The Popular Democrats was a Christian-leftist

Christian left

The Christian left is a term originating in the United States, used to describe a spectrum of left-wing Christian political and social movements which largely embraces social justice....

 Italian political party active in the Aosta Valley of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Its leading members included Cesare Dujany, Maurizio Martin and Angelo Pollicini.

The party emerged by a left-wing

Left-wing politics

In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...

 split (seven regional deputies out of 13) of regional 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 ....

. Subsequently Popular Democrat leader Cesare Dujany became President of the Region at the head of a coalition composed 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...

, the Valdotanian Rally

Valdotanian Rally

The Valdotanian Rally was a conservative Italian political party active in Aosta Valley.In 1963 a group of conservative members of the Valdotanian Union formed the Valdotanian Independent Rally and won 3.3% of the vote in a regional election. In 1967 RIV merged with other conservative groups in...

 and the Italian Democratic Socialist Party

Italian Democratic Socialist Party

The Italian Democratic Socialist Party is a minor social-democratic political party in Italy. Mimmo Magistro is the party leader. The PSDI, before the 1990s decline in votes and members, had been an important force in Italian politics, being the longest serving partner in government for Christian...

. In the 1973 regional election DP won 22.4% of the vote and got elected eight regional deputies.

After the election Dujany was again President of the Region, this time with the support of the Socialists and the Progressive Valdotanian Union

Progressive Valdotanian Union

The Progressive Valdotanian Union was a social-democratic Italian political party active in Aosta Valley.It emerged in 1973 as a split from the Valdotanian Union and won 6.7% of the vote in that year’s regional election...

 (UVP), but in 1974 he resigned and the Valdotanian Union

Valdotanian Union

The Valdotanian Union is a regionalist-centrist Italian political party active in Aosta Valley. Its leaders are Ego Perron, party president, and Augusto Rollandin, President of the Region....

 returned in government.

In the 1979 general election

Italian general election, 1979

The Italian election of 1979 was held on June 3. The eighth Parliament of republican Italy was selected. This election was called just a week before the European vote: the lack of matching between the two elections caused much controversy for wasting public money.Terroristic attacks by the Red...

, due to an electoral pact with UV, Dujany was elected to the Italian Parliament, where he served until 1996.

After a decline in term of votes (11.8% in 1978), DP joined forces with UVP in the 1983 regional election, winning 10.4%. In 1984 the two parties merged to form the Autonomists Democrats Progressives

Autonomists Democrats Progressives

The Autonomists Democrats Progressives was a social-liberal and Christian-leftist Italian political party active in Aosta Valley...

.