The Democrats of the Left ( it, Democratici di Sinistra, DS) was a
social-democratic
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
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 DS, successor of the
Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) 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 (PSI) ...
, was formed in 1998 upon the merger of the PDS with several minor parties. A member of
The Olive Tree coalition, in October 2007 the DS merged with
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy ( it, Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita, DL), commonly known simply as The Daisy (''La Margherita''), was a centrist political party in Italy. The party was formed from the merger of three parties within ...
and a number of minor centre-left parties to form the
Democratic Party.
The DS was successively led by
Massimo D'Alema,
Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni (; born 3 July 1955) is an Italian writer, film director, 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 serve ...
and
Piero Fassino
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. .
History
At its 20th congress in 1991, the
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) 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 (PSI) ...
was transformed into the
Democratic Party of the Left, responding to the
Revolutions of 1989
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...
in eastern Europe by re-orienting the party towards the European democratic-socialist tradition.
Under the leadership of
Massimo D'Alema, the PDS merged with some minor centre-left movements (
Labour Federation,
Social Christians
The Social Christians ( it, Cristiano Sociali) are a Christian social-democratic faction within the Democratic Party, a political party in Italy. Before that, they were a party (1993–1998) and a faction of the Democrats of the Left (1998–2007 ...
,
Republican Left,
Unitarian Communists, Reformists for Europe and
Democratic Federation) on 13 February 1998.
The DS' symbol lacked the
hammer and sickle
The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industr ...
, which was present in the PDS' one and was instead replaced by the red
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
of European social democracy as used by the
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party.
The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus Norway and the United Kingdom. ...
(PES).
Massimo D'Alema became
Prime Minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...
in October 1998, the first former Communist to hold the post. D'Alema was replaced as the leader of DS by
Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni (; born 3 July 1955) is an Italian writer, film director, 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 serve ...
. 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 Fidelbo (; born 31 March 1955) is an Italian politician. She was the Democratic Party's leader in the Senate from 2007 to 2013. She served as Minister for Equal Opportunities in the cabinet of Romano Prodi from 1996 to 1998.
Biog ...
,
Fulvia Bandoli
Fulvia (; c. 83 BC – 40 BC) was an aristocratic Roman woman who lived during the Late Roman Republic. Fulvia's birth into an important political dynasty facilitated her relationships and, later on, marriages to Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gai ...
and
Pasqualina Napoletano
Pasqualina Napoletano (born 28 September 1949) 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' ...
), had the support of 20.1% of delegates.
Leadership of Piero Fassino
During the party's second national congress in November 2001,
Piero Fassino
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. , a mainstream social democrat, was elected secretary with 61.8% of party members' votes. In the event,
Giovanni Berlinguer
Giovanni Berlinguer (; 9 July 1924 – 6 April 2015) was an Italian politician, humanist and professor of social medicine.
Life and career
He was born in Sassari, Sardinia, the son of Mario Berlinguer. A physician and professor of public heal ...
, endorsed by left-wingers, democratic socialists and the
Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) trade union, gained 34.1%, while
Enrico Morando, from the liberal right-wing, got 4.1%. Contextually, D'Alema was elected president.
During the third national congress in February 2005, Fassino was re-elected with 79.0% of the vote. No-one stood against Fassino, but left-wing candidates ran for congressional delegates: the ''DS Left-wing – Returning to win'' motion/list won 14.6% of the vote, ''DS Left-wing for Socialism'' 4.0% and the ''Ecologist Left'' 2.4%.
2006 general election
In the
2006 general election, the DS endorsed
Romano Prodi
Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Pr ...
for
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
and were part of the
Olive Tree electoral list, along with
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy ( it, Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita, DL), commonly known simply as The Daisy (''La Margherita''), was a centrist political party in Italy. The party was formed from the merger of three parties within ...
(DL) and the
European Republicans Movement
The European Republicans Movement ( it, Movimento Repubblicani Europei, MRE) is a minor social-liberal political party in Italy.
From 2007 to 2010 the party was a founding member and associate of the Democratic Party, the leading centre-left pa ...
(MRE), for the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
, while fielding its own list for the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. The DS–DL–MRE joint list obtained 31.2% of the vote and 220 deputies, while the DS list 17.2% and 62 senators. The party's dismal result and the razor-thin win of
The Union coalition over the centre-right
House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms ( it, Casa delle Libertà, CdL) was a major centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy, led by Silvio Berlusconi.
