Italian Left
Sinistra Italiana
AbbreviationSI
SecretaryNicola Fratoianni
PresidentNichi Vendola
Founded19 February 2017 (2017-02-19)
Merger ofLeft Ecology Freedom
and minor groups
Headquartersvia Arenula 29, Rome
Youth wingUnion of Young People of the Left
Membership (2017)19,346[1]
IdeologyDemocratic socialism[2]
Eco-socialism[2]
Political positionLeft-wing
National affiliationGreens and Left Alliance (since 2022)
The Left (2019)
Free and Equal (2018–2019)
European affiliationParty of the European Left (observer)
European Parliament groupGUE/NGL (2017–2019)
S&D (2017–2019)
Colours  Red
Chamber of Deputies
4 / 400
Senate
3 / 200
European Parliament
0 / 76
Regional
Councils
4 / 896
Website
www.sinistraitaliana.si

Italian Left (Italian: Sinistra Italiana, SI) is a left-wing political party in Italy. SI was launched in November 2015 as a parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies (full name: Italian Left – Left Ecology Freedom), including Left Ecology Freedom (SEL), dissidents from the Democratic Party like Future to the Left, and splinters from the Five Star Movement.[3] At its launch, SI included 32 deputies,[4] who were soon followed by 8 senators (who formed a sub-group within the Mixed Group of the Senate in February 2016), and 2 MEPs. SI was officially formed as a full-fledged party in February 2017, after SEL had chosen to merge into it in December 2016.

The party is led by Nicola Fratoianni. Notable founding members included Nichi Vendola (former leader of SEL), Loredana De Petris, Stefano Fassina, and Sergio Cofferati. In the aftermath of its founding congress, 18 deputies left the party, leaving it with 13 deputies, 8 senators and 2 MEPs: 17 deputies, led by former group leader Arturo Scotto, joined the brand-new Article One, while Laura Boldrini (President of the Chamber of Deputies) joined the Chamber's Mixed Group. In late 2017, the party was a founding member of Free and Equal, a left-wing joint list for the 2018 general election, and more recently in 2022 founded the Greens and Left Alliance (AVS) with Green Europe.

History

Background

In June 2015, Stefano Fassina, a former deputy minister in the Letta Cabinet, left the Democratic Party (PD) over disagreements with Matteo Renzi, then PD leader and Prime Minister.[5] In doing this he was followed by his long-time ally Monica Gregori.[6] In July, during a convention, Fassina launched Future to the Left (FaS), an incubator of a new left-leaning party, with other movements and breakaway groups such as Possible (Pos) and Left Ecology Freedom (SEL).

In November, one senator (Corradino Mineo)[7] and three more deputies (Alfredo D'Attorre, Carlo Galli and Vincenzo Folino)[8][9] left the party in protest against Renzi. D'Attorre, who holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies,[10] wrote a manifesto for a new "labour" party, which was signed also by the other five MPs and, which read: "The genetic mutation of the PD, born as central force of the Italian centre-left, is unfortunately already completed. The Renzi experience and the introduced mutations won't be a parenthesis. They have already altered in a irreversible way the perception of the PD and its function in the collective imagination".[11] Subsequently, a parliamentary group under the banner of Italian Left was formed in the Chamber of Deputies, whose core was formed by SEL.[12][13]

Formation of the party

In February 2016, SI held its constituent assembly in Rome.[14][15][16] Consequently, SI was established as a sub-group within the Mixed Group in the Senate: five senators of SEL, two dissidents from the Five Star Movement (Fabrizio Bocchino and Francesco Campanella) and one former Democrat (Mineo) joined,[17] while two SEL senators (including Sardinian nationalist Luciano Uras)[18] refused to join and left their party altogether.[19]

Several lists named after SI participated in the 2016 local elections. The party did particularly well in Sesto Fiorentino, a medium-sized city in the metropolitan area of Florence, where it won 17.5% of the vote and its candidate for mayor was elected in the run-off with 65.5%, by beating his Democratic opponent.[20][21]

In December 2016, SEL was dissolved, to merge it into SI in early 2017.[22]

In February 2017, SI was officially formed and Nicola Fratoianni was elected as its first secretary.[23][24][25]

Contextually, SI leader in the Chamber of Deputies Arturo Scotto (who was originally a candidate for the leadership[26] Massimiliano Smeriglio), D'Attorre, Galli and Folino led a splinter group into the Article One – Democratic and Progressive Movement (MDP), a party formed by left-wing splinters of the PD.[27][28][29]

In March 2017, SI welcomed the four deputies of Possible (Pos) in its group in the Chamber.[30][31][32] In April, Campanella left the party.[33]

On 24 June 2017, SI was accepted into the Party of the European Left as an observer member.[34]

Free and Equal coalition

On 3 December 2017, SI established Free and Equal (LeU), a left-wing joint list for the 2018 general election, together with the MDP and Possible, and chose the President of the Senate and former anti-Mafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso as its leader and candidate for Prime Minister.[35]

In the election, SI obtained three deputies (Fratoianni, Fassina and Erasmo Palazzotto) and one senator (De Petris).

