72-716: The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats ( S&D ) is the political group in the European Parliament of the Party of European Socialists (PES). The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was officially founded as a Socialist Group on 29 June 1953, which makes it the second oldest political group in the European Parliament after the European People's Party Group (EPP Group). It adopted its present-day name on 23 June 2009. Centre-left in orientation,
144-474: A "No" vote would be tantamount to a vote of no confidence . PES leader Pauline Green MEP attempted a vote of confidence and the EPP put forward countermotions. During this period the two Groups adopted a government- opposition dynamic, with PES supporting the executive and EPP renouncing its previous coalition support and voting it down. In 2004 there was another notable break in the grand coalition. It occurred over
216-417: A female majority, so the scale stops at 50%). The results are also given in the table below. G/EFA, PES and ALDE were the most balanced groups in terms of gender, with IND/DEM being the most unbalanced. The Parliament does not form a government in the traditional sense and its politics have developed over consensual rather than adversarial lines as a form of consociationalism . No single group has ever held
288-875: A group acted on a specific vote, they provide little information on the voting patterns of a specific group. As a result, the only bodies providing analysis of the voting patterns and Weltanschauung of the groups are academics. Academics analysing the European political groups include Simon Hix ( London School of Economics and Political Science ), Amie Kreppel University of Florida , Abdul Noury ( Free University of Brussels ), Gérard Roland , ( University of California, Berkeley ), Gail McElroy ( Trinity College Dublin , Department of Political Science), Kenneth Benoit ( Trinity College Dublin – Institute for International Integration Studies (IIIS) ), Friedrich Heinemann , Philipp Mohl , and Steffen Osterloh ( University of Mannheim – Centre for European Economic Research ). Cohesion
360-563: A group). The same is true of the Renew Europe Group, most of whose members are from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party , but also includes a dozen from the small European Democratic Party . Both have also had independents and MEPs from minor parties also join their Group. For a Group to be formally recognised in the Parliament, it must fulfil the conditions laid down in
432-503: A majority in Parliament. Historically, the two largest parliamentary formations have been the EPP Group and the PES Group , which are affiliated to their respective European political parties , the European People's Party (EPP) and the Party of European Socialists (PES). These two groups have dominated the Parliament for much of its life, continuously holding between 50 and 70 per cent of
504-464: A new and more inclusive group name had to be found. The group was going to be named Alliance of Socialists and Democrats for Europe (ASDE) but this was seemed too similar to Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). The name Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was suggested on 18 June by group president Martin Schulz and it was renamed on 23 June 2009. The English abbreviation
576-683: A shared political group: for example, the European Free Alliance (half a dozen MEPs in the ninth Parliament) and the European Green Party (over 50 MEPs in the ninth Parliament) have, since 1999, felt they are stronger by working together in the European Greens–European Free Alliance Group than they would have as stand-alone groups (especially for the EFA, which would not otherwise have enough members to constitute
648-399: Is a phenomenon that gained force especially in the legislatures during the 1990s, up to a maximum of 18% for the 1989–1994 term, with strong prevalence among representatives from France and Italy, though by no means limited to those two countries. There is a clear tendency of party group switches from the ideological extremes, both left and right, toward the center. Most switching takes place at
720-524: Is assumed to have a set of core principles, and political groups that cannot demonstrate this may be disbanded (see below ). A political group of the EP usually constitutes the formal parliamentary representation of one or two of the European political parties (Europarty), sometimes supplemented by members from other national political parties or independent politicians. In contrast to the European political parties, it
792-481: Is strictly forbidden for political groups to organise or finance the political campaign during the European elections since this is the exclusive responsibility of the parties. But there are other incentives for MEPs to organise in parliamentary Groups: besides the political advantages of working together with like-minded colleagues, Groups have some procedural privileges within the Parliament (such as Group spokespersons speaking first in debates, Group leaders representing
SECTION 10
