The centre-left coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-sinistra) is an
alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
of
political parties in Italy active, under several forms and names, since 1995 when
The Olive Tree was formed under the leadership of
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 Prim ...
. The centre-left coalition has ruled the country for more than 15 years between 1996 and 2022.
In the
1996 general election The Olive Tree consisted of the majority of both the left-wing
Alliance of Progressives
The Alliance of Progressives ( it, Alleanza dei Progressisti) was a left-wing political alliance of parties in Italy formed in 1994, with relevant predecessors at local level in 1993. The leader of the alliance was Achille Occhetto. The allianc ...
and the centrist
Pact for Italy
The Pact for Italy ( it, Patto per l'Italia) was a centrist political and electoral alliance in Italy launched by Mario Segni and Mino Martinazzoli in 1994.
History
The alliance was composed of the Italian People's Party (PPI), the main successo ...
, the two losing coalitions in the
1994 general election, the first under a system based primarily on
first-past-the-post voting
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
. In 2005
The Union was founded as a wider coalition to contest the
2006 general election, which later collapsed during the
2008 political crisis, with the fall of the
Prodi II Cabinet
The second Prodi government was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days. The 59th cabinet of the Italian Republic, it was the only cabinet of the XV Legislatur ...
.
In recent history, the centre-left coalition has been built around 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), which was established in 2007 from a merger of
Democrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left ( it, Democratici di Sinistra, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy.
The DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger of th ...
and
Democracy is Freedom
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choose gover ...
, the main parties affiliated to both The Olive Tree and The Union. The centre-left coalition was part of Italian governments from November 2011 to June 2018, when a coalition government between the
Five Star Movement
The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
(M5S) and the
League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
was formed. However, in September 2019, the centre-left returned to power in coalition with the M5S, with centre-left parties participating in the
national unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nat ...
of
Mario Draghi
Mario Draghi (; born 3 September 1947) is an Italian economist, academic, banker and civil servant who served as prime minister of Italy from February 2021 to October 2022. Prior to his appointment as prime minister, he served as President of ...
as of February 2021 until its collapse in July 2022.
History
Road to The Olive Tree
![Romano Prodi in Nova Gorica (2c)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Romano_Prodi_in_Nova_Gorica_%282c%29.jpg)
Following the
1994 general election, which was won by the
centre-right coalition
The centre-right coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-destra) is an alliance of political parties in Italy, active—under several forms and names—since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed his Forza Italia party. Despite ...
of
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
, the left-wing
Alliance of Progressives
The Alliance of Progressives ( it, Alleanza dei Progressisti) was a left-wing political alliance of parties in Italy formed in 1994, with relevant predecessors at local level in 1993. The leader of the alliance was Achille Occhetto. The allianc ...
and the centrist
Pact for Italy
The Pact for Italy ( it, Patto per l'Italia) was a centrist political and electoral alliance in Italy launched by Mario Segni and Mino Martinazzoli in 1994.
History
The alliance was composed of the Italian People's Party (PPI), the main successo ...
started a parliamentary cooperation, which brought in March 1995 to the foundation of
The Olive Tree.
The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was
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 Prim ...
, Professor of Economics and former
leftist
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
Christian Democrat
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 ...
, who invented the name and the symbol of The Olive Tree with
Arturo Parisi
Arturo Parisi (born 13 September 1940) is an Italian politician, leader of the Ulivist faction of the Democratic Party and a four-time member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. He was also minister of defence in the cabinet of Prime Minister R ...
in 1995.
In 1995 the
Lega Nord
Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...
exited the centre-right
Pole of Freedoms
The Pole of Freedoms ( it, Polo delle Libertà) was a centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy, launched at the 1994 general election by Silvio Berlusconi. Its counterpart in central and southern Italy was the Pole of Good Govern ...
and supported
Lamberto Dini
Lamberto Dini CGMG (born 1 March 1931) is an Italian politician and economist. He was the Director General of Bank of Italy from 1979 to 1994, Minister of Treasury from 1994 to 1996, the 51st Prime Minister of Italy from 1995 to 1996, and Forei ...
's
technocratic government, together with the Pact for Italy and the Alliance of Progressives.