In October, SI focused on forming an alliance with Luigi de Magistris' Popular Coalition for the 2019 European Parliament election, and broke with the MDP and LeU.[36][37]

In January 2019, after the MDP's departure,[38] SI returned into LeU's fold and, under the leadership of senator Francesco Laforgia and deputy Luca Pastorino (dissenting members of the MDP and Possible, respectively), the two organisations initiated a collaboration with the goal of forming a joint party at some point.[39][40]

For the 2019 European Parliament election, SI formed a joint list named The Left with the Communist Refoundation Party and other left-wing and far-left groups. The list obtained a mere 1.8% of the vote, leading Fratoianni to resign from secretary of SI.[41][42]

In and out of government

In August 2019, tensions grew within the coalition supporting the government, leading to the issuing of a motion of no-confidence by the League.[43] During the following government crisis, the M5S and the PD agreed to form a new cabinet together, under outgoing Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.[44] SI, along with the MDP and the entire LeU, joined Conte's second government, in which SI's Giuseppe De Cristofaro was appointed undersecretary of University.

In January 2021 Fratoianni was re-elected secretary of the party during an online congress.[45][46][47]

In February, after the collapse of the government led by Conte, Mario Draghi was sworn in at the head of a government comprising the main parties of the centre-left and the centre-right. Fratoianni voiced concerns over SI's participation in the government and the party's national assembly voted against the cabinet. However, two out of three MPs, senator De Petris and deputy Palazzotto, announced their intention to vote in favour anyway, splitting the party.[48] Subsequently, Palazzotto left the party.[49]

2022 general election

In January 2022, SI and Green Europe (EV) formed a "consultation pact", aimed at co-operating on the 2022 Italian presidential election held in late January.[50] In that context, the two parties decided to jointly support Luigi Manconi, a former lawmaker for the Federation of the Greens, the Democrats of the Left, and the Democratic Party (PD) and expert on human rights issues.[51][52] In June 2022, SI's national assembly formally approved the alliance with EV.[53]

Nicola Fratoianni at the final election rally in Pisa before the 2022 legislative election. Ilaria Cucchi is also on stage.

In July 2022, SI and EV held a joint convention in Rome named "New Energies", promoting their cooperation and a unitary electoral program.[54] The alliance deliberately took inspiration from the New Ecologic and Social People's Union, the left-wing list formed in the run-up of the 2022 French legislative election.[55] Following the fall of Draghi's government, the early dissolution of the Italian Parliament and the calling of the 2022 general election, the AVS was officially launched and its logo presented.[56] On 6 August 2022, the alliance formalised an electoral agreement with the PD.[57][58]

The November 2023 congress, in which Fratoianni was re-elected secretary, marked the return to active politics by Nichi Vendola, who was elected president.[59][60][61][62]

Composition

The party's founding members were:

Party Main ideology Leader Ref
Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) Democratic socialism Nichi Vendola [63]
Future to the Left (FaS) Social democracy Stefano Fassina [64]
Venetian Left (SV) Communism Pietrangelo Pettenò [65]

Along these, some youth organisations (including ACT! Agire Costruire Trasformare[66] and TILT),[67] local groups and individuals have joined SI.

Ideology

SI's ideology is a mix of democratic socialism, social democracy, and anti-austerity stances. In his manifesto, D'Attorre wrote that the new party would need to "go beyond the separation between reformists and radicals" and later explained that SI would be Keynesian and opposed to neoliberalism. The coalition's economics adviser is Joseph Stiglitz, a well-known American economist and winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, who had already been involved with Syriza in Greece, Podemos in Spain, and the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn in the United Kingdom.[68] Fassina has also proposed a "controlled disintegration of the Eurozone".[69]

Electoral results

Italian Parliament

Chamber of Deputies
Election year Votes % Seats +/– Leader
2018 within LeU 3.4
3 / 630
–
2022 within Greens and Left Alliance (AVS) 3.6
4 / 400
–
Senate of the Republic
Election year Votes % Seats +/– Leader
2018 within LeU 3.3
1 / 315
–
2022 within Greens and Left Alliance (AVS) 3.5
3 / 200
–

