AreaDem (an abbreviation for ''Area Democratica'', en, Democratic Area) is a broad faction within the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(PD), a
political party in Italy
This article contains a list of political parties in Italy since Italian unification in 1861.
Throughout history, numerous political parties have been operating in Italy, and since World War II no party has ever gained enough support to govern ...
. The faction coordinator is
Marina Sereni
Marina Sereni (born 8 May 1960) is an Italian politician of the Democratic Party (PD)Democrats of the Left close to Piero Fassino.
On the issues, AD distances itself from social democracy, opposes any "compromise over legality" and justice with Silvio Berlusconi, and supports voters' participation to the life of the party through primaries.
History
The grouping was launched soon after the defeat of Franceschini, party leader since the resignation of Walter Veltroni, by
Pier Luigi Bersani
Pier Luigi Bersani (; born 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 t ...
in the
2009 PD leadership election
The 2009 Democratic Party leadership election was held in July–November 2009, following the resignation of Walter Veltroni in February 2009, after 16 months as secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), a political party in Italy.
Pier Luigi Bersa ...
and at its foundation comprised almost 150 MPs and MEPs of the party. AD served as board of coordination between the six main sub-groups which supported Franceschini's bid: ''
Veltroniani
Veltroniani referred to the followers of Walter Veltroni, leader of the Democratic Party, a political party in Italy, from 2007 to 2009. Most of them are social democrats coming from the Democrats of the Left.
Apart the core group of ''Veltronian ...
'', ''
Fassiniani
Piero Franco Rodolfo Fassino (born 7 October 1949) is an Italian politician with the Democratic Party. He was Mayor of Turin from 2011 until 2016 and is a former national secretary of the Democrats of the Left party.
Liberal PD
Liberal PD ( it, Liberal PD) is a social-liberal faction within the Democratic Party (PD), a political party in Italy. The aim of the group is to promote liberal ideas within the party and elect liberal candidates. The faction, through the Itali ...
and Democratic Ecologists.
In February 2010, there was a clash between ''Veltroniani'' and ''Franceschiniani'' over the choice of the candidate for President in Umbria. The friction was resolved, but Veltroni chose to launch a think tank named ''Democratica'' that could eventually become a new faction. In April the faction held an assembly in
Cortona
Cortona (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic centre of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo.
Toponymy
Cortona is derived from Latin Cortōna, and from Etruscan 𐌂𐌖𐌓� ...
, attended also by Veltroni, Fassino, Franco Marini and Giuseppe Fioroni, during which Franceschini spoke openly of a possible separation from the party if it does not stick back to its original nature of a broad centre-left party committed to primaries.
By September 2010, both Franceschini and Fassino had re-approached with Bersani, a move which was not approved by Veltroni and Fioroni. The latter formed
Democratic Movement
A democracy is a political system, or a system of decision-making within an institution or organization or a country, in which all members have an equal share of power. Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities that differentiate ...
to defend the "original spirit" of the PD. In doing this they were supported by 75 deputies: 33 ''Veltroniani'', 35 Populars close to Fioroni and 7 former '' Rutelliani'' led by Paolo Gentiloni. During a meeting of the party's national board, held on 23 September, ''Franceschiniani'' and ''Fassiniani'' voted a motion proposed by Bersani (thus entering the party's majority), while most ''Veltroniani'' abstained from the vote: the resolution was passed by a landslide. It was the end of AD, as Franceschini soon acknowledged. The faction continued to be active within the party majority.