Whither the Democratici di Sinistra?

Abstract

In 1991 the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) embraced social democracy in an unambiguous fashion with its transformation from the Italian Communist Party (PCI). This represented a break with the communist tradition and ideology, and allowed the PDS to wholeheartedly dedicate itself to developing its social democratic strategies. The origins of this political change can be traced back to the mid-1970s when the PCI embarked on a political trajectory which would see it change name to the PDS after the geo-political convulsions which shook Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. As a result of this endeavour, the leadership of the PDS expected large sections of the Italian population to embrace the new social democratic party, one with a progressive image and platform. However, this expectation failed to materialise. Although the PDS remained the largest party of the left, and of the political area loosely defined as centre-left, it failed to obtain the electoral support its predecessor, the PCI, achieved in the 1970s and 1980s. Hence the PDS failed to achieve and consolidate stable representation in government, and become the progressive party of the Italians.