European Parliament

European Parliament
Election year Votes % Seats +/– Leader
2019 into The Left –
0 / 76
–

Regional Councils

Region Election year Votes % Seats +/−
Aosta Valley 2018 — —
0 / 35
–
Piedmont 2019 46,570 [lower-alpha 1] 2.42
1 / 51
–
Lombardy 2023 93,019 (10th)[lower-alpha 2] 3.2
1 / 80
Increase 1
South Tyrol 2018 into Greens –
0 / 35
–
Trentino 2018 into LeU –
0 / 35
–
Veneto 2020 41.275 (7th) [lower-alpha 3] 2.0
1 / 51
Increase 1
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 2023 8,029 [lower-alpha 4] 2.03
1 / 48
–
Emilia-Romagna 2020 38,845 (6th)[lower-alpha 1] 3.2
0 / 51
Increase 1
Liguria 2020 15,451 (8th)[lower-alpha 5] 2.5
1 / 31
–
Tuscany 2020 46,270 (9th)[lower-alpha 6] 2.9
0 / 41
Decrease 1
Marche 2020 11,834 (11th)[lower-alpha 7] 1.9
0 / 31
–
Umbria 2019 6,627 (8th)[lower-alpha 8] 1.6
0 / 21
–
Lazio 2018 into LeU –
1 / 51
Decrease 2
Abruzzo 2019 into LeU –
0 / 31
Decrease 1
Molise 2018 into LeU –
0 / 21
Decrease 1
Campania 2020 25,125 (11th)[lower-alpha 9] 1.1
0 / 51
–
Apulia 2020 63,725 (6th) [lower-alpha 10] 3.8
0 / 51
Decrease 4
Basilicata 2019 into Possible –
0 / 21
Decrease 1
Calabria 2020 Did not run –
0 / 31
Decrease 1
Sicily 2017 100,583 (9th)[lower-alpha 11] 5.2
1 / 70
Increase 1
Sardinia 2014 35,376 (5th)[lower-alpha 1] 5.2
4 / 60
Increase 3
  1. 1 2 3 As Free, Equal, Greens.
  2. ↑ Within Green and Left Alliance.
  3. ↑ In a joint list with Art.1 and Pos
  4. ↑ As Greens and Left Alliance
  5. ↑ In a joint list with Pos and ÈViva
  6. ↑ In a joint list with PRC, PaP, SA
  7. ↑ In a joint list with PRC
  8. ↑ Into Green Civic Left
  9. ↑ In a joint list with PRC, PCI, PdS, AET
  10. ↑ In a joint list with Art.1 and PRI
  11. ↑ In a joint list with Article One–MDP.

