Democrats of the Left Democratici di Sinistra
Italian National Party
Leader	Piero Fassino
Founded	February 3, 1991 (as PDS) February 13, 1998 (as DS)
Headquarters	Via Nazionale, 12 00184 Rome
Coalition	The Union
Political ideology	Democratic socialism
International affiliation	Socialist International
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists
European Parliament Group	Party of European Socialists
Membership	543,907 (2005, [1])
Official newspaper	L'Unità
Website	www.dsonline.it
See also	Politics of Italy Political parties in Italy Elections in Italy Image File history File links Left_Wing_Democrats. ... 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. ... February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... The Union (Italian: LUnione) is an Italian centre-left political party coalition. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The official symbol of Socialist International The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of social democratic, labor, and democratic socialist political parties. ... 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. ... 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. ... Politics of Italy takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... Political parties in Italy are organized into two dominant political coalitions. ... Elections in Italy gives information on election and election results in Italy. ...

The Democrats of the Left (Democratici di Sinistra, DS) is the main Italian left-wing political party, part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition. Its leaders are Piero Fassino, national secretary, and Massimo D'Alema, president. In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... Political parties Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A political party is a political organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ... 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. ... Massimo DAlema (born on April 20, 1949 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian journalist and politician, a former prime minister and a former national secretary of the PDS, Partito Democratico della Sinistra. ...

History

The Democrats of the Left developed from the Democratic Party of the Left (Partito Democratico della Sinistra, PDS), which in turn was a reshaping of the Italian Communist Party (Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) into a democratic socialist party. Under the leadership of Massimo D'Alema, the party merged with other minor like-minded movements (Labourites, Reformist Europe, Social Christians, Republican Left and Unitarian Communists), and took the current name, removing the hammer and sickle from its symbol and substituting it with a rose. After the narrow victory achieved by center-left in the 2006 general election, the party leadership committed to a future merge with Democracy is Freedom - Daisy, creating a new Democratic Party. 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... 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. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Massimo DAlema (born on April 20, 1949 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian journalist and politician, a former prime minister and a former national secretary of the PDS, Partito Democratico della Sinistra. ... Social Christians (Italian: Cristiano Sociali) is a social democratic party of the Christian Left founded in 1993. ... The Republican Left (La Sinistra Repubblica) was a political formations founded on January 30, 1994 after Italian Republican Party split. ... For other uses, see Hammer and sickle (disambiguation). ... A general election for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy was held on April 9 and April 10, 2006. ... Daisy-Democracy is Freedom (full name in Italian: Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita: Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy) is a centrist political Party in Italy. ... The Democratic Party (Italian: ) is a proposed political party in Italy. ...

Leadership of Piero Fassino

The current secretary is Piero Fassino, elected with 61.8% of party members' votes during the second National Congress in November of 2001. Piero Fassino was the candidate of a mainstream Third Way tendency. The candidacy of Giovanni Berlinguer, endorsed by radicals, democratic socialists and the CGIL trade union, gained 34.1% of party members votes. The right wing of the party, led by Enrico Morando, got 4.1%. 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. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Third way can refer to: The Third Way, an economic and political idea that positions itself between democratic socialism and laissez-faire capitalism, combining the ordoliberal social market with neo-liberalism. ... Giovanni Berlinguer (born Sassari, July 9, 1924), is an Italian politician and Professor of Social Medicine. ... Democratic socialism is a political movement propagating the ideals of socialism within the framework of a parliamentary democracy. ... The Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) is a national trade union centre in Italy. ...

Piero Fassino has been re-elected during the third National Congress, in February 2005 with 79.1% of party members' votes. No other candidates were present, but left-wing candidates ran for congressional delegates and received 14.56% of party members votes won by the DS Left-wing-Returning to win, 3.98% by the DS Left-wing for Socialism and 2.36% by the Ecologist Left.

A political placard of the Democrats of the Left.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1241x1640, 368 KB) Summary Democratici di Sinistra political placard, derived from Image:PolPlakat. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1241x1640, 368 KB) Summary Democratici di Sinistra political placard, derived from Image:PolPlakat. ...

