Democrats of the Left
Encyclopedia
The Democrats of the Left was a social-democratic
Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party
on 14 October 2007. Its leaders were Piero Fassino
, national secretary, and Massimo D'Alema
, president.
(Partito Democratico della Sinistra, PDS), which in turn was a reshaping of the Italian Communist Party
(Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) into a democratic socialist
party. Under the leadership of Massimo D'Alema
, the party merged with other minor like-minded movements (Labour Federation
, Social Christians
, Republican Left
, Unitarian Communists, Reformists for Europe
and Democratic Federation
), and took the current name, removing the hammer and sickle
from its symbol and substituting it with the red carnation
of the Party of European Socialists
.
Massimo D'Alema became prime minister in October 1998 and was replaced as the leader of DS by Walter Veltroni
. During the party's first national congress in January 2000, Veltroni received the support of the 79.9% of delegates, while the left wing of the party, at the time led by three women (Anna Finocchiaro
, Fulvia Bandoli and Pasqualina Napoletano
), had the support of 20.1% of them.
, elected with 61.8% of party members' votes during the second national congress in November 2001. Piero Fassino was the candidate of a mainstream Third Way
tendency. The candidacy of Giovanni Berlinguer
, endorsed by left-wingers, democratic socialists
and the Italian General Confederation of Labour
(CGIL) trade union, gained 34.1% of party members votes. The right wing of the party, led by Enrico Morando, received 4.1%.
Piero Fassino was re-elected during the third national congress, in February 2005 with 79.1% of party members' votes. No other candidates stood, but left-wing candidates ran for congressional delegates and received 14.6% of party members votes won by the DS Left-wing – Returning to win, 4.0% by the DS Left-wing for Socialism and 2.4% by the Ecologist Left.
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, held on April 9 and April 10, 2006, the Democrats of the Left endorsed the candidacy of Romano Prodi
as Prime Minister of Italy
. DS presented their symbol for the Senate
and ran under the Olive Tree symbol for the Chamber
, together with DL and MRE. The party achieved a 17.17% in the Senate (62 senators) and the Olive Tree reached a 31.20% in the Chamber (220 deputies), more than the sum of its components in the Senate. This, and the narrow margin gained on the centre-right coalition, prompted a discussion on the party's future. the party leadership was committed to a future merge with DL, eventually creating a new Democratic Party
the following year.
Nine Ministers of the Prodi II Cabinet
were affiliated to the Democrats of the Left, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Massimo D'Alema
. The current President of the Italian Republic
Giorgio Napolitano
, elected on May 10, 2006, is also a former DS member (as usual, although not mandatory, he renounced his party affiliation before being sworn in, because the office he was going to assume is considered to be above party politics).
and Antonio Bassolino
, received the support of 75.6% of party members. The motion was clearly in support of the Democratic Party
project.
The left-wing of Fabio Mussi
, Cesare Salvi, Fulvia Bandoli and Valdo Spini
(To the Left. For European Socialism, joint-group of members of DS Left-wing – Returning to win, DS Left-wing for Socialism, some affiliates to the Ecologist Left and most Labourites – Liberal Socialists
scored 15.0%; this motion was instead opposed to the Democratic Party. All members supportive of this group later founded a new movement, Democratic Left
, which aimed to unite the heterogeneous Italian left-wing, from direct descendents of the Italian Socialist Party
to the euro-communist
tendencies best represented in Italy by the Communist Refoundation Party
.
A third motion, named For a New, Democratic and Socialist Party and signed by Gavino Angius
, Mauro Zani
and originally also by Giuseppe Caldarola took 9.3% of party members votes. This group, mainly composed of former supporters of D'Alema and Fassino (gathered in the new Socialists and Europeans faction), and some left-wingers and environmentalists, supported the creation of a new party only within the Party of European Socialists
and opposed the proposal of the Democratic Party (perceived as a mere addition of DS and DL with no reference at all to socialism). Several of its members and supporters, including Angius, later decided to leave the party to join the Democratic Left movement, whereas several others, including Zani, preferred to stay within the Democrats of the Left.
