Italian Democratic Socialist Party
Partito Socialista Democratico Italiano |
|
---|---|
Leading figures |
Giuseppe Saragat Pier Luigi Romita Pietro Longo Franco Nicolazzi Antonio Cariglia Carlo Vizzini |
Founder | Giuseppe Saragat |
Founded | January 11, 1947 |
Dissolved | May 10, 1998 |
Split from | Italian Socialist Party |
Merged into | Italian Democratic Socialists |
Headquarters | Largo Toniolo, 16 Rome |
Newspaper | L'Umanità |
Ideology |
Social democracy Centrism Pro-Europeanism |
Political position | Centre-left |
National affiliation |
Centrism (1948–58) Organic Centre-left (1962–76) Unified Socialist Party (1966–71) Pentapartito (1980–93) |
European affiliation | Party of European Socialists (1992–94) |
International affiliation | Socialist International |
European Parliament group |
Party of European Socialists (1979–94) Forza Europa (1994–95) |
Colours |
Red (official) Pink (customary) |
The Italian Democratic Socialist Party (Italian: Partito Socialista Democratico Italiano, PSDI) was a minor social-democraticpolitical party in Italy. The PSDI, before the 1990s decline in votes and members, had been an important force in Italian politics, being the longest serving partner in government for Christian Democracy. The party's founder and longstanding leader was Giuseppe Saragat, who served as President of the Italian Republic from 1964 to 1971.
The party was founded as the Socialist Party of Italian Workers (Partito Socialista dei Lavoratori Italiani, 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 general election.
The split, led by Giuseppe Saragat and the sons of Giacomo Matteotti, took the name of scissione di Palazzo Barberini from the name of a palace in Rome where it took place. In 1952, the party ultimately became the Italian Democratic Socialist Party, after joining forces with the smaller Unitary Socialist Party (PSU) in 1951.
From 1949 to 1965 members of the PSDI held the presidency of the Istituto Nazionale di Previdenza Sociale (INPS).
In 1963 the party joined the PSI to form the Unified Socialist Party, but in 1968, after a dismaying result at the general election, it left the new party, returning to the PSDI name in 1971.