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48-595: House of Freedoms did not do as well in the 2003 local elections as it did in the 2001 national elections . In common with many other European governing groups, in the 2004 elections of the European Parliament , gaining 43.37% support. Forza Italia's support was also reduced from 29.5% to 21.0% (in the 1999 European elections Forza Italia had 25.2%). As an outcome of these results the other coalition parties, whose electoral results were more satisfactory, asked Berlusconi and Forza Italia for greater influence in

96-433: A 4% election threshold before a party gained any seats, and a majority bonus of (at least) 340 seats for the winning coalition, the total votes for each coalition being the sum of the votes of those coalition parties which had won at least 4% of the national votes. The new proposal was approved by parliament. An electoral survey published on September 15, 2005 by the national left newspaper La Repubblica claimed that, with

144-553: A mere 3.1% (compared to 10.2% won by the constituent parties individually two years before) and no seats. Consequently, Bertinotti quit politics and Giordano resigned and after that some bertinottiani , led by Ferrero and Giovanni Russo Spena (both former Proletarian Democracy members), had forged an alliance with former cossuttiani . At the July 2008 congress, the PRC was highly divided around ideological and regional lines with Vendola,

192-636: A number of minor parties, lost to The Union coalition, led by Romano Prodi . In the run-up of the 2008 general election (caused by the break-up of The Olive Tree) FI, AN and minor parties joined forces and formed The People of Freedom (PdL), which would become a single party in early 2009. The PdL, allied with the LN in the Centre-North and the Movement for Autonomy (MpA) in the Centre-South, won

240-443: A proportional electoral law; nevertheless, they declared they were against an electoral reform by this parliament, because the current law would be changed too close to the 2006 general election. The Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi had previously been a strong supporter of the plurality-based electoral law; in 1995, talking about his coalition, he even defined the plurality principle as "our religion". A modified version of

288-580: A splinter from the Five Star Movement who later joined Italian Left (SI). In the 2019 European Parliament election the PRC was part of The Left electoral list, which obtained 1.8% and no seats. In February 2022 the party formed a joint sub-group with PaP in the Chamber of Deputies' Mixed Group. In June 2022 the same happened in the Senate, and senator Nugnes returned to the party. In

336-565: Is a communist political party in Italy that emerged from a split of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1991. The party's secretary is Maurizio Acerbo , who replaced Paolo Ferrero in 2017. Armando Cossutta was the party's founder, while Fausto Bertinotti its longest-serving leader (1994–2008). The latter transformed the PRC from a traditional communist party into a collection of radical social movements . The PRC

384-734: Is a member of the Party of the European Left (PEL), of which Bertinotti was the inaugural president in 2004. The PRC has not been represented in the Italian Parliament since 2008, but had a member of the European Parliament , Eleonora Forenza , who sat with the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group in 2014–2019. In February 1991, when the Italian Communist Party (PCI)

432-653: The Communist Alternative Party , others, led by the Trotskyist Marco Ferrando , formed the Workers' Communist Party , while a tiny minority chose to stay in the party and launched Countercurrent . In February 2007, senator Franco Turigliatto of Critical Left, led by Salvatore Cannavò , voted twice against the government's foreign policy, leading Romano Prodi to temporarily resign from Prime Minister . In April, Turigliatto

480-568: The anti-globalization movement in Italy . The PRC also forged new alliances at the European level and was instrumental in the foundation of the Party of the European Left in May 2004. In October 2004, the PRC re-joined the centre-left coalition, once again led by Prodi. In April 2005, Nichi Vendola , an openly gay politician and one of the emerging leaders of the party, won a primary election and

528-444: The bertinottiani' s standard-bearer, accusing northern delegates of having absorbed leghismo and stating that it was the end of the party as he knew it. The internal left-wing (which wanted to return to PRC's original communist project) finally prevailed over the bulk of bertinottiani (who insisted on the creation of a broader left-wing party) and Ferrero was elected secretary by the central committee with 50.5%. In January 2009,

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576-450: The " Mattarellum ", (from Sergio Mattarella ), the most common name for the previous Italian electoral law (there is a recent custom to nickname new electoral systems by a somewhat Latinised version of the name of the lawmaker; another one is the system used in regional elections, the so-called " Tatarellum " from Pinuccio Tatarella ). Notably, some smaller opposition parties, such as Communist Refoundation Party and UDEUR , support