History
The CdL was the successor of the Pole of Freedoms/Pole of Good Government and the Pole f ...
coalition prompted a discussion on the party's future. By the end of 2006 the party leadership was committed to a merger with DL.
Nine Ministers of the
Prodi II Cabinet were affiliated to the DS, notably including D'Alema who served as
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
and
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
.
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
, another DS member, was elected
President of Italy
The president of Italy, officially denoted as president of the Italian Republic ( it, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana) is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian poli ...
in May 2006 and re-elected in April 2013 for a second term.
Fourth national congress and split
The party's fourth national congress was held in 19–21 April 2007: During local congresses, Fassino and his motion named ''For the Democratic Party'', backed by most leading members (D'Alema,
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 ...
,
Antonio Bassolino, etc.), received the support of 75.6% by party members.
The left-wing of
Fabio Mussi
Fabio Mussi (born 22 January 1948) is an Italian politician, formerly Minister of University and Research in the Prodi II Cabinet. A former member of the Italian Communist Party and then Democrats of the Left, he became a lead founding member o ...
,
Cesare Salvi,
Fulvia Bandoli
Fulvia (; c. 83 BC – 40 BC) was an aristocratic Roman woman who lived during the Late Roman Republic. Fulvia's birth into an important political dynasty facilitated her relationships and, later on, marriages to Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gai ...
and
Valdo Spini
Valdo Spini (born 20 January 1946 in Florence) is an Italian politician and author.
A long-time member of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), in 1994 he founded the Labour Federation (FL), of which he was leader until 1998, when FL merged into ...
(''To the Left. For European Socialism'') scored 15.0%; this motion was instead opposed to the merger of the DS with DL.
A third motion (''For a New, Democratic and Socialist Party''), signed by
Gavino Angius,
Mauro Zani and originally
Giuseppe Caldarola, took 9.3% of the vote: its members (gathered in the new
Socialists and Europeans faction) supported the creation of a new party only within the PES, which was opposed by DL.
As a result, the DS approved the formation of a "Democratic Party", along with DL and minor parties. Most supporters of the two motions which had opposed the merger left the DS right after the congress and launched the
Democratic Left on 5 May 2007, which aimed to unite the heterogeneous Italian left-wing.
The
Democratic Party (PD) was formed in October 2007 and its first secretary was
Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni (; born 3 July 1955) is an Italian writer, film director, 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 serve ...
, a former DS leader who was elected leader of the new party through a
leadership election, which saw the participation of over 3,.5 million Italian voters in which Veltroni won 75.8% of the vote.
Factions
Inside the DS, there was often a somewhat simplistic distinction between reformists (''riformisti'') and radicals (''radicali''), indicating respectively the party's mainstream and its left-wing. The party also included several organised factions.
The
social-democratic
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
majority was loosely organised, while including several organised movements: the
Labourites – Liberal Socialists and the
Sicilian "Reformist Movement", both splinter groups of the
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country.
Founded in Genoa in 189 ...
; "Reformist Europe", a splinter group of the
Democratic Union led by
Giorgio Benvenuto (previously named "Reformists for Europe"); the
Social Christians
The Social Christians ( it, Cristiano Sociali) are a Christian social-democratic faction within the Democratic Party, a political party in Italy. Before that, they were a party (1993–1998) and a faction of the Democrats of the Left (1998–2007 ...
, which had emerged from the left-wing of
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
; the
Republican Left, from the left-wing of the
Italian Republican Party
The Italian Republican Party ( it, Partito Repubblicano Italiano, PRI) is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Italy. Founded in 1895, the PRI is the oldest political party still active in Italy.
The PRI has old roots and a long histo ...
; and the
Liberal Left, from the left-wing of the
Italian Liberal Party
The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was a liberal and conservative political party in Italy.
The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor part ...
. A dissident group left the Labourites in order to launch
Socialists and Europeans as a vehicle to oppose the party's merger with DL.
On the party's right, the
Liberal DS had a moderate
Third Way or
radical-centrist political agenda and joined the party's majority in latter years.
Before the party's last congress in 2007, the left-wing opposition was led by the ''DS Left-wing – Returning to win'', a democratic-socialist grouping, with other smaller groups including ''DS Left – wing for Socialism'' and the ''Ecologist Left''.
Before that, some DS leading members, including
Pietro Ingrao
Pietro Ingrao (30 March 1915 – 27 September 2015) was an Italian politician and journalist who participated in the resistance movement.
For many years he was a senior figure in the Italian Communist Party (PCI).
Political career
Ingrao was bo ...