On 21 April 1996, The Olive Tree won
1996 general election with the
Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) as an external ally, making
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 Prim ...
the
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 ...
.
The Olive Tree's largest partner was the
Democratic Party of the Left
The Democratic Party of the Left ( it, Partito Democratico della Sinistra, PDS) was a democratic socialist and social-democratic political party in Italy. Founded in February 1991 as the post-communist evolution of the Italian Communist Party, ...
(PDS), which contained the bulk of the former
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). ...
. The PDS supplied 16 ministers and 10 junior ministers–the first time that (former) Communists had taken part in government since 1947. One of their leaders,
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 serv ...
, who ran in ticket with Prodi in a long electoral campaign, was Deputy Prime Minister. On 9 October 1998, the
Prodi I Cabinet
The first Prodi government was the 53rd government of Italy. It held office from 18 May 1996 until 21 October 1998.
Formation
On 21 April 1996, the Olive Tree won 1996 general election in alliance with the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC), ...
fell when PRC left the alliance. Since 21 October 1998 The Olive Tree was the core of the governments led by
Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema (; born 20 April 1949) is an Italian politician and journalist who was the 53rd prime minister of Italy from 1998 to 2000. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2008. D'Alema also serv ...
and by
Giuliano Amato
Giuliano Amato (; born 13 May 1938) is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001.
Later, he was Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted t ...
. When D'Alema became Prime Minister, it was the first time ever in both Italy and Western Europe that an heir of the
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
tradition came to lead a government. On 13 May 2001, led by
Francesco Rutelli
Francesco Rutelli (born 14 June 1954) is an Italian journalist and former politician, who is the president of '' Anica'', National Association of Film and Audiovisual Industry, since October 2016.
He also chairs the "Centro per un Futuro Sosteni ...
, who ran in ticket with
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. , the coalition lost the general elections against
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
and his
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 fo ...
centre-right coalition.
The Union
The Union was the direct heir of
The Olive Tree. However, The Union was an heterogenous alliance that also included parties of the
radical left, which were not part of The Olive Tree. Romano Prodi won the
April 2006 general election by a very narrow margin due to the new electoral law enacted by
Roberto Calderoli
Roberto Calderoli (born 18 April 1956) is an Italian politician and a member of the Senate of the Republic. He was a Minister without portfolio for Legislative Simplification in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet. He previously served as Minister without ...
, although Silvio Berlusconi first refused to acknowledge defeat. Prodi's coalition proved to be extremely frail, as the two-vote margin in the Senate allowed almost any party in the coalition to veto legislation and political views inside the coalition spanned from far-left Communist parties to Christian Democrats.
![Presidente Napolitano](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Presidente_Napolitano.jpg)
The centre-left majority coalition, on 7 May 2006, officially endorsed
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 ...
as its candidate in the
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
that began on 8 May. The
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
endorsed him as President through its official newspaper, ''
L'Osservatore Romano
''L'Osservatore Romano'' (, 'The Roman Observer') is the daily newspaper of Vatican City State which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not a ...
'', just after The Union named him as its candidate, as did
Marco Follini, former secretary of the
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats
The Union of the Centre ( it, Unione di Centro, UdC), whose complete name is "Union of Christian and Centre Democrats" (''Unione dei Democratici Cristiani e Democratici di Centro'', UDC), is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy. Lore ...
, a member party of the House of Freedoms. Napolitano was elected on 10 May, in the fourth round of voting — the first of those requiring only an absolute majority, unlike the first three which required two-thirds of the votes — with 543 votes (out of a possible 1009). At the age of 80, he became the first former Communist to become President of Italy
Less than a year after he had won the elections, on 21 February 2007, Prodi tendered his resignation to President Napolitano after the government was defeated in the Senate by 2 ballots in a vote on foreign policy. On 24 February, President Napolitano invited Prodi to return to office and face a vote of confidence. Major causes of friction inside the coalition were, the 2006
pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
Act (criticised by the right and by the
Italy of Values
Italy of Values ( it, Italia dei Valori, IdV) is a populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party was founded in 1998 by former ''Mani pulite'' prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who entered politics in 1996 and finally left the par ...
party), a draft bill to establish
civil union
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
s (vetoed by Christian Democrats), Italy's continued
involvement in Afghanistan (strongly opposed by left-wing parties), and finally the much publicised house-arrest of
Clemente Mastella
Mario Clemente Mastella (born 5 February 1947) is an Italian politician who has served as the mayor of Benevento since 20 June 2016. He is the leader of Union of Democrats for Europe, a minor centrist Italian party. He was Minister of Labour i ...