624-497: The 2008 split of Communist Left , which would splinter in 2011 into Communist Left and Communists Together/ The Future City . Following the severe defeat of the party in the 2008 general election , a group of bertinottiani composed mainly of former members of Proletarian Democracy and led by Paolo Ferrero and Giovanni Russo Spena allied with the other minority factions, notably including Being Communists, to force Franco Giordano 's resignation from secretary. Subsequently, in

672-676: The Berlusconi government. The Italian Premier, after some hesitation, then presented to the President of the Republic a request for the dissolution of his government on 20 April 2005. On 23 April he formed a new government with the same allies, reshuffling ministers and amending the government programme. A key point required by the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (and to a lesser extent by National Alliance ) for their continued support

720-540: The CdL was routed in local elections by The Olive Tree and the LN threatened to pull out. Also the 2004 European Parliament election were disappointing for FI and the coalition as a whole, even though AN, the UDC and the LN did better than five years before. As a result, Berlusconi and FI were weaker within the CdL. In 2005 the coalition lost heavily in regional elections , losing six of the eight regions it controlled. The defeat

768-557: The Ferrero-Grassi group. Vendola, defeated by Ferrero, announced the creation of a new minority faction, Refoundation for the Left (RpS). RpS finally left the party in 2009 to form the Movement for the Left (MpS), but some of its members, led by Augusto Rocchi , decided to stay in the PRC and launched To the Left with Refoundation . However, the alliance between Ferrero and the traditionalists did not last. The Ernesto joined

816-556: The July congress Ferrero's and Grassi's Refoundation in Movement motion (40.1%) faced the bulk of bertinottiani , who organized themselves around a motion named "Manifesto for the Refoundation" (47.6%) with Nichi Vendola as standard-bearer. Giannini's The Ernesto and Countercurrent (7.7%), Claudio Bellotti 's HammerSickle (3.2%) and a minor group of former bertinottiani called "Disarm, Renew, Refound" (1.5%) joined forces with

864-407: The LN, lost the 1996 general election to The Olive Tree , the centre-left coalition led by Romano Prodi . In the run-up of the 2001 general election , after a six-year spell in opposition, which Berlusconi called "the crossing of the desert", he managed to re-unite the coalition under the "House of Freedoms" banner. According to its leader, the alliance was a "broad democratic arch, composed of

912-597: The LN, which was active only in the Centre-North, formed the so-called "axis of the North", through the special relationship between three Lombards leaders, Berlusconi, Giulio Tremonti and Umberto Bossi ; on the other side of the coalition, AN and the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC), the party emerged from the merger of the CCD and the CDU in late 2002, became the natural representatives of Southern interests. In 2003

960-606: The PCI dissidents and form a united front composed of all Italian communists. In December, the PRC was officially founded and Sergio Garavini was elected secretary. In the 1992 general election , the party obtained 5.6% of the vote. Garavini resigned from his role as secretary in June 1993 and was replaced by Fausto Bertinotti , a trade unionist of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) who had left

1008-676: The PDS only a few months before. In the 1994 general election , the PRC was part of the PDS-led Alliance of Progressives and obtained 6.1% of the vote. In June 1995, a splinter group led by Lucio Magri and Famiano Crucianelli formed the Movement of Unitarian Communists (MCU), which would eventually merge with the PDS, being one of the founding members of the Democrats of the Left (DS) in February 1998. The leadership of Bertinotti

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1056-516: The PRC was divided between those who wanted to stop supporting Prodi's government, led by Bertinotti; and those who wanted to continue the alliance, led by Cossutta, the party's president. The central committee endorsed Bertinotti's line, but Cossutta and his followers decided to ignore this line and to support Prodi. The votes of the cossuttiani were not enough and the government lost a confidence vote in Parliament. The dissidents, who controlled

1104-594: The PdCI in 2011 while Being Communists divided in two groups, both eventually quitting the party. One group joined SEL in 2014 and was later merged into the Democratic and Progressive Movement (MDP) in 2016; a second, larger group (including Grassi) participated in the foundation of SEL's successor, Italian Left (SI). In the 2017 congress, two motions were presented by Ferrero and Eleonora Forenza , respectively. The coalition of factions led by Ferrero prevailed with

1152-411: The PdCI, both in the 1999 European Parliament election (4.3% to 2.0%) and the 2001 general election (5.0% to 1.7%). Despite competition from the PdCI, the PRC confirmed its status as Italy's largest communist party. Having been left by most traditional communists, it also started to enlarge its scope aiming at becoming a collector of radical social movements and, foremost, the main representative of

