Democratic Party (Italy)

Democratic Party (Italy)

The Democratic Party (Italian: Partito Democratico, PD) is a social-democratic political party in Italy. Along with The People of Freedom, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected at the 2009 leadership election. Prominent members of the PD include Walter Veltroni, Massimo D'Alema, Rosy Bindi, Dario Franceschini, Anna Finocchiaro, Matteo Renzi, Vasco Errani and Enrico Rossi.

The party was founded on 14 October 2007 as a merger of various left-wing and centrist parties which were part of The Union in the 2006 general election. Several parties merged into the Democratic Party, however its bulk was formed by the Democrats of the Left (heirs of the Italian Communist Party) and Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. Within the party, an important role is played also by Christian leftists, who are direct heirs of the late Christian Democracy party's left.

After Silvio Berlusconi's resignation in November 2011, the PD has supported Mario Monti's government since its formation, along with Berlusconi's The People of Freedom, the Union of the Centre and Future and Freedom.