#1732852361194864-483: Is the term used to define whether a Group is united or divided amongst itself. Figure 1 of a 2002 paper from European Integration online Papers (EIoP) by Thorsten Faas analysed the Groups as they stood in 2002. The results for each Group are given in the adjacent diagram with the horizontal scale scaled so that 0% = totally split, 100% = totally united. The results are also given in the table below. G/EFA, PES and ELDR were
936-522: The Communist Refoundation Party , which at its sixth congress held in January 2005 moved toward a more heterogeneous, non-sectarian, and strongly pacifist variety of leftism. The electoral results of DS (PDS until 1998) in general (Chamber of Deputies) and European Parliament elections from 1992 to 2006 are shown in chart below. The result for the 2006 general election refers to the election for
1008-538: The European Coal and Steel Community . The Common Assembly was the predecessor of the European Parliament. A group bureau and secretariat was established in Luxembourg . The group continued through the creation of the appointed Parliament in 1958 and, when the Parliament became an elected body in 1979 following the first European election , the group became the largest in terms of returned MEPs . It has ever since remained
1080-726: The European Democratic Union Group. When Conservatives from Denmark and the United Kingdom joined, they created the European Conservatives Group, which (after some name changes) eventually merged with the Group of the European People's Party. The 1979 first direct election established further groups and the establishment of European political parties such as the European People's Party. The mandate of
1152-506: The European Parliament . Groups can table motions for resolutions and table amendments to reports. EUL/NGL and G/EFA were the most left-wing groups, UEN and EDD the most right-wing, and that was mirrored in their attitudes towards taxation, homosexual equality, abortion, euthanasia and controlling migration into the EU. The groups fell into two distinct camps regarding the further development of EU authority, with UEN and EDD definitely against and
1224-606: The Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) trade union, gained 34.1%, while Enrico Morando , from the liberal right-wing, got 4.1%. Contextually, D'Alema was elected president. During the third national congress in February 2005, Fassino was re-elected with 79.0% of the vote. While no one stood against Fassino, left-wing candidates ran for congressional delegates: the DS Left – returning to win motion/list won 14.6% of
1296-527: The Party of European Socialists ) or they can include more than one European party as well as national parties and independents, such as the Greens–European Free Alliance group. Each group appoints a leader, referred to as a "president", "co-ordinator" or "chair". The chairs of each Group meet in the Conference of Presidents to decide what issues will be dealt with at the plenary session of
1368-747: The Republican Left , from the left wing of the Italian Republican Party ; and the Liberal Left , from the left wing of the Italian Liberal Party . A dissident group left the Labourites in order to launch Socialists and Europeans as a vehicle to oppose the party's merger with DL. On the party's right, the Liberal DS had a moderate Third Way or radical centrist political agenda and joined
1440-638: The current EU Parliament the S&;D is currently composed of 136 members from 25 member states. In the European Council , eight out of 27 heads of state and government belong to PES parties and in the European Commission , 8 out of 27 Commissioners come from PES parties. The Socialist Group was one of the first three groups to be created when it was founded on 23 June 1953 in the Common Assembly of
1512-534: The hammer and sickle , which was present in the PDS' one and was instead replaced by the red rose of European social democracy as used by the Party of European Socialists (PES). Massimo D'Alema became Prime Minister of Italy in October 1998, the first former Communist to hold the post. D'Alema was replaced as the leader of DS by Walter Veltroni . During the party's first national congress in January 2000, Veltroni received
SECTION 20
#17328523611941584-465: The " grand coalition " and, aside from a break in the fifth Parliament, it has dominated the Parliament for much of its life, regardless of necessity. The grand coalition is visible in the agreement between the two Groups to divide the five-year term of the President of the European Parliament equally between them, with an EPP president for half the term and a PES president for the other half, regardless of
1656-446: The EPP subgroup ( ) were centre-right Europhiles, whereas the ED subgroup ( ) were right-wing Eurosceptics. IND/DEM was also split along its subgroups: the reformist subgroup ( , bottom-center) voted as centrist Eurosceptics, and the secessionist subgroup ( , middle-right) voted as right-wing Euroneutrals. The reformist subgroup
1728-480: The European Parliament The political groups of the European Parliament are the officially recognised parliamentary groups consisting of legislators of aligned ideologies in the European Parliament . The European Parliament is unique among supranational assemblies in that its members (MEPs) organise themselves into ideological groups, rather than national cleavages . Each political group