1200-538: The constitutional reform, and then for the new voting system, on condition that the 4% cut-off were not repealed. This proposal of law was strongly questioned by the opposition coalition, who defined it an "attempted coup". Opposition leader Romano Prodi said it was "totally unacceptable". Several newspapers politically oriented to the left nicknamed the electoral system proposal by the House of Freedoms as " Truffarellum ", after " truffa " ( Italian for " fraud ") and

1248-631: The democratic right, namely AN, the great democratic centre, namely Forza Italia, CCD and CDU, and the democratic left represented by the League, the New PSI, the PRI and, at least I hope so, Cossiga ". The CdL won the 2001 general election by a landslide and, consequently, the Berlusconi II Cabinet was formed. In government, FI, whose strongholds included Lombardy as well as Sicily , and

1296-524: The election and the centre-right was thus returned to the national government through the Berlusconi IV Cabinet . The alliance has since been generically referred to as the centre-right coalition . It was initially composed of the following political parties : Composition during the 2006 general election: Communist Refoundation Party The Communist Refoundation Party ( Italian : Partito della Rifondazione Comunista , PRC )

1344-492: The faction around Vendola and Giordano, silently supported by Bertinotti, left the PRC and launched the Movement for the Left (MpS), aimed at forming a broader left-wing party, which would eventually be Left Ecology Freedom (SEL). In the 2009 European Parliament election the PRC ran with the PdCI and minor groups within the Anticapitalist and Communist List , obtaining 3.4% of the vote and no MEPs . In April 2009

1392-491: The first proposal, this time with a 2% threshold for entering Parliament and without vote of preference for candidates, but still without the support of the opposition, was presented to the Chamber of Deputies. The voting count started on October 11; the lower house of Italian parliament then approved the electoral reform on October 14. The new electoral was then eventually approved on December 16, 2005, and countersigned by President Ciampi on December 23, 2005. Roberto Calderoli ,

1440-592: The first time it entered a government by joining the Prodi II Cabinet , with Paolo Ferrero Minister of Social Solidarity and seven undersecretaries. The decision to participate in the coalition government and vote to refinance the Italian military presence in Afghanistan and send troops to Lebanon attracted criticism from sectors of the European far-left and provoked the splits of several groups from

1488-468: The government's political line. In the 2005 regional elections (3-4 April 2005), the centre-left gubernatorial candidates won in 12 out of 14 regions where control of local governments and governorships was at stake. Berlusconi's coalition kept only two of the regional bodies ( Lombardy and Veneto ) up for re-election. Three parties, Union of Christian and Centre Democrats , National Alliance and New Italian Socialist Party , threatened to withdraw from

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1536-464: The hard-line traditionalist Being Communists (26.2%) which was composed of former followers of Armando Cossutta as well as the Trotskyists of Critical Left , Communist Project and HammerSickle (14.6% together). Communist Project, which opposed the party's participation in the Prodi II Cabinet , unfolded shortly after the 2006 general election . A group led by Francesco Ricci established

1584-464: The initial proposal of electoral reform become law, the House of Freedoms would win the next elections 340-290, even if they won only 45% of votes and the opposition coalition The Union won 50%, because the Union also includes several small parties with less than 4% of national votes. This could have been avoided if the small opposition parties ran on a common ticket. Aim of this bill of reform was to reduce

1632-596: The list was transformed into the Federation of the Left , which would be disbanded by the end of 2012 and officially dissolved in 2015. In the 2013 general election the PRC ran within Civil Revolution along with the PdCI, the Greens, Italy of Values and minor groups, obtaining 2.2% and no seats. In the 2014 European Parliament election the PRC was part of The Other Europe , which obtained 4.0% of

1680-498: The main author of this electoral reform, defined this law "a rascality" (using the mildly vulgar term " porcata "). Ironically, the new electoral law allowed Romano Prodi to count on a large majority in the Chamber and to obtain majority also in the Senate, where The House of Freedoms actually had more votes (49.88% vs. 49.18% of the Union). House of Freedoms The House of Freedoms ( Italian : Casa delle Libertà , CdL )