The core of the social-democratic
party majority wasn't related to a specific tendency association, although several smaller movements, splits of former centrist or centre-left Italian parties, related to it. These were the Labourites – Liberal Socialists
(Laburisti – Socialisti Liberali), Reformist Europe
(Europa Riformista) and the Sicilian
Reformist Movement
(Movimento Riformista) all from the Italian Socialist Party
, the Social Christians
(Cristiano Sociali) from the left-wing of Christian Democracy
,
the Republican Left
(Sinistra Repubblicana) from the left-wing of the Italian Republican Party
and the Liberal Left
(Sinistra Liberale) from the left wing of the Italian Liberal Party
.
On the right wing the Liberal association had a moderate Third Way
or radical center political agenda. This faction was included in the party majority in later years, while a dissident group left it, in opposition to the creation of the Democratic Party
, and formed a new faction, named Socialists and Europeans.
Before the 2007 convention, the left-wing opposition was led by the DS Left-wing-Returning to win (Sinistra DS-Per tornare a vincere), a left-wing democratic socialist tendency, with other smaller groups including DS Left-wing for Socialism (Sinistra DS per il Socialismo), left-wing democratic socialists and the Ecologist Left (Sinistra Ecologista), left-wing environmentalists
. As most of their members left the party in refusal of the Democratic Party
foundation, their subsequent composition and weight was unclear.
Several personalities formerly inside or close to the left-wing area of the party, as Pietro Folena, Pietro Ingrao
and Achille Occhetto
approached or joined the Communist Refoundation Party
which, from its sixth congress held in January 2005, was moving towards a more heterogeneous, non-sectarian and strongly pacifist kind of left-wing party.
until 1998) in the 10 most populated Regions of Italy are shown in the table below. The result for the 2006 general election refers to the election for the Senate, indeed DS contested the election for the Chamber of Deputies in a joint-list with DL.
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
on 14 October 2007. Its leaders were Piero Fassino
Piero Fassino
Pietro Franco "Piero" Fassino is an Italian politician with the Democratic Party, the current Mayor of Turin and a former national secretary of the Democrats of the Left party.-Biography:...
, national secretary, and 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...
, president.
History
The Democrats of the Left developed from the Democratic Party of the LeftDemocratic Party of the Left
The Democratic Party of the Left was a post-communist, democratic socialist political party in Italy.-History:...
(Partito Democratico della Sinistra, PDS), which in turn was a reshaping of the Italian Communist Party
Italian 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...
(Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) into a democratic socialist
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
party. Under the leadership of 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...
, the party merged with other minor like-minded movements (Labour Federation
Labour Federation
The Labour Federation was a social-democratic party in Italy.It was founded in 1994 by former members of the Italian Socialist Party and was in close alliance with the Democratic Party of the Left , with which it merged in 1998 to form the Democrats of the Left...
, Social Christians
Social Christians
Social Christians is a Christian social-democratic faction within the Democratic Party, a political party in Italy....
, Republican Left
Republican Left
The Republican Left was an Italian political party founded on January 30, 1994 after the Italian Republican Party split....
, Unitarian Communists, Reformists for Europe
Reformists for Europe
The Reformists for Europe were a small social-democratic group in Italy.They were formed in 1997 by splinters of Democratic Union...
and Democratic Federation
Democratic Federation (Sardinia)
Democratic Federation was a regionalist social-democratic political party in Sardinia, Italy.It was launched in 1994 basically by members of the Italian Socialist Party, the Italian Democratic Socialist Party and the Italian Republican Party, after that these parties were severely damaged by the...
), and took the current name, removing the hammer and sickle
Hammer and sickle
The hammer and sickle is a part of communist symbolism and its usage indicates an association with Communism, a Communist party, or a Communist state. It features a hammer and a sickle overlapping each other. The two tools are symbols of the industrial proletariat and the peasantry; placing them...
from its symbol and substituting it with the red carnation
Carnation
Dianthus caryophyllus is a species of Dianthus. It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is the wild ancestor of the garden carnation.It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall...
of the Party of European Socialists
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
.
