The Democratic Party (Partito Democratico, PD) is a proposed political party in Italy. It is meant to be a merger of various party which were part of the L'Unione coalition in the 2006 general election. Its core would likely consist of the social-democratic Democrats of the Left and the centrist Democracy is Freedom – Daisy, whereas other parties might join it later in the founding process; it is considered certain that the European Republican Movement, the Southern Democratic Party, Middle-of-the-Road Italy and Renato Soru's Sardinia Project will join the party. Italy of Values was also widely considered to be likely to join the party, but this is currently in doubt. The Italian Democratic Socialist Party, the Italian Socialists, the Italian Democratic Socialists and the Democratic Left have ruled out joining the party. (Which led to the split of the Reformist Alliance from the SDI, consisting of former SDI members who want to join the PD; they are led by Ottaviano Del Turco.) Political parties in Italy are organized into two dominant political coalitions. ... The Union (Italian: LUnione) is an Italian centre-left political party coalition. ... A general election for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy was held on April 9 and April 10, 2006. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... The Democrats of the Left (Democratici di Sinistra, DS) is the main Italian left-wing political party, part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition. ... In politics, centrism usually refers to the political ideal of promoting moderate policies which land in the middle ground between different political extremes. ... Democracy is Freedom – Daisy (Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita, DL) is a centrist political party in Italy. ... The European Republican Movement (Italian: Movimento Repubblicani Europei) of Italy is a small center left liberal party, part of the Olive Tree coalition and the ALDE group in the European Parliament. ... The Southern Democratic Party (Partito Democratico Meridionale, PDM) is a christian-democratic and centrist Italian political party based in Calabria. ... Middle-of-the-Road Italy (Italian: , IdM) is an Italian centrist political grouping founded in 2006 by Marco Follini, Senate member and former leader of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC, 2002-05), and Riccardo Conti, member of the Chamber of Deputies. ... Renato Soru (born 16 August 1957 in Sanluri, Sardinia-Italy) is the founder of the internet service company Tiscali, based in Cagliari. ... The Sardinia Project (Progetto Sardegna) is a minor autonomist political party in Sardinia in Italy. ... Italy of Values (Italia dei Valori, IdV) is a populist and anti-corruption political movement in Italy, headed by former magistrate and Mani Pulite campaigner Antonio Di Pietro. ... The Italian Democratic Socialists (Italian: Socialisti Democratici Italiani), or SDI, is a small social democratic party of moderate-left policies, heir of the old Italian Socialist Party and led by Enrico Boselli. ... For the party with the similar name which was active from 1994 to 1998, see Italian Socialists. ... The Italian Democratic Socialists (Socialisti Democratici Italiani, SDI) is a small social-democratic party of moderate-left policies, heir of the old Italian Socialist Party, born in 1998 by the convergence of the Italian Socialists and the Italian Democratic Socialist Party. ... The Democratic Left, officially the Democratic Left for European Socialism (Sinistra Democratica per il Socialismo Europeo) is a democratic socialist Italian political party founded on 5 May 2007 by former members of the Democrats of the Left centred around Fabio Mussi and Gavino Angius who did not agree with the... The Reformist Alliance (Alleanza Riformista) is an Italian political party founded by Ottaviano Del Turco in April 2007 as a split from the Italian Democratic Socialists over the SDIs decision not to become a part of the Democratic Party. ... Ottaviano Del Turco (born November 7, 1944 in Collelongo) was an Italian Member of the European Parliament. ...

On May 11, 2007 Democrats of the Left leader Piero Fassino announced the founding convention of the Democratic Party will be held on 14 October 2007, when Romano Prodi will be elected its first chairman.^[1] is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Piero Fassino (born October 7, 1949 in Avigliana, Torino) is the national secretary of the Democrats of the Left (DS), currently the major opposition party in the Italian parliament. ... is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...   (born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician. ...