Leadership

Symbols

References

  1. ↑ "Assemblee Congressuali di Sinistra Italiana – Aderenti e Delegati per Provincia" (PDF).
  2. 1 2 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Italy". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  3. ↑ Una nuova sinistra, non-una "cosa rossa" http://ilmanifesto.info/una-nuova-sinistra-non-una-cosa-rossa
  4. ↑ "Camera.it - XVII Legislatura - Deputati e Organi Parlamentari - Composizione gruppi Parlamentari". www.camera.it.
  5. ↑ Fassina dice addio al Pd: "Non ci sono le condizioni per continuare" http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2015/06/23/news/fassina_dice_addio_al_pd_non_ci_sono_le_condizioni_per_continuare_-117553037/
  6. ↑ Fassina, addio al Pd: "Nuovo soggetto politico con Civati e Cofferati" http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2015/06/24/news/fassina_abbandona_il_pd_l_ho_lasciato_ieri_sera_in_un_circolo_di_periferia_-117591749/
  7. ↑ Corradino Mineo lascia il gruppo Pd: "Contro di me inaccettabile processo sommario" http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2015/10/28/news/corradino_mineo_lascia_il_pd_conto_di_me_inaccettabile_processo_sommario_-126069901/
  8. ↑ D'Attorre, Galli e Folino lasciano il Pd: "Non c'è più dialettica nel partito" http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2015/11/04/news/d_attorre_galli_folino_lasciano_il_pd-126619055/
  9. ↑ Pd: i deputati Galli, Folino e D'Attorre lasciano il partito. "Ora gruppo con Sel, ma non chiamateci 'Cosa rossa'" http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2015/11/04/pd-i-deputati-galli-folino-e-dattorre-lasciano-il-partito-mutazione-genetica-in-casa-dem-ora-gruppo-con-sel/2188507/
  10. ↑ Alfredo D'Attorre, ritratto del mite "secchione" travolto dal turborenzismo http://www.huffingtonpost.it/2015/11/03/dattorre-pd_n_8465780.html
  11. ↑ Alfredo D'Attorre esce dal Pd. Il documento scritto con Fassina e gli altri: "Con Renzi il partito trasformato nel suo ufficio stampa" http://www.huffingtonpost.it/2015/11/04/dattorre-pd-renzi-addio_n_8470840.html
  12. ↑ Nasce 'Sinistra italiana', nuovo gruppo di 31 deputati. Fassina: "Siamo alternativi al liberismo da Happy Days di Renzi" http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/politica/2015/11/07/nasce-sinistra-italiana-nuovo-gruppo-di-31-deputati-la-diretta-_d02aa4ad-9f47-4615-8e57-4f6136149f73.html
  13. ↑ Si chiamerà "Sinistra italiana": domani Sel e gli ex Pd battezzano il nuovo gruppo 'anti-Renzi' http://www.huffingtonpost.it/2015/11/06/sinistra-italiana-sel-ex-pd_n_8487950.html
  14. ↑ Cosmopolitica, iniziata la costituente di Sinistra italiana http://www.huffingtonpost.it/2016/02/19/cosmopolitica-costituente-sinistra-_n_9275866.html
  15. ↑ Per ora è "Sinistra Italiana" http://ilmanifesto.info/per-ora-e-sinistra-italiana/
  16. ↑ Cosmopolitica, la prima assemblea di Sinistra italiana: "Dal 2 al 4 dicembre il congresso fondativo" http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2016/02/21/news/sinistra_italiana_unioni_civili-133907371/
  17. ↑ "senato.it - Senato della Repubblica senato.it - Variazioni nei Gruppi parlamentari". www.senato.it.
  18. ↑ "Sel divisa tra svolta sovranista e Sinistra italiana: geografia di una guerra - Sardiniapost.it". 17 November 2015.
  19. ↑ "il manifesto". ilmanifesto.info. 9 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "Ballottaggi in Toscana: Pd ko. A Sesto stravince Falchi, Grosseto al centrodestra". 19 June 2016.
  21. ↑ "Comune di Sesto Fiorentino - Toscana - Elezioni Comunali - Risultati - Ballottaggio - 5 giugno 2016". la Repubblica.it.
  22. ↑ "Vendola traghetta Sel nella "Sinistra italiana"". rainews. 17 December 2016.
  23. ↑ "Sinistra Italiana elegge Fratoianni: "Siamo la sinistra che fa il suo mestiere"". lastampa.it. 19 February 2017.
  24. ↑ "Sinistra Italiana, Nicola Fratoianni eletto segretario: "Scissione? Se minoranza dem vota fiducia a Gentiloni, no al dialogo" - Il Fatto Quotidiano". 19 February 2017.
  25. ↑ "Congresso SI, eletto Fratoianni segretario: "Dialogo con gli scissionisti Pd se non votano fiducia a governo"". 19 February 2017.
  26. ↑ "Sinistra italiana, corsa a due per la segreteria: Scotto sfida Fratoianni". 23 January 2017.
  27. ↑ Stefanoni, Franco (25 February 2017). "Ecco il nome degli ex Pd: Articolo 1 Movimento dei democratici e progressisti".
  28. ↑ ""Democratici e progressisti" il nuovo nome degli ex Pd. Speranza: lavoro è nostra priorità". Il Sole 24 ORE. 25 February 2017.
  29. ↑ Binelli, Raffaello (25 February 2017). "Nasce il Movimento democratici e progressisti". ilGiornale.it.
  30. ↑ "Sinistra Italiana e Possibile insieme alla Camera. Ma il primo scoglio è Civati capogruppo". 10 March 2017.
  31. ↑ "Possibile e Sinistra Italiana. Dopo i gruppi, la lista unitaria - Left". 9 March 2017.
  32. ↑ "il manifesto". ilmanifesto.it. 9 March 2017.