Massimo D'Alema became prime minister in October 1998 and was replaced as the leader of DS by Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni, Knight Grand Cross, is an Italian writer, journalist and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He served as Mayor of Rome from 2001 to 2008.-Biography:Walter Veltroni was...
. During the party's first national congress in January 2000, Veltroni received the support of the 79.9% of delegates, while the left wing of the party, at the time led by three women (Anna Finocchiaro
Anna Finocchiaro
Anna Finocchiaro Fidelbo is an Italian politician. She is the Democratic Party's leader in the Senate. She served as Minister for Equal Opportunities in the cabinet of Romano Prodi from 1996-98.-Biography:...
, Fulvia Bandoli and Pasqualina Napoletano
Pasqualina Napoletano
Pasqualina Napoletano is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Central region with the Democratici di Sinistra, a Vice-Chairwoman of the Socialist Group, and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade.She is a substitute for the Committee on...
), had the support of 20.1% of them.
Leadership of Piero Fassino
The last secretary of the party was Piero FassinoPiero Fassino
Pietro Franco "Piero" Fassino is an Italian politician with the Democratic Party, the current Mayor of Turin and a former national secretary of the Democrats of the Left party.-Biography:...
, elected with 61.8% of party members' votes during the second national congress in November 2001. Piero Fassino was the candidate of a mainstream Third Way
Third way (centrism)
The Third Way refers to various political positions which try to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. Third Way approaches are commonly viewed from within the first- and second-way perspectives as...
tendency. The candidacy of Giovanni Berlinguer
Giovanni Berlinguer
Giovanni Berlinguer , Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian politician and Professor of Social Medicine.He was born in Sassari, Sardinia, the son of Mario Berlinguer...
, endorsed by left-wingers, democratic socialists
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
and the Italian General Confederation of Labour
Italian General Confederation of Labour
-External links:**...
(CGIL) trade union, gained 34.1% of party members votes. The right wing of the party, led by Enrico Morando, received 4.1%.
Piero Fassino was re-elected during the third national congress, in February 2005 with 79.1% of party members' votes. No other candidates stood, but left-wing candidates ran for congressional delegates and received 14.6% of party members votes won by the DS Left-wing – Returning to win, 4.0% by the DS Left-wing for Socialism and 2.4% by the Ecologist Left.
2006 general election
In the 2006 general electionItalian 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...
, held on April 9 and April 10, 2006, the Democrats of the Left endorsed the candidacy of 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...
as Prime Minister of Italy
Prime minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
. DS presented their symbol for the Senate
Italian Senate
The 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...
and ran under the Olive Tree symbol for the Chamber
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...
, together with DL and MRE. The party achieved a 17.17% in the Senate (62 senators) and the Olive Tree reached a 31.20% in the Chamber (220 deputies), more than the sum of its components in the Senate. This, and the narrow margin gained on the centre-right coalition, prompted a discussion on the party's future. the party leadership was committed to a future merge with DL, eventually creating a new Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
the following year.
Nine Ministers of 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...
were affiliated to the Democrats of the Left, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
As in most countries, in Italy the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is one of the most important ministerial positions...
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...
. The current President of the Italian Republic
President of the Italian Republic
The President of the Italian Republic is the head of state of Italy and, as such, is intended to represent national unity and guarantee that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president's term of office lasts for seven years....
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...
, elected on May 10, 2006, is also a former DS member (as usual, although not mandatory, he renounced his party affiliation before being sworn in, because the office he was going to assume is considered to be above party politics).
Fourth national congress and split
The fourth national congress was held from April 19 to 21, 2007. During local congresses, Piero Fassino and his motion named For the Democratic Party, backed by the majority of the leading members of the party, such as D'Alema, Pier Luigi BersaniPier Luigi Bersani
Pier Luigi Bersani is an Italian politician and the current Secretary of the Democratic Party of Italy, the main center-left political party in Italy . He was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 to 1999, Minister of Transports from 1999 to 2001, and Minister of Economic...
and Antonio Bassolino
Antonio Bassolino
Antonio Bassolino, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian politician. He has been President of the Campania region from 2000 to 2010.-Biography:Bassolino was born in Afragola, Campania...