History

Olive Tree

In the early 1990s, following Tangentopoli, the end of the so-called "Italian First Republic" and the disbandment of the Italian Communist Party, a process started in order to join the moderate left-wing forces of Italian politics to a single political entity. This process caused the entering of Romano Prodi into national politics and the creation of the centre-left Olive Tree coalition that won the 1996 general election. Later steps brought in 1998 the Democratic Party of the Left to give up every single communist legacy and embrace the democratic socialism, thus giving birth to the Democrats of the Left. For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Bettino Craxi, viewed by many as the symbol of Tangentopoli, leader of the Italian Socialist Party, is greeted by a salvo of coins as a sign of loathing by protesters contesting him. ... The Partito Comunista Italiano (PCI) or Italian Communist Party emerged as Partito Comunista dItalia or Communist Party of Italy from a secession by the Leninist comunisti puri tendency from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) during that bodys congress on 21 January 1921 at Livorno. ...   (born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician. ... For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ... An early national general election was held in Italy on April 21, 1996 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The Democratic Party of the Left (Italian: Partito democratico della Sinistra, or PdS) was the evolution in a social-democratic direction of the Italian Communist Party, or PCI. It was founded by Achille Occhetto, last secretary of the PCI and first of the PdS. The logo of the PdS consisted... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Democrats of the Left (Democratici di Sinistra, DS) is the main Italian left-wing political party, part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition. ...

Democracy is Freedom

In 1998, contemporarily with the democratic-socialist change inside the DS, a new party, The Democrats (I Democratici), was launched by Romano Prodi, with a reformist left-of-centre platform based on social liberalism, social democracy and Christian democracy. Popular-UDEUR, which were initially part of the Daisy, later abandoned the alliance, whereas The Democrats merged with the Italian People's Party and Italian Renewal, both two Christian democratic left-of-centre parties, to found the Daisy in 2002. Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The Democrats (Italian language: I Democratici) is a former Italian party, launched by Romano Prodi in 1998. ...   (born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician. ... Socialist Reformism is the belief that gradual democratic changes in a society can ultimately change a societys fundamental economic relations and political structures. ... Social liberalism is either a synonym for new liberalism or a label used by progressive liberal parties in order to differentiate themselves from the more conservative liberal parties, especially when there are two or more liberal parties in a country. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... Christian democracy is a diverse political ideology and movement. ... The Popular-UDEUR (Italian: Popolari-UDEUR) is a small centrist political party in Italy, led by Clemente Mastella. ... Christian Democracy, (Democrazia Cristiana), the Christian democratic party of Italy, commonly called the democristiani or DC, dominated government for nearly half a century until its demise amid a welter of corruption allegations in 1992-94. ... The Italian Renewal party was founded in 1996 by Lamberto Dini (at that time prime minister) with some former-Liberals as Natale DAmico, former Socialists as Tiziano Treu, former Christian Democrats as Augusto Fantozzi, former Republicans as Gianantonio Mazzocchin and former Social Democrats. ... Democracy is Freedom – Daisy (Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita, DL) is a centrist political party in Italy. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

Democracy is Freedom and Democrats of the Left together

In the summer of 2003, Romano Prodi suggested the centre-left forces to participate in the 2004 European parliamentary election with a common list. Whereas the Popular-UDEUR and the radical left parties refused the offer, four parties accepted it: Democrats of the Left, The Daisy, Italian Democratic Socialists and European Republican Movement successively founded a common list called Uniti nell'Ulivo (United in the Olive Tree) which ran in the election, obtaining 31.1% of national votes. The project was later abandoned in 2006 by the Italian Democratic Socialists, which preferred to run in a ticket wit the Italian Radicals known as Rose in the Fist. In the 2006 election, the Olive Tree list ran only in the Chamber of Deputies, obtaining 31.2% of national votes, more than the total of the percentage votes obtained by the single three parties in the Senate. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Elections to the European Parliament were held in Italy on June 13, 2004. ... The Popular-UDEUR (Italian: Popolari-UDEUR) is a small centrist political party in Italy, led by Clemente Mastella. ... The Italian Democratic Socialists (Socialisti Democratici Italiani, SDI) is a small social-democratic party of moderate-left policies, heir of the old Italian Socialist Party, born in 1998 by the convergence of the Italian Socialists and the Italian Democratic Socialist Party. ... The European Republican Movement (Italian: Movimento Repubblicani Europei) of Italy is a small center left liberal party, part of the Olive Tree coalition and the ALDE group in the European Parliament. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Do not confuse the Italian Radicals with the Transnational Radical Party. ... The Rose in the Fist is an Italian political federation of parties founded in 2005. ... A general election for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy was held on April 9 and April 10, 2006. ...

