A minor party is a political party that plays a smaller (in some cases much smaller, even insignificant in comparison) role than a major party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so great that the membership total, donations, and the candidates that they are able to produce or attract are very distinct. Some of the minor parties play almost no role in a country's politics because of their low recognition, vote and donations. Minor parties often receive very small numbers of votes at an election (to the point of losing any candidate nomination deposit). The method of voting can also assist or hinder a minor party's chances. For example, in an election for more than one member, the proportional representation method of voting can be advantageous to a minor party as can preference allocation from one or both of the major parties.
40-518: Italian Social Democratic Party may refer to: Italian Democratic Socialist Party ( Partito Socialista Democratico Italiano ), Italian political party that existed between 1947 and 1998. Social Democracy ( Democrazia Sociale ), Italian political party (that existed between 1922 and 1926) officially named Partito Democratico Sociale Italiano . Social Democrats ( Socialdemocratici ), Italian political party that established in 2022. Topics referred to by
80-683: A minor party associated with both centre-left and centre-right coalitions. The party was founded as the Socialist Party of Italian Workers (PSLI) in 1947 by a splinter group of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) due to the decision of the latter to join the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in the Popular Democratic Front 's electoral list for the 1948 Italian general election . The split, led by Giuseppe Saragat and
120-410: A two-party system , so that successful smaller parties are rare. Countries using proportional representation give little advantage to the two largest parties, so they tend to elect many parties. Therefore, in those countries, three, four, or more political parties are usually elected to legislatures. In such parliamentary systems, coalitions often include smaller parties; since they may participate in
160-416: A coalition government, there is not a sharp distinction with a 'major' party. In two-party systems, on the other hand, only the major parties have a serious chance of forming a government. Similarly, in presidential systems, third-party candidates are rarely elected president. In some categorizations, a party needs to have a certain level of success to be considered a third party. Smaller parties that win only
200-673: A rightward shift in the 1990s, which led some observers to question the PSDI as a social democratic party, it was expelled from the European Socialist Party . When Enrico Ferri founded with Luigi Preti the current European Liberal Social Democracy (SOLE), which was in favour of an alliance with Silvio Berlusconi 's centre-right coalition , the choice was stigmatized by the PES and the Socialist International , and an official statement
240-529: A significant number of seats in their Home Nations, with the SNP controlling 56 of 59 Scottish Westminster seats at the 2015 United Kingdom general election , and every single Northern Irish seat is held by a regional party – either the republican Sinn Féin and Social Democratic and Labour Party , or the unionist Ulster Unionist Party and Democratic Unionist Party . As of 2024, the Green Party hold four seats and
280-482: A very small share of the vote and no seats in the legislature often are termed minor or fringe parties. Third parties usually have little chance of forming a government or winning the position of head of government. Nevertheless, there are many reasons for third parties to compete. The opportunity of a national election means that attention will be paid to the positions of third parties. The larger parties might be forced to respond and adapt to their challenges, and often
320-581: Is able to contest only parish and community council elections in England and Wales and has fewer reporting, financial and administrative requirements than an ordinary registered political party. In the United States , minor parties are often described as third parties . Minor parties in the U.S. include the Libertarian Party , the Green Party , Constitution Party , and others that have less influence than
360-474: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Italian Democratic Socialist Party The Italian Democratic Socialist Party ( Italian : Partito Socialista Democratico Italiano , PSDI ), also known as Italian Social Democratic Party , was a social-democratic political party in Italy. The longest serving partner in government for Christian Democracy ,
400-585: The 1963 Italian general election , when it gained 6.1%. In the 1992 Italian general election , the last before Tangentopoli , the PSDI won 2.7%. The party maintained for decades its strongholds in the North-West and North-East; since the 1960s, it started to gain support in Southern Italy . By the 1987 Italian general election , the party's strongholds had moved South, especially Apulia , Campania , Basilicata , Calabria , and Sicily , similarly to what also
440-715: The Australian Greens . Minor political parties are commonly referred to as partai gurem ( gurem being the Indonesian term for a type of mite ) in Indonesia. In Indonesia's first democratic election in 1955 , over a dozen newly established political parties which participated in elections won just two seats or less in the House of Representatives . During most of Suharto's presidency, only three political parties participated in elections, but after Suharto's fall minor parties returned to
SECTION 10
#1733084981963480-637: The Brexit Party , which was the largest British party in the European Parliament before withdrawing due to Brexit, held no seats in the House of Commons. Today The Brexit Party is known as Reform UK and has five seats. Also UKIP has achieved significant vote shares despite holding no seats in the Commons. Other parties that have held seats in devolved assemblies, the House of Commons or the European Parliament in