, received the support of 75.6% of party members. The motion was clearly in support of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
project.
The left-wing of Fabio Mussi
Fabio Mussi
Fabio Mussi is an Italian politician, formerly Minister of University and Research in the Prodi II Cabinet. A former member of Italian Communist Party and then Democrats of the Left, he became a lead founding member of the Democratic Left...
, Cesare Salvi, Fulvia Bandoli and Valdo Spini
Valdo Spini
Valdo Spini is an Italian politician and writer.A long-time member of the Italian Socialist Party , in 1994 he founded the Labour Federation , of which he was leader until FL merged into the Democrats of the Left . Since then, he was a leading member of the Socialist faction within DS. .Elected MP...
(To the Left. For European Socialism, joint-group of members of DS Left-wing – Returning to win, DS Left-wing for Socialism, some affiliates to the Ecologist Left and most Labourites – Liberal Socialists
Labour Federation
The Labour Federation was a social-democratic party in Italy.It was founded in 1994 by former members of the Italian Socialist Party and was in close alliance with the Democratic Party of the Left , with which it merged in 1998 to form the Democrats of the Left...
scored 15.0%; this motion was instead opposed to the Democratic Party. All members supportive of this group later founded a new movement, 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...
, which aimed to unite the heterogeneous Italian left-wing, from direct descendents of the Italian Socialist Party
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
to the euro-communist
Eurocommunism
Eurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy and less aligned to the influence or control of the Communist Party of the Soviet...
tendencies best represented in Italy by the Communist Refoundation Party
Communist Refoundation Party
The Communist Refoundation Party is a communist Italian political party. Its current secretary is Paolo Ferrero....
.
A third motion, named For a New, Democratic and Socialist Party and signed by Gavino Angius
Gavino Angius
Gavino Angius is an Italian politician.-Biography:Born at Sassari , after the degree in Political Sciences, he became a member of the Italian Communist Party , for which he was secretary of his city's section...
, Mauro Zani
Mauro Zani
Mauro Zani is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the North-East with the Democrats of the Left , part of the Socialist Group, and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Development....
and originally also by Giuseppe Caldarola took 9.3% of party members votes. This group, mainly composed of former supporters of D'Alema and Fassino (gathered in the new Socialists and Europeans faction), and some left-wingers and environmentalists, supported the creation of a new party only within the Party of European Socialists
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
and opposed the proposal of the Democratic Party (perceived as a mere addition of DS and DL with no reference at all to socialism). Several of its members and supporters, including Angius, later decided to leave the party to join the Democratic Left movement, whereas several others, including Zani, preferred to stay within the Democrats of the Left.
Factions
Inside the party were several organized political tendency associations. Inside the party, there was often a somewhat simplistic distinction between reformists (riformisti) and radicals (radicali or massimalisti), indicating respectively the mainstream or the left-wing area, formerly known as Correntone.The core of the social-democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
party majority wasn't related to a specific tendency association, although several smaller movements, splits of former centrist or centre-left Italian parties, related to it. These were the Labourites – Liberal Socialists
Labour Federation
The Labour Federation was a social-democratic party in Italy.It was founded in 1994 by former members of the Italian Socialist Party and was in close alliance with the Democratic Party of the Left , with which it merged in 1998 to form the Democrats of the Left...
(Laburisti – Socialisti Liberali), Reformist Europe
Reformists for Europe
The Reformists for Europe were a small social-democratic group in Italy.They were formed in 1997 by splinters of Democratic Union...
(Europa Riformista) and the Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
Reformist Movement
Reformist Movement
The Reformist Movement is a French-speaking liberal political party in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region until the 2004 regional elections...
(Movimento Riformista) all from the Italian Socialist Party
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
, the Social Christians
Social Christians
Social Christians is a Christian social-democratic faction within the Democratic Party, a political party in Italy....