2006 general election

In the 2006 general election, held on April 9 and April 10, 2006, the Democrats of the Left endorsed the candidacy of Romano Prodi as Prime Minister of Italy. DS presented their symbol for the Senate and ran under the Olive Tree symbol for the Chamber, together with The Daisy and the MRE. The party achieved a 17.17% in the Senate (62 senators) and the Olive Tree reached a 31.20% in the Chamber (220 deputies), more than the sum of its components in the Senate. This, and the narrow margin gained on the centre-right coalition, prompted a discussion on the party's future. As of 2006 the Democrats' leadership is committed to merge with The Daisy and to create a new party, the Democratic Party. A general election for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy was held on April 9 and April 10, 2006. ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ... April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...   (born 9 August 1939) is a centre-left Italian politician. ... In Italy, the President of the Council of Ministers (Italian: Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri) is the countrys prime minister or head of government, and occupies the fourth-most important state office. ... Palazzo Madama house of the Senate of the Republic. ... For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ... Back side of Palazzo Montecitorio designed by architect Ernesto Basile. ... Daisy-Democracy is Freedom (full name in Italian: Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita: Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy) 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. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Democratic Party (Italian: ) is a proposed political party in Italy. ...

Nine Ministers of Prodi's government are affiliated to the Democrats of the Left, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Massimo D'Alema. The current President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano, elected on May 10, 2006, is also a former DS member (as usual, although not mandatory, he renounced to his party affiliation before being sworn in, because the office he was going to assume is considered to be super partes). This is a list of Italian Ministers of Foreign Affairs since 1943. ... Massimo DAlema (born on April 20, 1949 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian journalist and politician, a former prime minister and a former national secretary of the PDS, Partito Democratico della Sinistra. ... The President of the Italian Republic is the head of State of Italy, and represents national unity. ... Giorgio Napolitano (born June 29, 1925), is an Italian politician and former lifetime senator, the eleventh and current President of the Italian Republic. ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (131st in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Factions

Inside the party are several organized political tendency associations. On the right wing the Liberal association have a strongly moderate Third Way or Radical middle political agenda. Third way can refer to: The Third Way, an economic and political idea that positions itself between democratic socialism and laissez-faire capitalism, combining the ordoliberal social market with neo-liberalism. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...

The left-wing opposition is led by the DS Left-wing-Returning to win (Sinistra DS-Per tornare a vincere), a left-wing democratic socialist tendency. Others in left-wing opposition are the smaller DS Left-wing for Socialism (Sinistra DS per il Socialismo), left-wing democratic socialists, and the Ecologist Left (Sinistra Ecologista), left-wing environmentalists. Democratic socialism is a political movement propagating the ideals of socialism within the framework of a parliamentary democracy. ... Democratic socialism is a political movement propagating the ideals of socialism within the framework of a parliamentary democracy. ... Environmentalism is activism aimed at improving the environment, particularly nature. ...

The core of the democratic socialist party majority isn't related to a specific tendency association, although several smaller movements, splits of former centrist or center-left Italian parties, relate to it. These are the Labourites-Liberal Socialists (Laburisti-Socialisti Liberali), Reformist Europe (Europa Riformista) and the sicilian Reformist Movement (Movimento Riformista) all from Italian Socialist Party, the Republican Left (Italian: Sinistra Repubblicana) from Italian Republican Party and the Social Christians (Cristiano Sociali) from the left-wing of Christian Democracy. Democratic socialism is a political movement propagating the ideals of socialism within the framework of a parliamentary democracy. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Republican Left (La Sinistra Repubblica) was a political formations founded on January 30, 1994 after Italian Republican Party split. ... The Italian Republican Party (Partito Repubblicano Italiano) is an old left liberal party in Italy, with roots to Giuseppe Mazzini. ... Social Christians (Italian: Cristiano Sociali) is a social democratic party of the Christian Left founded in 1993. ... 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. ...

Inside the party, there is often a somewhat simplistic distinction between reformists (riformisti) and radicals (radicali or massimalisti), indicating respectively the mainstream or the left-wing area, formerly known as correntone.