520-611: The European Parliament sat within the Socialist Group since 1979. In 1994, having grown increasingly conservative among social democratic parties, the PSDI was expelled from the PES. The PSDI was involved in the corruption scandals known as Tangentopoli and almost disappeared from the political scene. The 1994 Italian general election resulted in an almost overnight decline of the Pentapartito coalition parties and
560-826: The Liberals used to be the largest Third party by popular vote from the 1920s until 2015. In Canada , the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party are the two major parties at the federal level. The Bloc Québécois , New Democratic Party , and Green Party are the largest minor parties, represented in the House of Commons of Canada . Another 12 parties are registered with Elections Canada (see List of federal political parties in Canada#Registered parties ) but have no seats in Parliament. The New Democratic Party has been
600-746: The Libertarian and Green Parties. In the United Kingdom, a third party is a national political party, other than the Conservatives and Labour , which has at least one member in the House of Commons . From 1922 to 2015 and again from 2024, the Liberal Democrats and their predecessors the Liberals were the third party. Between 2015 and 2024, it was used for the Scottish National Party . In
640-693: The SDP–Liberal Alliance and the Liberal Party (the main opposition to the Conservative Party before the rise of Labour, forming governments six times between 1859 and 1918) have achieved significant numbers of seats and have occasionally been kingmakers (such as during the Lib-Lab pacts and the 2010–2015 coalition with the Conservatives ) and are sometimes also classed as a major party. The nationalist Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru hold
680-414: The 21st century include the non-sectarian Northern Irish Alliance Party , the far right British National Party , the healthcare-focused Independent Community and Health Concern , the cross-community Northern Irish NI21 , the cross-community feminist Northern Ireland Women's Coalition , the anti-austerity People Before Profit Alliance , the left-wing Northern Irish unionist Progressive Unionist Party ,
720-400: The Indonesian electoral scene. In the 1999 election , for example, out of 48 participating political parties only 20 political parties won any seats at the national level. Since the 2009 election , a parliamentary threshold has been implemented in Indonesian elections, reducing the number of parties represented in the national parliament to ten or less. The use of first past the post in
760-584: The PSDI held the presidency of the Istituto Nazionale di Previdenza Sociale (INPS). In 1966, the party joined the PSI to form the Unified Socialist Party . In 1969, after a disappointing result at the 1968 Italian general election , it left the new unified party, taking the name Unitary Socialist Party (PSU). It returned to the PSDI name in 1971. In 1980, the party joined Christian Democracy (DC),
800-529: The PSDI was an important force in Italian politics , before the 1990s decline in votes and members. The party's founder and longstanding leader was Giuseppe Saragat , who served as President of the Italian Republic from 1964 to 1971. Compared to the like-minded Italian Socialist Party , it was more centrist , at least until Bettino Craxi 's leadership, infact, it identified with the centre-left. After
840-648: The PSI, the Italian Republican Party (PRI), and the Italian Liberal Party (PLI) in the five-party coalition ( Pentapartito ), which ruled the country until 1991, and until 1994 without the PRI. The party's role in the coalition was minimal and was over-shadowed by the more powerful PSI. The PSDI was a member of Socialist International and a founder member of the Party of European Socialists (PES). Its members of
SECTION 20
#1733084981963880-546: The Scottish Parliament, the SNP has been the dominant parliamentary party beginning with the 2011 Scottish Parliament election , with the Conservatives the next largest party and Labour becoming Scotland's third party ever since. Reform UK was the largest Third party by popular vote in the 2024 United Kingdom general election . In the 2015 United Kingdom general election UKIP was the largest Third party by popular vote. The Liberal Democrats and their predecessors
920-535: The United Kingdom means that in the post-War era, only two parties have had a majority in parliament: the Conservative Party and the Labour Party . However, strong regionalist movements and the potential for parties to take votes in the centre or extreme fringes of the political spectrum mean that minor parties still play a significant and increasing role in British politics. The Liberal Democrats , and their predecessors
960-526: The chart above. Minor party A minor party that follows the direction/directive of some other major parties is called a bloc party or satellite party. Minor parties in Australia owe much of their success to the proportional representation method of voting for the Australian Senate and one chamber of the legislatures of most states . This allows minor parties to achieve at least one quota in
1000-426: The context of an impending election, is considered highly unlikely to do so). The distinction is particularly significant in two-party systems . In any case "third" is often used figuratively, as in "the third parties", where the intent, literally stated, is "the third and succeeding parties". The term "third parties" is used mostly in countries with first-past-the-post voting systems, as those systems tend to create
1040-536: The electorate or state and thus gain representation in a parliamentary chamber. Often minor parties have been so successful in gaining such representation that they are able to hold the balance of power in the particular house of the parliament. Some examples are the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) in the 1960s and early 1970s, the Australian Democrats from the late 1970s until 2004, and more recently
