The first Prodi government was the 53rd
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 ...
of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. 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), 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 ...
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 main component 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, ...
, 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'
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, served as Deputy Prime Minister, and 15 other PDS ministers joined him in cabinet alongside 10 PDS junior ministers. It was the first time that (former) Communists had taken part in government since 1947.
Besides the external support of PRC, the coalition received the support also of some minor parties: the
Italian Republican Party
The Italian Republican Party ( it, Partito Repubblicano Italiano, PRI) is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Italy. Founded in 1895, the PRI is the oldest political party still active in Italy.
The PRI has old roots and a long histo ...
(PRI, social-liberal),
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 ...
(social-democratic), the
South Tyrolean People's Party
The South Tyrolean People's Party (german: Südtiroler Volkspartei, SVP) is a regionalist and autonomist political party in South Tyrol, an autonomous province with a German-speaking majority in northern Italy.
Founded on 8 May 1945, the SVP ha ...
(
regionalist and Christian democratic) and some other minor parties which later merged with PDS.
The average age of the ministers was 55.9 years and 14 ministers has parliamentary experience.
The number of female ministers was three.
[
]
Fall
The government fell in 1998 when the Communist Refoundation Party withdrew its support. This led to the resignation of Prodi and to the formation of a new government 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 ...
as Prime Minister.
Party breakdown
* Independents: Prime minister, 3 ministers and 4 undersecretaries
* 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): 10 ministers and 16 undersecretaries
* Italian People’s Party (PPI): 3 ministers and 11 undersecretaries
* Italian Renewal
Italian Renewal ( it, Rinnovamento Italiano, RI) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy.
The party was a member of The Olive Tree and centre-left coalition, while also affiliated to the European People's Party from 1998 to 2004.
...
(RI): 3 ministers and 4 undersecretaries
* Federation of the Greens
The Federation of the Greens ( it, Federazione dei Verdi, FdV), frequently referred to as Greens (''Verdi''), was a green political party in Italy. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the Federation of Green Lists and the Rainbow Greens.
T ...
(FdV): 1 minister and 3 undersecretaries
* Democratic Union (UD): 1 minister and 2 undersecretaries
* Segni Pact
The Segni Pact ( it, Patto Segni), officially called Pact of National Rebirth (''Patto di Rinascita Nazionale''), was a Christian-democratic, centrist and liberal political party in Italy. The party was founded and named after Mario Segni, a form ...
(Patto): 2 undersecretaries
* Italian Socialists (SI): 1 undersecretary
* Democratic Alliance (AD): 1 undersecretary
* Movement of Unitarian Communists
The Movement of Unitarian Communists (, MCU), or simply Unitarian Communists ( it, Comunisti Unitari), was a communist political party in Italy.
History
The party was founded in June 1995 as a split from the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC ...
(MCU): 1 undersecretary
* Republican Left (SR): 1 undersecretary
Composition
References
Sources
Italian Government - Prodi I Cabinet
{{Italian Governments
Italian governments
1996 establishments in Italy
1998 disestablishments in Italy
Cabinets established in 1996
Cabinets disestablished in 1998
Romano Prodi