's wife (then a prominent politician at the regional level) over a corruption scandal. Mastella's party,
UDEUR
The Union of Democrats for Europe ( it, Unione Democratici per l'Europa, UDEUR), also known as UDEUR Populars (''Popolari UDEUR''), was a minor centrist, Christian-democratic political party in Italy.
Led by Clemente Mastella, minister of Labour ...
, held just enough seats in the Senate that his eventual decision to withdraw its support for the government meant the end of the legislature on 6 February 2008. Mastella, who also resigned from his office as Minister of Justice, cited the lack of personal support from his coalition partners' as one of the reasons behind his decision, together with a proposed reform of the electoral system which would have made it difficult for small parties like his own to gain seats in the Italian Parliament.
The foundation of the Democratic Party
![Matteo Renzi crop 2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Matteo_Renzi_crop_2015.jpeg)
The Democratic Party was founded on 14 October 2007 as a merger of various
centre-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...
parties which had been part of The Union in the 2006 general election. At foundation the majority of the PD was formed by the
Democrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left ( it, Democratici di Sinistra, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy.
The DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger of th ...
(heirs of 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). ...
) and the largely Catholic-inspired
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 ...
.
Within the party, an important role is thus played by
Christian left
The Christian left is a range of left-wing Christian political and social movements that largely embrace social justice principles and uphold a social doctrine or social gospel.
Given the inherent diversity in international political thoug ...
ists, who are direct heirs of the former
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 ...
's left.
After the
resignation of Silvio Berlusconi
The political career of Silvio Berlusconi began in 1994, when Berlusconi entered politics for the first time serving intermittent terms as Prime Minister of Italy from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011, his career was racked with contr ...
as
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 not ...
in November 2011, the PD gave external support to
Mario Monti
Mario Monti, (born 19 March 1943) is an Italian economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a technocratic government in the wake of the Italian debt crisis.
Monti served as a European Commiss ...
's
technocratic government.
Following the
2013 general election and the
2014 European Parliament election, the PD was the largest party 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 ...
, 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 ...
and the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, respectively. Since April 2013
Enrico Letta
Enrico Letta (; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy from April 2013 to February 2014, leading a grand coalition of centre-left and centre-right parties. Since March 2021, Letta has been secretary ...
, a Democrat, was Prime Minister, at the head of a
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
sustained by a
grand coalition including
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom ( it, Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL, launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including Forza Italia a ...
(later replaced by the
New Centre-Right
New Centre-Right ( it, Nuovo Centrodestra, NCD) was a centre-right political party in Italy.
The party was launched on 15 November 2013 by a group of dissidents of The People of Freedom (PdL) who opposed the party's transformation into Forza Ita ...
),
Civic Choice and the
Union of the Centre (later replaced by the
Populars for Italy
Populars for Italy ( it, Popolari per l'Italia, PpI) is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy led by Mario Mauro, minister of Defence in Letta Cabinet and, previously, long-serving MEP for Forza Italia.
History
The party was launched ...
). Following his election as party leader, in February 2014
Matteo Renzi
Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...
called for "a new phase" and, consequently, the party's national board voted to ask Letta to resign.
Subsequently, Renzi was sworn in as Prime Minister at the head of the same coalition.
As of 2015, other than the national government, Democrats head fifteen
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
governments out of twenty and function as coalition partner in
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
it, Trentino (man) it, Trentina (woman) or it, Altoatesino (man) it, Altoatesina (woman) or it, Sudtirolesegerman: Südtiroler (man)german: Südtirolerin (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title = Official ...
.
The
2016 constitutional referendum was supported by the majority of the centre-left coalition. Inside the centre-left coalition only
UdC,
FdV,
ALPE,
UVP,
SSk and
UPC campaigned for the "No" vote. The referendum was lost with 41% of "Yes" against 59% of "No" votes. After the referendum, Renzi tendered his resignation as Prime Minister and
Paolo Gentiloni
Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019. He previously served as prime minister of Italy from December ...
became his successor.