1080-773: The larger parties copy ideas from them. Most third parties try to build their support to become one of the dominant parties, as the Labour Party in Britain and New Democratic Party in Canada did. In the Westminster system there is also the possibility of minority governments , which can give smaller parties strength disproportional to their support. Examples include the Irish Parliamentary Party which pushed for Home Rule in Ireland in
1120-482: The late 19th century. Challenging parties also usually appeal for votes on the basis that they will try to change the voting system to make it more competitive for all parties. In some countries like the United States, parties with low win probability face frequent exclusion from major debates and media coverage and denial of ballot access as well as hamstrung campaign budgets. The Democratic Labor Party (DLP)
1160-435: The left wing Respect Party , the left wing nationalist Scottish Socialist Party , the elderly interest Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party and the unionist Northern Irish Traditional Unionist Voice and UK Unionist Party . Whether or not a party counts as a major party is a sometimes heated argument, since "major parties" as defined by Ofcom are entitled to more party political broadcasts than minor ones. Because of
1200-649: The major parties. Since the American Civil War (1861–1865), the major parties have been the Republican Party and the Democratic Party . Since 1860, six presidential candidates other than Republicans and Democrats have received over 10% of the popular vote, although one of them was a former president, Theodore Roosevelt . In electoral politics, a third party is any party contending for votes that failed to outpoll either of its two strongest rivals (or, in
1240-705: The other parties of Pentapartito (DC, PSI, PRI, and PLI) were experiencing. This was partly due to the growth of regionalist parties in the North, which were united in Lega Nord starting in 1991. After Tangentopoli , Mani pulite , and subsequent political crisis, the PSDI almost disappeared electorally; it retained some support locally in the South, especially in Apulia. The electoral results of PSDI in general ( Chamber of Deputies ) and European Parliament elections since 1948 are shown in
Italian Social Democratic Party - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-603: The party, led by Schietroma, finally merged with the Italian Socialists , one of the successor parties of the PSI, to form the Italian Democratic Socialists . By then, most members and voters of the party have joined other parties: Forza Italia (as Carlo Vizzini , party leader in 1992–1993), the CDC (as Ferri, party leader in 1993–1995), and The Democrats (as Franco Bruno ). The party was re-established in 2004 with
1320-657: The regionalist nature of many parties, it is possible to be a major party in one part of the country and not another: for example, at one point UKIP was officially a major party in England and Wales, but a minor one in Scotland. No mainland British party is classed as a major party in Northern Ireland. A minor party is also a special type of political party registered with the Electoral Commission in Great Britain that
1360-487: The rise of Silvio Berlusconi -led Forza Italia , which absorbed many PSDI voters. In January 1995, Gian Franco Schietroma was elected national secretary of the party replacing Enrico Ferri , who wanted to join the centre-right Pole of Freedoms . The followers of Ferri left and established the European Liberal Social Democracy and joined the centre-right Christian Democratic Centre (CDC). In 1998,
1400-412: The same name, Italian Democratic Socialist Party , as the continuation of the party of Saragat, so that the new PSDI numbers its congresses in perfect continuity with the late PSDI. The PSDI had its best result at its first appearance in the 1948 Italian general election , when it gained 7.1% of the vote. In that occasion, the party was successful in stealing many votes from the PSI, which was damaged by
1440-503: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Italian Social Democratic Party . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Italian_Social_Democratic_Party&oldid=1106448884 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Political party disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1480-628: The sons of Giacomo Matteotti , took the name ofs cissione di Palazzo Barberini , from the name of a palace in Rome where it took place. On 1 May 1951, it joined forces with the smaller Unitary Socialist Party and Labour Democratic Party and took the name Socialist Party – Italian Section of the Socialist International (PS–SIIS). On 7 January 1952, the PS–SIIS was ultimately renamed Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI). From 1949 to 1965, members of
1520-843: The split as well as by the alliance with the PCI in the Popular Democratic Front . The PSDI found its heartlands in Northern Italy : 12.9% in the Province of Turin , 11.9% in Cuneo , 10.6% in Milan , 13.9% in Sondrio , 12.6% in Treviso , 15.9% in Belluno , and 14.9% in Udine . Starting in the 1953 Italian general election , the party's support was around 4–5%, with the sole exception of
1560-446: Was issued. In January 1995, the party congress put the current of Ferri and Preti in the minority and elected Gian Franco Schietroma as secretary. After the party was disbanded in 1998, the majority went to the Socialist Party of the centre-left coalition , while the party's right-wing current joined centre-right coalition parties. In 2004, the party was established with the same name, Italian Democratic Socialist Party , which remains
1600-417: Was the largest Third party by popular vote in federal elections from 1955 until 1977. The Australian Democrats was the largest Third party by popular vote in federal elections from 1977 until 2004. Since 2004, the Australian Greens have been largest Third party by popular vote in federal elections. In the United States, there have been numerous "third parties". The largest since the mid-20th century are
#962037