1800-409: The European Parliament is becoming increasingly based around party and ideology. Voting is increasingly split along left-right lines, and the cohesion of the party groups has risen dramatically, particularly in the fourth and fifth parliaments. So there are likely to be policy implications here too. The dynamical coalitions in the European Parliament show year-to-year changes. Party group switching in
1872-417: The European Parliament is the phenomenon where parliamentarians individually or collectively switch from one party group to the other. The phenomenon of EP party group switching is a well-known contributor to the volatility of the EP party system and highlights the fluidity that characterizes the composition of European political groups. On average 9% of MEPs switch during legislative terms. Party group switching
1944-589: The Grand Coalition, they were not each other's closest allies, although they did vote with each other about two-thirds of the time. IND/DEM did not have close allies within the political groups, preferring instead to cooperate most closely with the Non-Inscrits . During the fifth term the ELDR Group were involved in a break in the grand coalition when they entered into an alliance with the European People's Party, to
2016-404: The Group in the Parliament's Conference of Presidents), and Groups receive a staff allocation and financial subsidies. Majorities in the Parliament depend on how Groups vote and what deals are negotiated among them. Although most of the political groups in the European Parliament correlate to a corresponding political party, there are cases where members from two political parties come together in
2088-548: The Left. For European Socialism ) scored 15.0%; this motion was instead opposed to the merger of the DS with DL. A third motion ( For a New, Democratic and Socialist Party ), signed by Gavino Angius , Mauro Zani , and originally Giuseppe Caldarola , took 9.3% of the vote; its members (gathered in the new Socialists and Europeans faction) supported the creation of a new party only within the PES, which
2160-593: The PES. The EPP demanded that if Buttiglione were to go, then a PES commissioner must also be sacrificed for balance. In the end, Italy withdrew Buttiglione and put forward Franco Frattini instead. Frattini won the support of the PES and the Barroso Commission was finally approved, albeit behind schedule. Politicisation such as the above has been increasing, with Simon Hix of the London School of Economics noting in 2007 that Our work also shows that politics in
2232-613: The Parliament refused to approve the Santer Commission 's handling of the EU budget . Allegations of corruption centred on two PES Commissioners, Édith Cresson and Manuel Marín . The group initially supported the Commission but later withdrew their support, forcing the Commission to resign. The group was renamed again to the Socialist Group in the European Parliament on 20 July 2004, and
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats - Misplaced Pages Continue
2304-597: The Santer Commission . When the initial allegations against the Commission Budget emerged, they were directed primarily against the PES Édith Cresson and Manuel Marín . PES supported the commission and saw the issue as an attempt by the EPP to discredit their party ahead of the 1999 elections. EPP disagreed. Whilst the Parliament was considering rejecting the Community budget , President Jacques Santer argued that
2376-563: The actual election result. Table 3 of 21 August 2008 version of working paper by Hix and Noury gave figures for the level of cooperation between each group (how many times they vote with a group, and how many times they vote against) for the Fifth and Sixth Parliaments. The results are given in the tables below, where 0% = never votes with, 100% = always votes with. EUL/NGL and G/EFA voted closely together, as did PES and ALDE, and EPP-ED and UEN. Surprisingly, given that PES and EPP-ED are partners in
2448-546: The adjacent diagram with the horizontal scale scaled so that −100% = totally against and 100% = totally for. The results are also given in the table below, rescaled so that 0% = totally against, 100% = totally for. G/EFA and PES were in favour of such a tax, IND/DEM and the Independents were definitely against, the others had no clear position. National media focus on the MEPs and national parties of their own member state, neglecting
2520-406: The adjacent diagram. The vertical scale is the anti-pro Europe spectrum, (0% = extremely anti-Europe, 100% = extremely pro), and the horizontal scale is the economic left-right spectrum, (0% = extremely economically left-wing, 100% = extremely economically right-wing). The results are also shown in the table below. Two of the groups (EPP-ED and IND/DEM) were split. EPP-ED are split on Euroscepticism:
2592-500: The dominant schools of European political thought and are the primary actors in the Parliament. The first three Groups were established in the earliest days of the Parliament. They were the "Socialist Group" (which eventually became the S&;D group ), the "Christian Democrat Group" (later EPP group ) and the "Liberals and Allies Group" (later Renew Europe ). As the Parliament developed, other Groups emerged. Gaullists from France founded