In the
2018 general election the centre-left, with Renzi as leader, obtained its worst result ever: 22.9% of the vote, well behind the centre-right coalition and the M5S. Following the defeat, Renzi resigned from secretary of the PD, and his deputy
Maurizio Martina
Maurizio Martina (born 9 September 1978) is an Italian politician and member of the Chamber of Deputies, who served as secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) from March to November 2018, being appointed after the 2018 Italian general election. ...
functioning afterwards as acting secretary.
In 2019, the PD formed a
coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
with the
Five Star Movement
The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
(M5S) and
Free and Equal (LeU), which was supported by the members of the centre-left coalition in 2018. Following the
2021 Italian government crisis
The 2021 Italian government crisis was a political event in Italy that began in January 2021 and ended the following month. It includes the events that follow the announcement of Matteo Renzi, leader of Italia Viva (IV) and former Prime Ministe ...
, the government was replaced by the
Draghi Cabinet
The Draghi government was the 67th government of the Italian Republic, led by former President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi. It was in office between 13 February 2021 and 22 October 2022.
The Draghi government was formed followin ...
in February 2021, a
national unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nat ...
including the PD, MS5, PD splinters
Article One and
Italia Viva
Italia Viva (, IV) is a liberal political party in Italy founded in September 2019. The party is led by Matteo Renzi, a former Prime Minister of Italy and former secretary of the Democratic Party (PD).
History Background
Matteo Renzi sta ...
, and centre-right coalition parties the
League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
and
Forza Italia
Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
. The Draghi government collapsed during the
2022 Italian government crisis
The 2022 Italian government crisis was a political event in Italy that began on 14 July. It includes the events that followed the announcement of Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Five Star Movement (M5S) and former Prime Minister of Italy, that t ...
on 14–21 July 2022, leading to Draghi's resignation as prime minister and a snap election being called.
For the
2022 general election, the coalition centres around the PD’s
Democratic and Progressive Italy
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
list, allied with the
Civic Commitment,
Greens and Left Alliance
The Greens and Left Alliance ( it, Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra, AVS), is a left-wing political alliance active in Italy, which was launched on 2 July 2022 as a federation of two political parties, Italian Left (SI) and Green Europe (EV).
The AVS is ...
and
More Europe
More Europe ( it, Più Europa or ''+Europa''; +E or +Eu) is a liberal and pro-Europeanist political party in Italy, part of the centre-left coalition and member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party.
Its leaders are Emma B ...
electoral lists.
The Olive Tree (1995–2005)
1996–1998
In the
1996 general election and during the
Prodi I Cabinet
The first Prodi government was the 53rd government of Italy. It held office from 18 May 1996 until 21 October 1998.
Formation
On 21 April 1996, the Olive Tree won 1996 general election in alliance with the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC), ...
the coalition was composed of the following parties:
The coalition had the following regional partners:
The Olive Tree presented candidates of
The Network
The Network was an American six-piece new wave band. they released their debut album ''Money Money 2020'' on Adeline Records on September 30, 2003. After a 15-year hiatus, the band became active again in 2020, releasing a follow-up album titl ...
and the
Ladin Autonomist Union
The Ladin Autonomist Union ( lld, Union Autonomista Ladina; it, Unione Autonomista Ladina; UAL) is a minor progressive-centrist political party in Trentino, Italy, that seeks to represent the Ladin minority in the Province and especially that li ...
in some
first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
constituencies. The coalition also made an agreement of desistance with the
Communist Refoundation Party in some first-past-the-post constituencies,
which ran under the banner of the
Progressives
Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...
.
1998–2001
In 1998 the
Communist Refoundation Party brought down the
Prodi II Cabinet
The second Prodi government was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days. The 59th cabinet of the Italian Republic, it was the only cabinet of the XV Legislatur ...
.
with a splinter faction forming the
Party of Italian Communists
The Party of Italian Communists ( it, Partito dei Comunisti Italiani, PdCI) was a communist party in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located i ...
.
In 1998–2001, during the two governments led by
Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema (; born 20 April 1949) is an Italian politician and journalist who was the 53rd prime minister of Italy from 1998 to 2000. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2008. D'Alema also serv ...