  33. ↑ "Francesco Campanella lascia Sinistra italiana". 12 March 2019.
  34. ↑ "IL PARTITO DELLA SINISTRA EUROPEA accoglie come osservatore SINISTRA ITALIANA". L'Altra Europa con Tsipras. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  35. ↑ "Liberi e uguali, Grasso: 'Ecco la nuova sinistra' - Politica". 3 December 2017.
  36. ↑ "'Goodbye LeU': Sinistra Italiana scarica Mdp e guarda a De Magistris". 28 October 2018.
  37. ↑ "Leu, esperienza finita. Mdp e Sinistra italiana si lasciano. Speranza: "Ora una sinistra di governo"". Repubblica.it. 14 November 2018.
  38. ↑ "Una forza rosso-verde per garantire l'alternativa alla nuova destra". 10 November 2018.
  39. ↑ "Costituita associazione per nascita partito di sinistra". 31 January 2019.
  40. ↑ "Sinistra, a 100 giorni dalle Europee si provano a definire liste e alleanze". Blasting News. 13 February 2019.
  41. ↑ "Europee, Nicola Fratoianni si dimette da segretario di Sinistra Italiana". la Repubblica. 1 June 2019.
  42. ↑ "Sinistra italiana, Fratoianni si dimette da segretario: "Da Europee emerso tema della frammentazione nel nostro campo"". Il Fatto Quotidiano. 1 June 2019.
  43. ↑ Horowitz, Jason (20 August 2019). "Italy's Government Collapses, Turning Chaos Into Crisis". The New York Times.
  44. ↑ "Conte wins crucial support for new Italian govt coalition". Washington Post.
  45. ↑ "I voti del 2° Congresso di Sinistra Italiana - Nicola Fratoianni riconfermato segretario nazionale".
  46. ↑ "Sinistra italiana va avanti, verso la nuova cosa rosso-verde". February 2021.
  47. ↑ "Sinistra italiana a congresso. Fratoianni: "Non ci sciogliamo"". 30 January 2021.
  48. ↑ "Governo Draghi, assemblea di Sinistra Italiana: voto contro la fiducia. Ma De Petris e Palazzotto non condividono: "Noi siamo per il sì"" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  49. ↑ "Erasmo Palazzotto lascia Sinistra italiana: "E' un errore politico non votare la fiducia a Draghi"". 17 February 2021.
  50. ↑ "Lancio del 'patto di consultazione' per il Quirinale tra Europa Verde e Sinistra Italiana". Radio Radicale (in Italian). 10 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  51. ↑ "Sinistra Italiana ed Europa Verde: 'Voteremo Manconi'". Dire (in Italian). 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  52. ↑ "La campagna per Manconi al Quirinale: 'Un presidente contro le ingiustizie'". La Repubblica (in Italian). 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  53. ↑ Sinistra Italiana, ok a proposta di avvio alleanza con Europa Verde, Conquista del Lavoro
  54. ↑ Nuove energie rossoverdi: «Uniti per cambiare l'Italia», il manifesto
  55. ↑ Patto Sinistra Italiana-Europa Verde per le politiche 2023: nasce la lista rossoverde, Fanpage
  56. ↑ SI and Verdi revealed their logo for the next general election, Twitter
  57. ↑ "Elezioni, accordo Pd-Verdi-Si. C'è anche Di Maio. Letta: «Se vince Destra costituzione a rischio". Il Sole 24 ORE. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  58. ↑ "Letta-Fratoianni-Bonelli, ecco i termini dell'accordo: al Pd l'80% dei seggi, a Si-Verdi il 20%". Il Mattino.it. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  59. ↑ https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/politica/2023/11/26/fratoianni-confermato-segretario-di-sinistra-italiana_616f4bc1-9dec-4830-87de-6177814a47e9.html
  60. ↑ https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/il-ritorno-politica-vendola-campo-come-presidente-sinistra-italiana-AFVTd5qB?refresh_ce=1
  61. ↑ https://www.corriere.it/politica/23_novembre_26/nichi-vendola-eletto-presidente-sinistra-italiana-torno-politica-ma-non-si-candida-europee-ecco-perche-85fcda44-8c5f-11ee-8ccd-c15b03fea28c.shtml
  62. ↑ https://www.ilpost.it/2023/11/26/vendola-presidente-sinistra-italiana
  63. ↑ Cosmopolitica, Fratoianni: congresso fondativo il 2/3/4 dicembre. E' la fine della stagione degli accordi e dei cartelli elettorali http://www.sinistraecologialiberta.it/notizie/cosmopolitica-fratoianni-congresso-fondativo-il-234-dicembre-e-la-fine-della-stagione-degli-accordi-e-dei-cartelli-elettorali/
  64. ↑ NASCE OGGI SINISTRA ITALIANA, NUOVO GRUPPO PARLAMENTARE UNITO
  65. ↑ Sinistra Veneta ha condiviso un link. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=551714218324442&id=431222653706933
  66. ↑ "Non la solita sinistra. Questa deve essere un'altra storia". Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  67. ↑ Mapi Pizzolante a Cosmopolitica https://www.facebook.com/Tiltcamp/videos/vb.211298158909267/1021028537936221/?type=2&theater
  68. ↑ "Sinistra:tra i consulenti anche Stiglitz - Politica". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). 30 October 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  69. ↑ "European 'alliance of national liberation fronts' emerges to avenge Greek defeat". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
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