Democratic Party of the Left
Encyclopedia
The Democratic Party of the Left (Partito Democratico della Sinistra, PDS) was a post-communist
, democratic socialist
political party in Italy
.
(PCI) in a democratic-socialist direction. Its first leader was Achille Occhetto
, the final secretary of the PCI.
The logo of the PDS consisted mainly of an oak
tree that retained, in a roundel
at the tree's roots, the previous symbol of the PCI: this was done both to indicate the party's roots, but did not prevent hardliners leaving the party and launching the Communist Refoundation Party
(PRC). Thus the logo was also adopted in order to prevent the PRC from making usage of the symbol immediately after the split between the two parties.
In the 1994 general election
Occhetto was the leader of the Alliance of Progressives
but he lost to Silvio Berlusconi
. In the election's aftermath, Massimo D'Alema
was elected new party secretary. In the 1996 general election
, after the collapse of Berlusconi's coalition, the PDS was part of the winning coalition, The Olive Tree, led by Romano Prodi
. In the Prodi I Cabinet
, a leading member of the PDS, Giorgio Napolitano
, became Minister of the Interior.
In 1997 D'Alema called for the party to become more of a European social-democratic
party, and in 1998 was transformed in Democrats of the Left
, after the merger with Labour Federation
, Social Christians
, Republican Left
, Unitarian Communists, Reformists for Europe
and Democratic Federation
. On this occasion, the party decided to replace the hammer and sickle
of its emblem with the carnation
of European social democracy.
Post-Communism
Post-communism is a name sometimes given to the period of political and economic transformation or "transition" in former Communist states located in parts of Europe and Asia, in which new governments aimed to create free market-oriented capitalist economies with some form of parliamentary...
, 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...
political party in 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...
.
History
It was founded in 1991 as the evolution of 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) in a democratic-socialist direction. Its first leader was 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...
, the final secretary of the PCI.
The logo of the PDS consisted mainly of an oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
tree that retained, in a roundel
Roundel
A roundel in heraldry is a disc; the term is also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of different colours.-Heraldry:...
at the tree's roots, the previous symbol of the PCI: this was done both to indicate the party's roots, but did not prevent hardliners leaving the party and launching the Communist Refoundation Party
Communist Refoundation Party
The Communist Refoundation Party is a communist Italian political party. Its current secretary is Paolo Ferrero....
(PRC). Thus the logo was also adopted in order to prevent the PRC from making usage of the symbol immediately after the split between the two parties.
In the 1994 general election
Italian general election, 1994
An early national general election was held in Italy on March 27, 1994 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right alliance won handily the election for the Chamber and only narrowly lost that for the Senate....
Occhetto was the leader of the Alliance of Progressives
Alliance of Progressives
The Alliance of Progressives was a left-wing electoral coalition in Italy in 1994.It was composed of:*the Democratic Party of the Left ;*the Communist Refoundation Party ;...
but he lost to Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
. In the election's aftermath, 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...
was elected new party secretary. 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...
, after the collapse of Berlusconi's coalition, the PDS was part of the winning coalition, The Olive Tree, led by 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...
. In the Prodi I Cabinet
Prodi I Cabinet
The Prodi I Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 18 May 1996 to 21 October 1998.-Sources:*...
, a leading member of the PDS, 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...
, became Minister of the Interior.
In 1997 D'Alema called for the party to become more of a European 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, and in 1998 was transformed in Democrats of the Left
Democrats of the Left
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...
, after the merger with 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...
. On this occasion, the party decided to replace 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...
of its emblem with the 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 European social democracy.
Leadership
- Secretary: Achille OcchettoAchille OcchettoAchille 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...
(1991–1994), 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...
(1994–1998)- Coordinator: 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...
(1991–1993), Davide Visani (1993–1994), Mauro ZaniMauro ZaniMauro 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....
(1994–1996), Marco Minniti (1996–1998) - Organizational Secretary: 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:...
(1991–1992), Mauro ZaniMauro ZaniMauro 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....
(1992–1994), Marco Minniti (1994–1996), Pietro Folena (1996–1998)
- Coordinator: Massimo D'Alema
- 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...
: 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...
(1992–1994), Luigi Berlinguer (1994–1996), 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...
(1996–1998) - 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...
: Giuseppe Chiarante (1992–1994), Cesare Salvi (1994–1998) - 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 (1994–1998)