(
I Cabinet and
II Cabinet, 1998–2000) and the one led by
Giuliano Amato
Giuliano Amato (; born 13 May 1938) is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001.
Later, he was Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted t ...
(
Amato II Cabinet, 2000–2001), the coalition was composed of eight parties:
2001 general election
In the
2001 general election the coalition, led by
Francesco Rutelli
Francesco Rutelli (born 14 June 1954) is an Italian journalist and former politician, who is the president of '' Anica'', National Association of Film and Audiovisual Industry, since October 2016.
He also chairs the "Centro per un Futuro Sosteni ...
, was composed of nine parties:
The coalition also had the following regional partners:
The Olive Tree also made an agreement of desistance with the
Communist Refoundation Party in the
first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
constituencies.
2004 EP election
In the
2004 European Parliament election, the United in the Olive Tree joint list, was composed of four parties:
The list was connected with the following regional partners:
The Union (2005–2008)
2006 general election
In the
2006 general election the coalition was composed of thirteen parties:
The coalition had the following regional partners:
The coalition was supported by the
Autonomists for Europe
Autonomists for Europe ( it, Autonomisti per l'Europa, ApE) was a minor regionalist, Christian-democratic and liberal Italian political party. Founded in 2000 by splinters of Northern League as a potentially dangerous competitor, it became a r ...
, Radicals of the Left and the New Action Party.
PD-led coalitions (2008–present)
2008 general election
In the
2008 general election the coalition, led 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 serv ...
, was composed of three parties:
The coalition also had the following regional partners:
2013 general election
In the
2013 general election, the coalition ran as
Italy. Common Good
Italia. Bene Comune (Italy. Common Good, IBC) was a centre-left political list and electoral alliance in Italy created to stand at the 2013 Italian general election. It ''de facto'' ended on 28 April 2013, with PD's new leader Enrico Letta forming ...
under the leadership of
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 ...
, and was composed of the following parties:
The coalition had the following regional partners:
2018 general election
In the
2018 general election the coalition was composed of four electoral lists:
The coalition also had the following regional partners:
The centre-left coalition was also supported by the
Ladin Autonomist Union
The Ladin Autonomist Union ( lld, Union Autonomista Ladina; it, Unione Autonomista Ladina; UAL) is a minor progressive-centrist political party in Trentino, Italy, that seeks to represent the Ladin minority in the Province and especially that li ...
and the
Slovene Union
The Slovene Union ( sl, Slovenska skupnost, SSk, it, Unione Slovena, US) is a political party in Italy representing the Slovene minority in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Its Slovenian language name means literally "Slovene Community", but th ...
.
2022 general election
For the upcoming
2022 general election four electoral lists have so far been formed:
The coalition contested the election in some regions under the following banners:
There were regional agreements between the centre-left coalition and
Action – Italia Viva in Trentino for the Senate election and in Aosta Valley for both Chamber and Senate elections. The Italian Left ran instead with the
Five Star Movement
The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
and Democratic Area in Aosta Valley.
Popular support
Electoral results
Italian Parliament
Regional Councils
See also
*
Centre-right coalition (Italy)
The centre-right coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-destra) is an alliance of political parties in Italy, active—under several forms and names—since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed his Forza Italia party. Despite ...
*
Alliance of Progressives
The Alliance of Progressives ( it, Alleanza dei Progressisti) was a left-wing political alliance of parties in Italy formed in 1994, with relevant predecessors at local level in 1993. The leader of the alliance was Achille Occhetto. The allianc ...
*
Pact for Italy
The Pact for Italy ( it, Patto per l'Italia) was a centrist political and electoral alliance in Italy launched by Mario Segni and Mino Martinazzoli in 1994.
History
The alliance was composed of the Italian People's Party (PPI), the main successo ...
*
The Olive Tree
*
The Union
*
Italy. Common Good
Italia. Bene Comune (Italy. Common Good, IBC) was a centre-left political list and electoral alliance in Italy created to stand at the 2013 Italian general election. It ''de facto'' ended on 28 April 2013, with PD's new leader Enrico Letta forming ...
References
{{Clear
Political party alliances in Italy