2664-554: The exclusion of the Party of European Socialists. This was reflected in the Presidency of the Parliament with the terms being shared between the EPP and the ELDR, rather than the EPP and PES as before. However, ELDR intervention was not the only cause for a break in the grand coalition. There have been specific occasions where real left-right party politics have emerged, notably the resignation of
2736-425: The formation of ITS were unsuccessful, but ITS were blocked from leading positions on committees, when members from other Groups declined to vote for their candidates, despite a previous tradition of sharing such posts among members from all Groups. These events spurred MEPs, mainly from the largest two groups, to approve a rise in the threshold for groups to its current levels, having previously been even lower. This
2808-492: The group mostly comprises social democratic parties and is affiliated with the Progressive Alliance and Socialist International . Until the 1999 European Parliament elections , it was the largest group in the Parliament, but since then it has always been the second-largest group. During the eighth EU Parliament Assembly , the S&D was the only Parliament group with representation from all 27 EU member states . In
2880-421: The group's activities and poorly understanding their structure or even existence. Transnational media coverage of the groups per se is limited to those organs such as the Parliament itself, or those news media (e.g. EUObserver or theParliament.com ) that specialise in the Parliament. These organs cover the groups in detail but with little overarching analysis. So although such organs make it easy to find out how
2952-606: The group, see President of the European Parliament . The group is led by a President and a Bureau of vice-presidents. There is also a Treasurer and a Secretary General. Presidents of the group include: Following the 2019 European elections, S&D Members elected their new political Bureau made up of the President Iratxe García Pérez , nine vice-presidents and the treasurer. As a consequence of Brexit, British S&D Member Claude Moraes had to resign from his position as vice-president. Marek Belka has been appointed
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats - Misplaced Pages Continue
3024-659: The groups intend to vote without first inspecting the party platforms of their constituent parties, and then with limited certainty. Democrats of the Left The Democrats of the Left ( Italian : Democratici di Sinistra , DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy. Positioned on the centre-left , the DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party ,
3096-535: The largest or second-largest Group. In 1987, the Single European Act came into force and the group began co-operating with the European People's Party (EPP) to secure the majorities needed under the cooperation procedure . The left–right coalition between the Socialists and EPP has dominated the Parliament since then. Further, with some exceptions, the post of President of the Parliament has alternated between
3168-496: The left-right spectrum, where 0% = extremely left-wing, 100% = extremely right-wing) Major changes compared to the period 2004–2009 were: Some of the groups (such as the PES and S&D Group) have become homogeneous units coterminous with their European political party, some (such as IND/DEM) have not. But they are still coalitions, not parties in their own right, and do not issue manifestos of their own. It may therefore be difficult to discern how
3240-578: The most united groups, with EDD the most disunited. The March 2006 edition of Social Europe: the Journal of the European Left included a chapter called "Women and Social Democratic Politics" by Wendy Stokes. That chapter gave the proportion of female MEPs in each Group in the European Parliament. The results for each Group are given in the adjacent diagram. The horizontal scale denotes gender balance (0% = totally male, 100% = totally female, but no Group has
3312-467: The new Group did not, by its own admission, meet the requirement for political affinity. This decision was challenged at the CJEU , which found in Parliament's favour. Further questions were asked when MEPs attempted to create a far-right Group called " Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty " (ITS). This generated controversy and there were concerns about public funds going towards a far-right Group. Attempts to block
3384-446: The new vice-president. Previous vice-presidents of the group appointed at the start of the current legislature in 2014 Previous vice-presidents of the group appointed at the start of the 2009 legislature: Previous vice-presidents of the group for the 2004–2009 term were as follows: Current/previous Treasurers of the group are as follows: Current/previous Secretaries General of the group are as follows: Political groups of
3456-543: The nomination of Rocco Buttiglione as European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security . The EPP supported the appointment of Buttiglione, while the PES, who were also critics of the President-designate Jose Manuel Barroso , led the parties seeking Buttiglione's removal following his rejection (the first in EU history ) by a Parliamentary committee . Barroso initially stood by his team and offered only small concessions, which were rejected by
