Italian Democratic Socialist Party (2004)

The Italian Democratic Socialist Party (Italian: Partito Socialista Democratico Italiano, PSDI) is a political party in Italy founded in 2004 as the continuation of the historical PSDI of Giuseppe Saragat, so that the new PSDI numbers its congresses in perfect continuity with the old PSDI. The party retains some support locally in the South, especially in Apulia. In the 2005 Apulian regional election the party won 2.2% of the vote along with other two minor parties and got one deputy elected to the Regional Council. The party did not repeat itself five years later, when it was not even able to file a list.

History[]

The re-foundation of PSDI[]

At the end of 2003, several former members of the PSDI (who are initially converged in the Italian Democratic Socialists) reorganized the Italian Democratic Socialist Party. In January 2004 was celebrated the XXIV National Congress of the PSDI. Giogio Carta was named new Secretary and Antonio Cariglia was named Honorary President of the party. The legal continuity of the party was sanctioned by the Supreme Court of Cassation in 2004.

In the 2005 Apulian regional election the party won 2.2% of the vote along with other two minor parties and got one deputy elected to the Regional Council. The party did not repeat itself five years later, when it was not even able to file a list.

Legal dispute and split[]

In April 2006 Giorgio Carta was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the general election and, subsequently, resigned as secretary in November. He was replaced by , whose election was contested by many members of the party (including Carta) on the basis that it was rigged. The new secretary consequently ousted all the members who contested his election (including Carta) from the party.

In April 2007 a tribunal in Rome sided with the former leadership and declared invalid both the election of D'Andria as secretary and the XVII Congress of the party, which confirmed him as leader in January. The party was led ad interim by Carta, until the Congress of October 2007 (the XVII, though that of January was declared invalid) elected as new secretary. D'Andria, who continued to consider himself to be the legitimate leader of PSDI, launched in June his Party of Democratic Reformers (PRD), open to "socialists, Christians, radicals, liberals, republicans and greens".

2008 general election[]

For the 2008 general election PSDI tried to form an alliance with the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC), but finally it did not participate with the Union of the Centre coalition. Instead, on 29 March 2008, the National Committee proposed to its members and voters to vote according to their conscience, favouring those political forces which could stop the emerging two-party system.^[2][3] Most regional sections, on the example of Tuscany, indicated to vote for the Socialist Party in the election of the Chamber of Deputies and for The Left – The Rainbow in the election of the Senate. Some regional sections made different indications, notably in Veneto and Lazio in favour of the Union of the Centre, in Lombardy in favour of The People of Freedom and in Sicily in favour of the Movement for Autonomy.

Failed recomposition[]

In July 2011 a tribunal in Rome declared Renato D'Andria legitimate secretary of the party.^[4]

Magistro proposed a reconciliation between the two factions,^[5] but D'Andria did not accept the conditions posed by him.^[6] In mid November 2011, 28 members out of 31 of the outgoing National Council, including Magistro, thus left the PSDI in order to form a new party named The Social Democrats (iSD).^[7] On 11 January 2012, on the 65th anniversary of the split of Palazzo Barberini, the PSDI and iSD organized a common event in remembrance of Giuseppe Saragat.^[8] A recomposition was made difficult also by the fact that D'Andria was keen on an alliance with the centre-right (three MPs of The People of Freedom, PdL – , and – were quite close to the new PSDI),^[9][10][11] while Magistro aligned his SD with the centre-left.

2013 and 2018 general election[]

In the 2013 general election the PSDI supported the PdL.

In the run-up of the 2018 general election the PSDI decided to side with the centre-right Forza Italia (FI), successor of the PdL.^[12]

Leadership[]

• Secretary: Giorgio Carta (2004–2007), (2007–2011), (2011–present)
• President: (2007–2010), (2010–2011)
• Honorary President: Antonio Cariglia (2005–2006), Giorgio Carta (2007–2008)

References[]