Franco Turigliatto, one of the leaders of Critical Left along with Salvatore Cannavò, voted against two motions on the government's foreign policy, leading Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
to temporarily resign as Prime Minister
Prime minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
. In April Turigliatto was expelled from the party and thus Critical Left was suspended from it. In December the group officially left PRC to be transformed into a party.
At that point Being Communists suffered a split by those who opposed the decision of leader Claudio Grassi to vote in favour of the expulsion of Senator Turigliatto from the party: a group, led by Fosco Giannini, left the faction and launched The Ernesto
The Ernesto
The Ernesto is a faction within the Communist Refoundation Party in Italy.The group emerged as a split from Being Communists in February 2007 and took the name from L'Ernesto, a communist publication...
, without leaving the party itself.
In April 2008, following the severe defeat of the party in the 2008 general election
Italian general election, 2008
A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote, and the unsuccessful tentative...
, a group of former Bertinottiani
Bertinottiani
Bertinottiani referred to the faction around Fausto Bertinotti, a leading member of the Communist Refoundation Party , a political party in Italy....
, composed basically of former members of Proletarian Democracy
Proletarian Democracy
Proletarian Democracy was a political party in Italy.-1970s:DP was founded in 1975 as a joint electoral front of the Proletarian Unity Party , Workers Vanguard and the Workers Movement for Socialism...
and led by Paolo Ferrero
Paolo Ferrero
Paolo Ferrero is an Italian politician, member of the Communist Refoundation Party and former Italian Minister of Social Solidarity in the Prodi II Cabinet.-Career:...
and Giovanni Russo Spena, allied with the other minority factions to force Secretary Franco Giordano
Franco Giordano
Francesco "Franco" Giordano is an Italian politician.Born in Bari, he became a member of the Italian Communist Party in 1974. In 1985-1987 he was member of the national leadership of Federation of Young Italian Communists, and, in 1987-1990, of the local PCI leadership of the province of Bari...
to resign. They criticized The Left – The Rainbow
The Left – The Rainbow
The Left – The Rainbow , frequently referred as Rainbow Left , was a left-wing federation of parties in Italy....
alliance and the political line of Fausto Bertinotti.
In the 24–27 July 2008 congress the Refoundation in Movement
Refoundation in Movement
Refoundation in Movement is a faction within the Communist Refoundation Party in Italy.In April 2008, following the severe defeat of the party in the 2008 general election, a group of former Bertinottiani, composed basically of former members of Proletarian Democracy and led by Paolo Ferrero and...
motion of Ferrero and Grassi (40.1%) faced the bulk of Bertinottiani, who organized themselves around the motion titled Manifesto for the Refoundation (47.6%) with Nichi Vendola
Nichi Vendola
Nicola "Nichi" Vendola is an Italian left-wing politician and currently the President of Apulia.-Life:Born in Terlizzi, province of Bari , Vendola had been a member of the Italian Communist Youth Federation since the age of 14; he studied literature in university, presenting a dissertation about...
as standard-bearer. The Ernesto of Giannini and Counter-current (7.7%), HammerSickle of Claudio Bellotti (3.2%) and a minor group of former Bertinottiani called "Disarm, Renew, Refound" (1.5%) decided to join forces with the Ferrero-Grassi group. Vendola, defeated by Ferrero, announced the creation of a new minority faction, Refoundation for the Left
Refoundation for the Left
Refoundation for the Left is a faction within the Communist Refoundation Party, a political party in Italy. Most of its members launched the Movement for the Left in late January 2009...
(RpS).
On 24 January 2009 that faction finally left the party to form the Movement for the Left
Movement for the Left
Movement for the Left was a socialist and communist political party in Italy, emerged by a split from the Communist Refoundation Party...
. However several members of RpS led by Augusto Rocchi decided to stay in the PRC and launched To the Left with Refoundation
To the Left with Refoundation
To the Left with Refoundation is a faction within the Communist Refoundation Party, a communist political party in Italy...
.