1728-486: The majority of deputies and senators, split and formed a rival communist party, the Party of Italian Communists (PdCI), which would soon join the first cabinet led by Massimo D'Alema , the leader of the DS, who replaced Prodi and became the first post-communist to hold the job of Prime Minister of Italy . Deprived of most of its parliamentary representation, the PRC fought for its existence and voters supported it rather than

1776-476: The number of parties, and particularly the moderate Left would have taken advantage in respect to the smaller radical left parties. The Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, commenting on the proposal, asked for the abolition of the 4% cut-off clause, whereas the National Alliance did not show any favour to this attempt of reform, with its leader Gianfranco Fini claiming to want first to vote for

1824-528: The ranks of his own party, notably including the Workers' Communist Party , the Communist Alternative Party and Critical Left . Prodi, whose majority was weak and fragmented, resigned in January 2008. For the 2008 general election , the PRC formed a joint list named Rainbow Left (SA) with the PdCI, the Federation of the Greens and the Democratic Left under Bertinotti's leadership. SA obtained

1872-528: The run-up of the 2022 general election the PRC was a founding member of the People's Union (UP), a left-wing electoral list led by Luigi de Magistris . The majority of the party following the October 2004 congress was led by Fausto Bertinotti (59.2%) and viewed the PRC as the representative of the anti-globalization movement in Italy. Other factions strongly opposed Bertinotti's innovations. These included

1920-569: The vote and three MEPs, including PRC's Eleonora Forenza . In April 2017 Ferrero was replaced as secretary by Maurizio Acerbo , a former member of the Chamber of Deputies . In the 2018 general election the PRC was part of the Power to the People (PaP) electoral list, which obtained 1.1% of the vote and no seats. In 2020–2021 the party was briefly represented in the Senate by Paola Nugnes ,

1968-435: The vote of 71.5% of party members. Consequently, Maurizio Acerbo , supported by Ferrero, was elected secretary by the central committee. The electoral results of the PRC in general (Chamber of Deputies) elections and European Parliament elections since 1994 are shown in the chart below. The 2008 result refers to that of The Left – The Rainbow , a joint list comprising the Party of Italian Communists , Democratic Left and

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2016-634: Was a major centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy , led by Silvio Berlusconi . The CdL was the successor of the Pole of Freedoms / Pole of Good Government and the Pole for Freedoms . The former two-headed coalition had won the 1994 general election and formed the Berlusconi I Cabinet , which fell in December 1994, when the LN, whose relations with AN were quite tense, withdrew its support. The latter coalition, which did not include

2064-403: Was a turning point for the party, which jumped to 8.6% of vote in the 1996 general election , fought by the party in a loose alliance with The Olive Tree , the major centre-left coalition whose dominant partner was the PDS. After the election, the PRC decided to externally support the first cabinet led by Romano Prodi . Tensions soon arose within the coalition and the party. In October 1998

2112-463: Was elected president of traditionally conservative southern region of Apulia , becoming the only regional president ever belonging to the PRC. In the 2006 general election , the PRC was part of The Union , which won narrowly over the centre-right House of Freedoms coalition and the party obtained 5.8%. After the election, Bertinotti was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies and replaced by Franco Giordano as secretary. Additionally, for

2160-419: Was expelled from the party and Critical Left was suspended from it, leading to its final split and establishment as a party in December. Turigliatto's ejection was supported also by Claudio Grassi (leader of Being Communists) and this caused a break-up of the faction. A group led by Fosco Giannini launched an alternative faction named The Ernesto (from the eponymous communist publication), but it would suffer

2208-561: Was particularly damaging in the South, while the only two regions which the coalition managed to keep, Lombardy and Veneto , were in the North, where the LN was decisive . This led to a government crisis, particularly after the UDC pulled its ministers out. A few days later, the Berlusconi III Cabinet was formed with minor changes from the previous cabinet. In the 2006 general election the CdL, which had opened its ranks to

2256-419: Was that the strong focus on tax reduction central to the government's ambitions be changed. During this second cabinet was also approved a new electoral law. A white paper for a proportional-only electoral system was presented to the Chamber of Deputies on September 13, 2005, only seven months before the 2006 general election. This reform, strongly backed by the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats , proposed

2304-552: Was transformed into the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) under the leadership of Achille Occhetto , left-wing dissidents led by Armando Cossutta launched the Movement for Communist Refoundation. Hardliners in PCI were not happy about the changes made inside the party after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Later that year, Proletarian Democracy (DP), a far-left outfit, dissolved itself so that its members could join

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