Several personalities formerly inside or close to the left-wing area of the party, as Pietro Folena, Pietro Ingrao and Achille Occhetto, are now approaching or joining the Communist Refoundation Party which, from its sixth congress held in January 2005, is moving towards a more heterogeneous, non-sectarian and strongly pacifist kind of left-wing party. Pietro Ingrao (born March 30, 1915 in Lenola, Italy) is a important Italian politician. ... Achille Occhetto (born 1936) is an Italian political figure. ... The Communist Refoundation Party (Italian: Partito della Rifondazione Comunista) is an Italian reformed communist party. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Popular support

The electoral results of the Democrats of the Left (Democratic Party of the Left until 1998) in the 10 most populated Regions of Italy are shown in the table below. The result for the 2006 general election refers to the election for the Senate, indeed DS contested the election for the Chamber of Deputies in a joint-list with DL. 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... These are ranked lists of the regions of Italy. ... Democracy is Freedom – Daisy (Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita, DL) is a centrist political party in Italy. ...

For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ...

Party leadership

• Secretary: Achille Occhetto (1991-94), Massimo D'Alema (1994-98), Walter Veltroni (1998-2001), Piero Fassino (2001-...)

• Coordinator: Massimo D'Alema (1991-93), Davide Visani (1993-94), Mauro Zani (1994-96), Marco Minniti (1996-98), Pietro Folena (1998-2001), Vannino Chiti (2001-04), Vannino Chiti / Maurizio Migliavacca (2004-06), Maurizio Migliavacca (2006-...)

• President: Massimo D'Alema (2000-...)
• Party Leader in the Chamber of Deputies: Massimo D'Alema (1992-94), Luigi Berlinguer (1994-96), Fabio Mussi (1996-2001), Luciano Violante (2001-06), Marina Sereni (deputy-leader of the Olive Tree's group, 2006-...)
• Party Leader in the Senate: Giuseppe Chiarante (1992-94), Cesare Salvi (1994-98), Gavino Angius (1998-2006), Anna Finocchiaro (leader of the Olive Tree's group, 2006-...)
• Party Leader in the European Parliament: Renzo Imbeni (1994-99), Pasqualina Napoletano (1999-2004), Nicola Zingaretti (2004-2006), Giovanni Pittella (2006-...)

Achille Occhetto (born 1936) is an Italian political figure. ... Massimo DAlema (born on April 20, 1949 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian journalist and politician, a former prime minister and a former national secretary of the PDS, Partito Democratico della Sinistra. ... Walter Veltroni (Rome, 03 July, 1955) is a Italian politician and lead member of the Democrats of the Left party. ... 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. ... Massimo DAlema (born on April 20, 1949 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian journalist and politician, a former prime minister and a former national secretary of the PDS, Partito Democratico della Sinistra. ... Mauro Zani Mauro Zani (born on 22 November 1949 in Sala Bolognese) is a Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for North-East with the Democratici di Sinistra, part of the Socialist Group and sits on the European Parliaments Committee on Development. ... Massimo DAlema (born on April 20, 1949 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian journalist and politician, a former prime minister and a former national secretary of the PDS, Partito Democratico della Sinistra. ... Back side of Palazzo Montecitorio designed by architect Ernesto Basile. ... Massimo DAlema (born on April 20, 1949 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian journalist and politician, a former prime minister and a former national secretary of the PDS, Partito Democratico della Sinistra. ... Fabio Mussi (born January 22, 1948) is an Italian politician. ... Luciano Violante was born 25 September 1941 in Dire Daua (Ethiopia). ... For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ... Palazzo Madama house of the Senate of the Republic. ... Gavino Angius (born November 18, 1946) is an Italian politician. ... For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ... The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary body of the European Union. ... Pasqualina Napoletano Pasqualina Napoletano (born on 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 Parliaments Committee on International Trade. ... Nicola Zingaretti Nicola Zingaretti (born on 11 October 1965 in Roma) is a Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Central with the Democratici di Sinistra, part of the Socialist Group and sits on the European Parliaments Committee on Legal Affairs. ... Giovanni Pittella Giovanni Pittella (born on 19 November 1958 in Lauria (PZ)) is a Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Southern with the Democratici di Sinistra, part of the Socialist Group and sits on the European Parliaments Committee on Budgets. ...

References