(Cristiano Sociali) from the left-wing of Christian Democracy
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
,
the Republican Left
Republican Left
The Republican Left was an Italian political party founded on January 30, 1994 after the Italian Republican Party split....
(Sinistra Repubblicana) from the left-wing of the Italian Republican Party
Italian Republican Party
The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini...
and the Liberal Left
Liberal Left
The Liberal Left was a minor liberal faction within the Democrats of the Left, an Italian political party.It was formed basically by former left-wingers of the Italian Liberal Party...
(Sinistra Liberale) from the left wing of the Italian Liberal Party
Italian Liberal Party
The Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution...
.
On the right wing the Liberal association had a moderate Third Way
Third way (centrism)
The Third Way refers to various political positions which try to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. Third Way approaches are commonly viewed from within the first- and second-way perspectives as...
or radical center political agenda. This faction was included in the party majority in later years, while a dissident group left it, in opposition to the creation of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
, and formed a new faction, named Socialists and Europeans.
Before the 2007 convention, the left-wing opposition was led by the DS Left-wing-Returning to win (Sinistra DS-Per tornare a vincere), a left-wing democratic socialist tendency, with other smaller groups including DS Left-wing for Socialism (Sinistra DS per il Socialismo), left-wing democratic socialists and the Ecologist Left (Sinistra Ecologista), left-wing environmentalists
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
. As most of their members left the party in refusal of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
foundation, their subsequent composition and weight was unclear.
Several personalities formerly inside or close to the left-wing area of the party, as Pietro Folena, Pietro Ingrao
Pietro Ingrao
Pietro Ingrao is an Italian politician, and was for many years a senior figure in the Italian Communist Party .-Political career:Ingrao was born at Lenola, in the province of Latina....
and 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...
approached or joined the Communist Refoundation Party
Communist Refoundation Party
The Communist Refoundation Party is a communist Italian political party. Its current secretary is Paolo Ferrero....
which, from its sixth congress held in January 2005, was moving towards a more heterogeneous, non-sectarian and strongly pacifist kind of left-wing party.
Popular support
The electoral results of the Democrats of the Left (Democratic Party of the LeftDemocratic Party of the Left
The Democratic Party of the Left was a post-communist, democratic socialist political party in Italy.-History:...
until 1998) in the 10 most populated Regions of Italy are shown in the table below. The result for the 2006 general election refers to the election for the Senate, indeed DS contested the election for the Chamber of Deputies in a joint-list with DL.
| 1994 general | 1995 regional | 1996 general | 1999 European | 2000 regional | 2001 general | 2004 European | 2005 regional | 2006 general | |
| Piedmont | 16.7 | 21.7 | 16.9 | 13.7 | 17.7 | 15.9 | with Ulivo | 20.1 | 16.9 |
| Lombardy | 13.0 | 16.5 | 15.1 | 12.9 | with Ulivo Olive Tree The Olive Tree was a denomination used for several successive centre-left Italian political coalitions from 1995 to 2007.The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was Romano Prodi, Professor of Economics and former leftist Christian Democrat, who invented the name and the symbol of... |
11.7 | with Ulivo | with Ulivo | 12.4 |
| Veneto | 12.2 | 16.5 | 11.8 | 11.1 | 12.3 | 10.7 | with Ulivo | with Ulivo | 11.5 |
| Emilia-Romagna | 36.6 | 43.0 | 35.7 | 32.8 | 36.2 | 28.8 | with Ulivo | with Ulivo | 30.6 |
| Tuscany | 33.7 | 40.9 | 34.8 | 31.9 | 36.4 | 30.9 | with Ulivo | with Ulivo | 29.8 |
| Lazio | 23.3 | 27.2 | 23.5 | 18.4 | 20.0 | 17.3 | with Ulivo | with Ulivo | 19.2 |
| Campania | 19.7 | 19.5 | 20.0 | 13.8 | 14.2 | 14.3 | with Ulivo | 15.3 | 14.1 |
| Apulia | 19.9 | 22.1 | 22.1 | 14.1 | 15.7 | 12.9 | with Ulivo | 16.6 | 15.6 |
| Calabria | 22.2 | 22.2 | 21.0 | 16.4 | 14.3 | 17.9 | with Ulivo | 15.4 | 14.4 |
| Sicily | 16.5 | 14.1 (1996) | 16.6 | 12.0 | 10.1 (2001) | 10.3 | with Ulivo | 14.0 (2006) | 11.4 |
| ITALY | 20.4 | - | 21.1 | 17.3 | - | 16.6 | - | - | 17.2 |
Leadership
- Secretary: Massimo D'AlemaMassimo D'AlemaMassimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...