Popular support
The electoral results of the Communist Refoundation Party in the 10 most populated Regions of Italy are shown in the table below.| 1994 general | 1995 regional | 1996 general | 1999 European | 2000 regional | 2001 general | 2004 European | 2005 regional | 2006 general | |
| Piedmont | 5.9 | 9.3 | 10.3 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 5.9 |
| Lombardy | 5.1 | 7.7 | 6.8 | 4.0 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.5 |
| Veneto | 4.4 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| Emilia-Romagna | 6.6 | 7.6 | 8.3 | 5.0 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 5.6 |
| Tuscany | 10.1 | 11.1 | 12.5 | 7.4 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 9.1 | 8.2 | 8.2 |
| Lazio | 6.6 | 9.2 | 10.4 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 7.1 | 5.9 | 7.4 |
| Campania | 6.9 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 4.1 | 6.1 |
| Apulia | 7.0 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 6.0 | 5.1 | 5.7 |
| Calabria | 9.3 | 8.7 | 10.0 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 5.8 | 5.1 | 6.0 |
| Sicily | |||||||||
| 4.3 (1996) | 7.0 | 2.2 | 2.4 (2001) | 3.2 | 3.6 | ||||
| 3.2 | |||||||||
| ITALY | 6.1 | - | 8.6 | 4.3 | - | 5.0 | 6.1 | - | 5.8 |
Leadership
- Secretary: Sergio GaraviniSergio GaraviniSergio Garavini was an Italian politician, writer and trade unionist.-Biography:Garavini was born in Turin....
(1991–1994), Fausto BertinottiFausto BertinottiFausto Bertinotti is an Italian politician and former leader of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista. On April 29, 2006, after the center-left coalition's victory in the Italian general election, he was chosen by the new parliament as President of the Chamber of Deputies .-Trade...
(1994–2006), Franco GiordanoFranco GiordanoFrancesco "Franco" Giordano is an Italian politician.Born in Bari, he became a member of the Italian Communist Party in 1974. In 1985-1987 he was member of the national leadership of Federation of Young Italian Communists, and, in 1987-1990, of the local PCI leadership of the province of Bari...
(2006–2008), Paolo FerreroPaolo FerreroPaolo Ferrero is an Italian politician, member of the Communist Refoundation Party and former Italian Minister of Social Solidarity in the Prodi II Cabinet.-Career:...
(2008–present)- Coordinator: Walter De Cesaris (2005–2008)
- President: Armando CossuttaArmando Cossutta-Life:Born in Milan, Cosutta joined the Italian Communist Party in 1943, and took part in the Italian resistance movement as a partisan. After World War II, he became one of the leading members of the party, representing the most pro-Soviet Union tendency; his belief in that country as the...
(1991–1998)
- Party Leader in the Chamber of DeputiesItalian Chamber of DeputiesThe Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
: Lucio MagriLucio MagriLucio Magri was an Italian journalist and politician.-Biography:Magri was born in Ferrara and was one of the founders of the far-left newspaper il manifesto....
(1992–1994), Famiano Crucianelli (1994–1995), Oliviero DilibertoOliviero DilibertoOliviero Diliberto is an Italian politician. He is the current leader of the Party of Italian Communists.- Early life :...
(1995–1998), Franco GiordanoFranco GiordanoFrancesco "Franco" Giordano is an Italian politician.Born in Bari, he became a member of the Italian Communist Party in 1974. In 1985-1987 he was member of the national leadership of Federation of Young Italian Communists, and, in 1987-1990, of the local PCI leadership of the province of Bari...
(1998–2006), Gennaro Migliore (2006–2008) - Party Leader in the SenateItalian SenateThe Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
: Lucio Libertini (1992–1993), Ersilia Salvato (1993–1995), Fausto Marchetti (1995–1996), Luigi Marino (1996–1998), Giovanni Russo Spena (1998–2001), Giorgio Malentacchi (2001–2002), Luigi Malabarba (2002–2006), Giovanni Russo Spena (2006–2008) - Party Leader in the European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
: Luigi Vinci (1994–2004), Roberto MusacchioRoberto MusacchioRoberto Musacchio is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the North-East with the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista , Member of the Bureau of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left, and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public...
(2004–present)