,
Achille Occhetto
Achille Leone Occhetto (; born 3 March 1936) is an Italian political figure. He served as the last secretary-general of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) between 1988 and 1991, and the first leader of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), the p ...
and
Pietro Folena
Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
People
* Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice
* Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death
* Pietro II Ca ...
, had left the party in order to join the
Communist Refoundation Party
The Communist Refoundation Party ( it, Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, PRC) is a communist political party in Italy that emerged from a split of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1991. The party's secretary is Maurizio Acerbo, who repla ...
which, at its sixth congress, held in January 2005, moved toward a more heterogeneous, non-sectarian and strongly pacifist variety of leftism.
Popular support
The electoral results of DS (
PDS until 1998) in general (Chamber of Deputies) and European Parliament elections from 1992 to 2006 are shown in chart below. The result for the 2006 general election refers to the election for the Senate (the DS contested the election for the Chamber of Deputies in a joint list with
DL).
The electoral results of the DS (PDS until 1998) in the 10 most populated
regions of Italy
The regions of Italy ( it, regioni d'Italia) are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, five of which have higher autonomy than the rest. ...
are shown in the table below.
Electoral results
Italian Parliament
European Parliament
Symbols
File:DEMOCRATICI DI SINISTRA - 1.gif, 1998
File:Democratici di Sinistra.svg, 2004
Leadership
*Secretary:
Massimo D'Alema (1998),
Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni (; born 3 July 1955) is an Italian writer, film director, 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 serve ...
(1998–2001),
Piero Fassino
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. (2001–2007)
**Coordinator:
Marco Minniti (1998),
Pietro Folena
Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
People
* Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice
* Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death
* Pietro II Ca ...
(1998–2001),
Vannino Chiti
Vannino Chiti (born 26 December 1947) is an Italian politician, former president of Tuscany and Minister for Constitutional Reforms and Parliamentary Relations.
Biography
Chiti graduated in philosophy and has always studied the history of ca ...
(2001–2004),
Vannino Chiti
Vannino Chiti (born 26 December 1947) is an Italian politician, former president of Tuscany and Minister for Constitutional Reforms and Parliamentary Relations.
Biography
Chiti graduated in philosophy and has always studied the history of ca ...
/
Maurizio Migliavacca (2004–2006),
Maurizio Migliavacca (2006–2007)
**Organizational Secretary:
Pietro Folena
Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
People
* Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice
* Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death
* Pietro II Ca ...
(1998),
Franco Passuello (1998–2001),
Maurizio Migliavacca (2001–2004),
Marina Sereni (2004–2006),
Andrea Orlando
Andrea Orlando (born 8 February 1969) is an Italian politician who served as minister of labour and social policies from 2021 to 2022 in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi. From 2013 to 2018 he served as minister of the environment ...
(2006–2007)
*President:
Massimo D'Alema (2000–2007)
*Party Leader in the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
:
Fabio Mussi
Fabio Mussi (born 22 January 1948) is an Italian politician, formerly Minister of University and Research in the Prodi II Cabinet. A former member of the Italian Communist Party and then Democrats of the Left, he became a lead founding member o ...
(1998–2001),
Luciano Violante (2001–2006),
Marina Sereni (deputy-leader of the
Olive Tree's group, 2006–2007)
*Party Leader in the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
:
Gavino Angius (1998–2006),
Anna Finocchiaro
Anna Finocchiaro Fidelbo (; born 31 March 1955) is an Italian politician. She was the Democratic Party's leader in the Senate from 2007 to 2013. She served as Minister for Equal Opportunities in the cabinet of Romano Prodi from 1996 to 1998.
Biog ...
(leader of the
Olive Tree's group, 2006–2007)
*Party Leader in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
:
Renzo Imbeni
Renzo Imbeni (12 October 1944 – 22 February 2005) was an Italian politician, Mayor of Bologna from 1983 to 1993.
Biography
Imbeni graduated in Economics at the University of Bologna and in 1972 he was elected Secretary of the Italian Commu ...
(1998–1999),
Pasqualina Napoletano
Pasqualina Napoletano (born 28 September 1949) 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' ...
(1999–2004),
Nicola Zingaretti (2004–2006),
Giovanni Pittella (2006–2009)
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Democrats of The Left
1998 establishments in Italy
2007 disestablishments in Italy
Defunct social democratic parties in Italy
Defunct political parties in Italy
Former member parties of the Socialist International
Party of European Socialists member parties
Political parties disestablished in 2007
Political parties established in 1998