3528-484: The outset of legislative terms, with another peak around the half-term moment, when responsibilities rotate within the EP hierarchy. The political groups of the European Parliament have been around in one form or another since September 1952 and the first meeting of the Parliament's predecessor, the Common Assembly. The groups are coalitions of MEPs and the European parties and national parties that those MEPs belong to. The groups have coalesced into representations of
3600-470: The party's majority in latter years. Before the party's last congress in 2007, the left-wing opposition was led by the DS Left – Returning to win , a democratic-socialist grouping, with other smaller groups including DS Left – for Socialism and the Ecologist Left . Before that, some DS leading members, including Pietro Ingrao , Achille Occhetto , and Pietro Folena , had left the party in order to join
3672-515: The previous European Parliament ran from 2004 and 2009. It was composed of the following political groups. Table 3 of the 3 January 2008 version of a working paper from the London School of Economics/Free University of Brussels by Hix and Noury considered the positions of the groups in the Sixth Parliament (2004–2009) by analysing their roll-call votes. The results for each group are shown in
SECTION 50
#17328523611943744-511: The purpose of the group, the values that it stands for and the main political objectives which its members intend to pursue together. The requirement of political affinity was put to the test in July 1999, when a varied group of non-attached members, ranging from the liberal Bonino List in Italy to the French National Front , tried to create a new “Technical Group”, but Parliament decided that
3816-418: The relevant European Parliament Rule of Procedure. This lays down the minimum criteria a Group must meet to qualify as a Group. The numerical criteria are 23 MEPs (at 3.3 percent, a lower threshold than in most national parliaments) but they must come from at least one-quarter of Member States (so currently at least seven). They must also share a political affinity and submit a political declaration, setting out
3888-512: The rest broadly in favour. Opinion was wider on the CFSP , with different divisions on different issues. Unsurprisingly, G/EFA was far more in favour of Green issues compared to the other groups. Table 1 of an April 2008 discussion paper from the Centre for European Economic Research by Heinemann et al. analysed each Group's stance on a hypothetical generalised EU tax. The results for each Group are given in
3960-404: The seats together. The PES were the largest single party grouping up to 1999, when they were overtaken by the centre-right EPP. In 1987 the Single European Act came into force and, under the new cooperation procedure , the Parliament needed to obtain large majorities to make the most impact. So the EPP and PES came to an agreement to cooperate in the Parliament. This agreement became known as
4032-521: The support of the 79.9% of delegates, while the left wing of the party, at the time led by three women ( Anna Finocchiaro , Fulvia Bandoli , and Pasqualina Napoletano ), had the support of 20.1% of delegates. During the party's second national congress in November 2001, Piero Fassino , a mainstream social democrat, was elected secretary with 61.8% of party members' votes. In the event, Giovanni Berlinguer , endorsed by left-wingers, democratic socialists, and
4104-618: The two groups ever since. Meanwhile, the national parties making up the group were also organising themselves on a European level outside the Parliament, creating the Confederation of Socialist Parties of the European Community in 1974. The Confederation was succeeded by the Party of European Socialists (PES), in 1992. As a result, the parliamentary group was renamed the Group of the Party of European Socialists on 21 April 1993. In 1999,
4176-597: The vote and 220 deputies, while the DS list 17.2% and 62 senators. The party's dismal result and the razor-thin win of The Union coalition over the centre-right House of Freedoms coalition prompted a discussion on the party's future. By the end of 2006, the party leadership was committed to a merger with DL. Nine Ministers of the Prodi II Cabinet were affiliated to the DS, notably including D'Alema who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs . Giorgio Napolitano , another DS member,
4248-667: The vote; DS Left for Socialism , 4.0%; and the Ecologist Left , 2.4%. In the 2006 Italian general election , the DS endorsed Romano Prodi for Prime Minister and were part of The Olive Tree electoral list, along with Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy (DL) and the European Republicans Movement (MRE), for the Chamber of Deputies , while fielding its own list for the Senate of the Republic . The DS–DL–MRE joint list obtained 31.2% of
4320-534: Was Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament and the abbreviation was S&D . The S&D Group joined the Progressive Alliance upon its official foundation on 22 May 2013 and is a member of the organisation's board. The group was formerly an associated organisation of the Socialist International . For presidents of the European Parliament from