Road to the first convention

The 2006 election result, together with the success of the 2005 centre-left primary election, in which over four million voters formally endorsed Prodi as PM candidate, gave a push to the project of a unified centre-left reformist party. Since then, Francesco Rutelli and Piero Fassino, party leaders of Daisy and Democrats of the Left, scheduled their party conventions for April 2006 in order to formally approve the merger. On February 2007, a manifesto for the party, written by twelve centre-left "sages", was announced. On April 19, 2007, Democrats of the Left's national convention started in Florence; it is likely to be the last, since circa 75% of the Democrats of the Left members already voted in support of party secretary Fassino's motion in favour of founding the Democratic Party as soon as possible; the left-wing minority, headed by minister Fabio Mussi and opposed to the project, obtained circa 15% of the support within the party. A third motion, presented by Gavino Angius and supportive of the Democratic Party only within the Party of European Socialists, obtained 10% of votes. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The mechanism of primary elections was quite unseen in Italy before the 2005 regional elections, for which the left-wing alliance The Union delegate its potential electors to decide about the candidates as President of the Regions of Apulia and Calabria. ... Francesco Rutelli Francesco Rutelli (born June 14, 1954), MP, is an Italian politician, formerly Mayor of Rome, and president of the center wing liberal party Daisy-Democracy is Freedom. ... Piero Fassino (born October 7, 1949 in Avigliana, Torino) is the national secretary of the Democrats of the Left (DS), currently the major opposition party in the Italian parliament. ... Look up manifesto in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Florence (Italian: ) is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy. ... Piero Fassino (born October 7, 1949 in Avigliana, Torino) is the national secretary of the Democrats of the Left (DS), currently the major opposition party in the Italian parliament. ... Fabio Mussi (born January 22, 1948) is an Italian politician. ... Gavino Angius (born November 18, 1946) is an Italian politician. ... The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a European political party whose members are 33 social democratic, socialist and labour parties of the European Union member states as well as Norway. ...

During and following the Democrats of the Left national convention, both Mussi and Angius announced their intention not to join the Democratic Party; as they announced, it seems possible they would look forward to build a new left-wing socialist movement together with parties that are not involved in the Democratic Party project, such as Communist Refoundation Party, Federation of the Greens and Party of Italian Communists. The Communist Refoundation Party (Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, PRC) is an Italian reformed communist party. ... The Federation of the Greens (Federazione dei Verdi, or just Verdi) is the Italian Green Party. ... The Party of Italian Communists (Italian: Partito dei Comunisti Italiani, also translated into English as Italian Communists Party) is a political party in Italy. ...

On May 22, 2007 the list of members of the Organizing Committee of the Democratic Party was announced: it features 45 politicians, mainly from DL and DS, but also including figures such as Middle-of-the-Road Italy leader Marco Follini, Abruzzo regional president and leading member of the Italian Democratic Socialists Ottaviano Del Turco, Luciana Sbarbati, Renato Soru and Giuliano Amato.^[2] On June 18 the organizing committee met to decide the rules for the primary election of the 2,400 members of the Constituting Assembly. Prodi announced each voter will choose between a number of lists, each of them associated with a candidate leader; the assembly will then elect the first leader in the October 14 founding convention. At least one hundred signatures will be necessary for each list in order to run in the election.^[3] is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Middle-of-the-Road Italy (Italian: , IdM) is an Italian centrist political grouping founded in 2006 by Marco Follini, Senate member and former leader of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC, 2002-05), and Riccardo Conti, member of the Chamber of Deputies. ... Marco Follini (born on 26 September 1954 in Rome, Italy) is a Italian politician, and National Secretary of the Democrats Centre Union party. ... Abruzzo is a region of Italy bordering Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east and the Adriatic Sea to the east. ... The Italian Democratic Socialists (Socialisti Democratici Italiani, SDI) is a small social-democratic party of moderate-left policies, heir of the old Italian Socialist Party, born in 1998 by the convergence of the Italian Socialists and the Italian Democratic Socialist Party. ... Ottaviano Del Turco (born November 7, 1944 in Collelongo) was an Italian Member of the European Parliament. ... Luciana Sbarbati Luciana Sbarbati (born on 10 May 1946 in Roma) is a Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Central with the Movimento Repubblicani Europei, Member of the Bureau of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the European Parliaments Committee on... Renato Soru (born 16 August 1957 in Sanluri, Sardinia-Italy) is the founder of the internet service company Tiscali, based in Cagliari. ... Giuliano Amato (born May 13, 1938) is an Italian politician. ... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Leadership race

