The Democrats ( it, I Democratici, Dem) was a

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...

and

social-liberal Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

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 ...

. The party was launched in 1999 by

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 ...

, a few months after his dismissal 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 ...

and leader of The Olive Tree coalition. Three parties merged into The Democrats: the Democratic Union,

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Also splinters from the Italian People's Party joined. In 2002 The Democrats were merged into

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 ...

, which would be merged into 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 ...

in 2007.

History

Early groups of "Olivists" were formed in 1995–1996, during the campaign for the 1996 general election, by close supporters of Prodi who were not members of any party of The Olive Tree coalition, like Prodi himself. "Clubs for Prodi" and the "Citizens for The Olive Tree" association were organised. Although most Olivists took part to the campaign only as activists, some were elected with the

Populars for Prodi The Populars for Prodi ( it, Popolari per Prodi) was an electoral list of political parties in Italy. The list participated in the 1996 general election as a component of The Olive Tree, supporting Romano Prodi as candidate for Prime Minister ...

list, whose main constituent parties were the Christian-democratic Italian People's Party (PPI) and the social-liberal Democratic Union (UD). The Olive Tree won the election, the PPI–UD joint list obtained 6.8% of the vote, and Prodi was sworn in as

, at the head of 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), m ...

. After being ousted as Prime Minister and replaced 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 ...

(leader of 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 ...

) in November 1998, Prodi launched the new party in February 1999. The Democrats were joined by PPI splinters, grassroots activists, the UD (leader:

Antonio Maccanico Antonio Maccanico (4 August 1924 – 23 April 2013) was an Italian constitutional specialist and social liberal politician, who served in various capacities in the parliament and federal administrations of Italy. Early life and education Maccani ...

(leader:

Leoluca Orlando Leoluca Orlando (born 1 August 1947), is an Italian politician, Mayor of Palermo for over twenty years and President of Italian Federation of American Football (FIDAF). He is best known for his strong opposition to the Sicilian Mafia during his m ...

(leader:

Antonio Di Pietro Antonio Di Pietro (; born 2 October 1950) is an Italian politician, lawyer and magistrate. He was a minister in government of Romano Prodi, a Senator, and a Member of the European Parliament. He was a prosecutor in the ''Mani Pulite'' corrupti ...

) – which would be re-established as an independent party in May 2000 –, and the so-called "Movement of Mayors" (leaders:

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 ...

, a former

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

, and

Massimo Cacciari Massimo Cacciari (; born 5 June 1944) is an Italian philosopher, politician and public intellectual. Biography Born in Venice, Cacciari graduated in philosophy from the University of Padua (1967), where he also received his doctorate, writing a ...

, a former Democrat of the Left). After a few months after the party's foundation, Prodi gave way to his close associate

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 ...

as president. Prodi led The Democrats to a good result in the

1999 European Parliament election The 1999 European Parliament election was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and ...

(7.7%), much more than the PPI (4.3%). Six Democratic

MEPs A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

were elected: Cacciari, Di Pietro, Rutelli, Paolo Costa,

Pietro Mennea Pietro Paolo Mennea (; 28 June 1952 – 21 March 2013), nicknamed ("the Arrow of the South"), was an Italian sprinter and politician. He was most successful in the 200m event, winning a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and set a world ...

and Giovanni Procacci. In September Prodi was appointed

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...

. In December 1999 the party joined

D'Alema II Cabinet The second D'Alema government was the government of Italy from 22 December 1999 to 26 April 2000. Following the exit from the majority of the United Christian Democrats led by Rocco Buttiglione and of the Union for the Republic led by Francesco ...

with four ministers: Maccanico as minister of Institutional Reforms,

Enzo Bianco Enzo Bianco (born 24 February 1951) is an Italian politician, former mayor of Catania and former Minister of the Interior. Early life Bianco was born on 24 February 1951 in Aidone, province of Enna, Italy. Career Bianco has been a member of t ...

(who had missed the election as MEP for a few votes) minister of the Interior,

Willer Bordon Willer Bordon (16 January 1949 – 14 July 2015) was an Italian academic, businessman and politician who served in different cabinet posts at the end of the 1990s and 2000s. Early life Bordon was born in Muggia, Province of Trieste, on 16 Januar ...

ministers of Public Works, and

Paolo De Castro Paolo De Castro (born 2 February 1958) is an Italian politician, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies in the D'Alema I, D'Alema II and Prodi II cabinets. In 2009 he was elected to the European Parliament, and served as chair of ...

minister of Agriculture. Of these, all but the latter would be confirmed in

Amato II Cabinet The second Amato government was the 56th government of the Italian Republic, the fourth and last government of the XIII Legislature. It held office from 26 April 2000 to 11 June 2001, a total of 412 days, or 1 year, 1 month and 17 days. The gover ...

, which was formed in April 2000, after the coalition's defeat in the regional elections. In early 2000 Parisi asked the Democrats of the Left, then 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 serve ...

, to dissolve into a new "Democratic Party". The proposal was not received, thus in October 2000 The Democrats agreed with the PPI,

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. H ...

and the

Union of Democrats for Europe 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 ...

to form a joint list for the 2001 general election, under the leadership of Rutelli, who was also The Olive Tree's "candidate for Prime Minister". The list, which gained a considerable success (14.5%), was transformed into a party in March 2002 under the name of

. This party, led by Rutelli, would be eventually merged into the

in October 2007.

Ideology

Several party members were either former

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

(Prodi, Parisi, Costa, Orlando, etc.), while several others were formerly affiliated to 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 ...

(Maccanico, Bianco, etc.). The ideology of the party thus ranged from Prodi's "

social Catholicism Catholic social teaching, commonly abbreviated CST, is an area of Catholic doctrine concerning matters of human dignity and the common good in society. The ideas address oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, co ...

" to Rutelli's and the former Republicans'

social liberalism Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

, Di Pietro's

populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

and

social democracy Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

. At the European level, The Democrats were affiliated to the

European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

. The party was fervently "Olivist" (that is to say interested in the creation of a more united centre-left and, possibly, a joint centre-left party) and

Europeanist European values are the norms and values that Europeans are said to have in common, and which transcend national or state identity. In addition to helping promote European integration, this doctrine also provides the basis for analyses that char ...

, while also favouring the establishment of a

two-party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referre ...

. The name and symbol of the party were a direct reference to the

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Electoral results

European Parliament

Leadership

*President:

(1999),

(1999–2002)

References

Official website

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Democrats, The Political parties established in 1999 Political parties disestablished in 2002 Centrist parties in Italy 1999 establishments in Italy 2002 disestablishments in Italy Defunct political parties in Italy Romano Prodi