(1998), Walter VeltroniWalter VeltroniWalter Veltroni, Knight Grand Cross, is an Italian writer, journalist and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He served as Mayor of Rome from 2001 to 2008.-Biography:Walter Veltroni was...
(1998–2001), Piero FassinoPiero FassinoPietro Franco "Piero" Fassino is an Italian politician with the Democratic Party, the current Mayor of Turin and a former national secretary of the Democrats of the Left party.-Biography:...
(2001–2007)- Coordinator: Marco Minniti (1998), Pietro Folena (1998–2001), Vannino Chiti (2001–2004), Vannino Chiti / Maurizio Migliavacca (2004–2006), Maurizio Migliavacca (2006–2007)
- Organizational Secretary: Pietro Folena (1998), Franco Passuello (1998–2001), Maurizio Migliavacca (2001–2004), Marina Sereni (2004–2006), Andrea Orlando (2006–2007)
- President: Massimo D'AlemaMassimo D'AlemaMassimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...
(2000–2007)
- 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...
: Fabio MussiFabio MussiFabio Mussi is an Italian politician, formerly Minister of University and Research in the Prodi II Cabinet. A former member of Italian Communist Party and then Democrats of the Left, he became a lead founding member of the Democratic Left...
(1998–2001), Luciano ViolanteLuciano ViolanteLuciano Violante is an Italian judge and politician, Member of Parliament since 1979. He is particularly interested in questions of justice, the struggle against the Mafia and institutional reform.-Biography:...
(2001–2006), Marina Sereni (deputy-leader of the Olive TreeOlive TreeThe Olive Tree was a denomination used for several successive centre-left Italian political coalitions from 1995 to 2007.The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was Romano Prodi, Professor of Economics and former leftist Christian Democrat, who invented the name and the symbol of...
's group, 2006–2007) - 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...
: Gavino AngiusGavino AngiusGavino Angius is an Italian politician.-Biography:Born at Sassari , after the degree in Political Sciences, he became a member of the Italian Communist Party , for which he was secretary of his city's section...
(1998–2006), Anna FinocchiaroAnna FinocchiaroAnna Finocchiaro Fidelbo is an Italian politician. She is the Democratic Party's leader in the Senate. She served as Minister for Equal Opportunities in the cabinet of Romano Prodi from 1996-98.-Biography:...
(leader of the Olive TreeOlive TreeThe Olive Tree was a denomination used for several successive centre-left Italian political coalitions from 1995 to 2007.The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was Romano Prodi, Professor of Economics and former leftist Christian Democrat, who invented the name and the symbol of...
's group, 2006–2007) - 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...
: Renzo Imbeni (1998–1999), Pasqualina NapoletanoPasqualina NapoletanoPasqualina Napoletano is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Central region with the Democratici di Sinistra, a Vice-Chairwoman of the Socialist Group, and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade.She is a substitute for the Committee on...
(1999–2004), Nicola ZingarettiNicola ZingarettiNicola Zingaretti is an Italian politician, president of the Province of Rome and erstwhile Member of the European Parliament for the Centre with the Democrats of the Left , part of the Socialist Group, and used to sit on the European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs.He was a substitute for...
(2004–2006), Giovanni PittellaGiovanni PittellaGiovanni Pittella is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Southern and Vice President of the European Parliament for the seventh parliament...
(2006–2009)