On June 20 Piero Fassino publicly asked Walter Veltroni to run for the leadership.^[4] Veltroni, currently serving as Mayor of Rome and considered the potential leading Democratic Party leadership candidate according to several opinion polls,^[5] officially announced his intention to run at a rally in Turin on June 27.^[6] On July 9, Economical Development Minister Pierluigi Bersani, another possible rumoured candidate, denied any interest in running for the leadership.^[7] On July 15, Senator Furio Colombo publicly announced his candidacy in an article published on L'Unità.^[8] This was followed the next day by Minister of Family Rosy Bindi's announcement of her leadership candidacy.^[9] A fourth candidate, 35-year-old journalist and blogger Mario Adinolfi, announced his intention to run on July 18.^[10] Walter Veltroni (Rome, 03 July, 1955) is a Italian politician and lead member of the Democrats of the Left party. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... “Torino” redirects here. ... Pier Luigi Bersani Pier Luigi Bersani (born on 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician, and was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in the 2006 General election. ... LUnità is an Italian newspaper, published by Democrats of the Left. ... Maria Rosaria Bindi, best known as Rosy Bindi (born February 12, 1951) is an Italian politician, currently a member of the Daisy centre party. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Issues

The foundation of the Democratic Party is called into question by various cases of infighting among the prospective members of the new party; the discussion on which European political party to join also seems to be far from solved, with some parties being in favour of the Party of European Socialists (e.g. the Democrats of the Left) and some in favour of the European Democratic Party (e.g. Democracy is Freedom – Daisy). It is planned to come into being by the end of 2008, in time to contest the 2009 European Parliament election.^[11] A European political party, formally a political party at European level, sometimes informally (especially in academic circles) a Europarty, is a type of political party organization operating transnationally in Europe. ... The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a European political party whose members are 33 social democratic, socialist and labour parties of the European Union member states as well as Norway. ... For the eurosceptic informal grouping, see European Democrats. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Elections to the European Parliament will be held in June 2006 in the then–27 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. ...

Recently, a number of associations were started nationwide in favour of the Democratic Party. Among them, Federazione delle Associazioni per il Partito Democratico (Federation of Associations for the Democratic Party), Libertà e Giustizia (Freedom and Justice) and Associazione della Sinistra per il Partito Democratico (Left-Wing Association for the Democratic Party).

Trivia

The term Partito Democratico was first used in the Regional Council of Veneto, where the Democrats of the Left and Daisy form a joint parliamentary group called L'Ulivo – Partito Democratico Veneto (Olive Tree – Venetian Democratic Party).^[12] The Regional Council of Veneto (Consiglio Regionale del Veneto) is the regional parliament of Veneto. ... Veneto or Venetia, is one of the 20 regions of Italy. ... For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ...

See also

• Reformism
• Historic Compromise
• The Olive Tree
• Democrats of the Left
• Democracy is Freedom – Daisy

Socialist Reformism is the belief that gradual democratic changes in a society can ultimately change a societys fundamental economic relations and political structures. ... The term Historic Compromise (Italian:compromesso storico) most commonly refers to the accommodation between the Italian Christian Democrats (DC) and the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in the 1970s, after the latter embraced eurocommunism. ... For information about the plant for which the political party is named, see Olive. ... The Democrats of the Left (Democratici di Sinistra, DS) is the main Italian left-wing political party, part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition. ... Democracy is Freedom – Daisy (Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita, DL) is a centrist political party in Italy. ...

References

La Repubblica (meaning: The Republic) is an Italian daily newspaper. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... La Repubblica (meaning: The Republic) is an Italian daily newspaper. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... La Repubblica (meaning: The Republic) is an Italian daily newspaper. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Corriere della Sera (Evening Mail) is the most important Italian daily newspapers (first in sales [1]), printed in Milan. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 164th day of the year (165th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... La Repubblica (meaning: The Republic) is an Italian daily newspaper. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Corriere della Sera (Evening Mail) is the most important Italian daily newspapers (first in sales [1]), printed in Milan. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 196th day of the year (197th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 196th day of the year (197th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... La Repubblica (meaning: The Republic) is an Italian daily newspaper. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Corriere della Sera (Evening Mail) is the most important Italian daily newspapers (first in sales [1]), printed in Milan. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... LUnità is an Italian newspaper, published by Democrats of the Left. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Veneto or Venetia, is one of the 20 regions of Italy. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• (Italian) The party "manifesto"
• (Italian) Federazione delle Associazioni per il Partito Democratico
• (Italian) Associazione della Sinistra per il Partito Democratico
• (Italian) Libertà e Giustizia