4392-497: Was Walter Veltroni , a former DS leader who was elected leader of the new party through a leadership election , which saw the participation of over 3,5 million Italian voters in which Veltroni won 75.8% of the vote. Inside the DS, there was often a somewhat simplistic distinction between reformists ( riformisti ) and radicals ( radicali ), indicating respectively the party's mainstream and its left wing. The party also included several organised factions. The social-democratic majority
SECTION 60
#17328523611944464-401: Was able to pursue a reformist agenda via the Parliament. The secessionist subgroup was unable to pursue a secessionist agenda there (it's out of the Parliament's purview) and pursued a right-wing agenda instead. This resulted in the secessionist subgroup being less Eurosceptic in terms of roll-call votes than other, non-eurosceptic parties. UKIP (the major component of the secessionist subgroup)
4536-439: Was criticised for this seeming abandonment of its Eurosceptic core principles. Table 2 of a 2005 discussion paper from the Institute for International Integration Studies by Gail McElroy and Kenneth Benoit analysed the group positions between April and June 2004, at the end of the Fifth Parliament and immediately before the 2004 elections. The results are given below, with 0% = extremely against, 100% = extremely for (except for
4608-483: Was elected President of Italy in May 2006 and re-elected in April 2013 for a second term. The party's fourth national congress was held in 19–21 April 2007. During local congresses, Fassino and his motion named For the Democratic Party , backed by most leading members (D'Alema, Pier Luigi Bersani , and Antonio Bassolino , among others), received the support of 75.6% by party members. The left wing of Fabio Mussi , Cesare Salvi , Fulvia Bandoli , and Valdo Spini ( To
4680-413: Was formed in 1998 upon the merger of the PDS with several minor parties. A member of The Olive Tree coalition, the DS was successively led by Massimo D'Alema , Walter Veltroni , and Piero Fassino , and merged with Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy and a number of minor centre-left parties to form the Democratic Party in October 2007. At its 20th congress in 1991, the Italian Communist Party (PCI)
4752-432: Was given a different logo, to further distinguish the PES group organisation from the PES European political party . In 2007, the Socialist Group was the second largest group in Parliament, with MEPs from all but two member states, Latvia and Cyprus. However, the 2009 European election saw a reduction in the number of PES MEPs returned from 2004. The group sought additional members in the Democratic Party of Italy, which
4824-422: Was initially unclear, being variously reported as PASD, S&D Group or PASDE. Dissatisfaction by Socialist MEPs towards the new name led Martin Schulz to admit that the name was still under consideration and that the group was to be referred to as the "Socialists and Democrats" until a final title was chosen. On 14 July 2009, the first day of the constitutive session of the 2009–2014 term, the full formal group name
4896-411: Was loosely organised, while including several organised movements: the Labourites – Liberal Socialists and Sicily's Reformist Movement, both splinter groups of the Italian Socialist Party ; Reformist Europe, a splinter group of the Democratic Union led by Giorgio Benvenuto (previously named Reformists for Europe); the Social Christians , which had emerged from the left wing of Christian Democracy ;
4968-472: Was not affiliated to the PES in 2009. By the conclusion of the 2004–2009 parliamentary term, the Democratic Party had 8 MEPs in the Socialist Group (coming from the Democrats of the Left ), but also had eight MEPs in ALDE Group (coming from the Daisy ). The Democratic Party is a big tent centre-left party, strongly influenced by social democracy and the Christian left , and had MEPs who were former Christian Democrats or had other political views. As such,
5040-402: Was opposed by many MEPs, notably from smaller Groups but also from the Liberal Group, arguing that it would be detrimental to democracy, whilst supporters argued that the change made it harder for a small number of members, possibly on the extremes (including the far right), to claim public funds. Groups may be based around a single European political party (e.g. the European People's Party ,
5112-407: Was opposed by the DL. As a result, the DS approved the formation of a Democratic Party, along with DL and minor parties. Most supporters of the two motions which had opposed the merger left the DS right after the congress and launched the Democratic Left on 5 May 2007, which aimed to unite the heterogeneous Italian left. The Democratic Party (PD) was formed in October 2007 and its first secretary
5184-546: Was transformed into the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), responding to the Revolutions of 1989 in eastern Europe by re-orienting the party towards the European democratic socialist tradition. Under the leadership of Massimo D'Alema , the PDS merged with some minor centre-left movements ( Labour Federation , Social Christians , Republican Left , Movement of Unitarian Communists , Reformists for Europe, and Democratic Federation ) on 13 February 1998. The DS' symbol lacked
#193806