Italian Socialist Party Partito Socialista Italiano | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Secretary | Enzo Maraio |
| President | Luigi Incarnato |
| Founded | 5 October 2007 |
| Merger of | Italian Democratic Socialists New Italian Socialist Party (faction)[1] The Italian Socialists (faction) Other minor organisations |
| Headquarters | Via Santa Caterina da Siena 57, 00186Rome[2] |
| Newspaper | Avanti! Mondoperaio |
| Youth wing | Federation of Young Socialists |
| Membership(2016) | 20,600[3] |
| Ideology | Social democracy |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| National affiliation | Coalition Centre-left coalition Electoral list SL (2009) PD (2013–2014) IEI (2017–2018) +Eu (2019) IV (2019–2022) PD–IDP (2022) SUE (2024) |
| European affiliation | Party of European Socialists |
| European Parliament group | Party of European Socialists (2007–2009) |
| International affiliation | Socialist International |
| Colors | Red |
| Chamber of Deputies | 0 / 400 |
| Senate | 0 / 205 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 76 |
| Regional Councils | 3 / 896 |
| Website | |
| partitosocialista.it | |
TheItalian Socialist Party (Italian:Partito Socialista Italiano,PSI) is asocial-democratic[4] political party in Italy.
The party was established in 2007–2008 by the merger of the following social-democratic parties and groups:Enrico Boselli'sItalian Democratic Socialists (legal successor of theItalian Socialist Party), the faction of theNew Italian Socialist Party led byGianni De Michelis,The Italian Socialists ofBobo Craxi,Democracy and Socialism ofGavino Angius, theAssociation for the Rose in the Fist ofLanfranco Turci, "Socialism is Freedom" ofRino Formica and some other minor organisations. Until October 2009 the party was known asSocialist Party (Italian:Partito Socialista,PS). The party was led byRiccardo Nencini from 2008 to 2019: elected senator with theDemocratic Party in 2013 and re-elected in 2018, he was deputy minister of Infrastructures and Transports from 2014 to 2019 (Renzi government andGentiloni government). Since 2019 the party has been led byEnzo Maraio. Between 2019 and 2022 the PSI sat within the parliamentary group ofItalia Viva in the Senate.[5][6] In the2022 general election the party lost its parliamentary representation.
A merger of all the parties hailing from theItalian Socialist Party (PSI), disbanded in 1994 as a result ofTangentopoli scandals, and theItalian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI) was initially proposed byEnrico Boselli during a congress of hisItalian Democratic Socialists (SDI) in April 2007. In the event, the party, after having participated inThe Olive Tree list, decided not to join theDemocratic Party (PD), aiming for a "Socialist Constituent Assembly" (Costituente Socialista) instead.
Some minor parties and associations, includingThe Italian Socialists ofBobo Craxi, "Socialism is Freedom" ofRino Formica and theAssociation for the Rose in the Fist ofLanfranco Turci, immediately welcomed Boselli's proposal, while in June 2007 theNew Italian Socialist Party (NPSI) divided in two groups: the first, led byStefano Caldoro andLucio Barani, opted to joinThe People of Freedom and retained the NPSI identity; the second, led byMauro Del Bue andGianni De Michelis, agreed to join the Socialist Constituent Assembly.[7][8][9][10] Indeed, the two factions elected their secretary in two separate congresses: on 24 June Caldoro was elected secretary by the right-wing faction of the party,[11] while on 7–8 July Del Bue and De Michelis were elected respectively secretary and president by those members who wanted to take part to the foundation of the Socialist Party,[12] whose first meeting took place on 14 July.[13][14] In practice, for some time the NPSI had two secretaries.[15] Subsequently, on 24 October 2007, the two MEPs elected on theUnited Socialists for Europe list in the2004 European Parliament election, De Michelis andAlessandro Battilocchio, joined theSocialist Group in theEuropean Parliament.[16][17] Battilocchio would later split, re-regroup in the new NPSI and finally joinForza Italia.
At its foundation in October 2007, theSocialist Party (PS) was joined also byGavino Angius'sDemocracy and Socialism, a group of formerDemocrats of the Left most recently affiliated with theDemocratic Left.
At the2008 general election, the PS stood alone and Boselli was its candidate for Prime Minister.[18] In the event, the party gained less than 1% of the vote (well below thresholds) and failed to win any seats in theItalian Parliament.
At the first party congress, which took place in July 2008,Riccardo Nencini was elected secretary (replacing Boselli) whilePia Locatelli was elected president.[19] In September, Nencini proposed a new "reformist axis" comprising also theDemocratic Party (PD) and theUnion of the Centre (UdC), while explaining that the Democrats needed to choose between "reformism" and the "populism" ofItaly of Values (IdV).[20] In October 2008, Angius led his group into the PD, proposing that the entire PS should follow him.[21][22][23][24] In reply, Nencini underlined that no former members of the late PSI were leaving the party. In fact, Spini, the only former Socialist in Angius' group, chose to stay in the PS.[25] However, De Michelis left the party soon after.[26]
In the2009 European Parliament election, the PS formed a joint list namedLeft and Freedom (SL) with theMovement for the Left (MpS), theFederation of the Greens (FdV), theDemocratic Left (SD) andUnite the Left (UlS).[27] SL obtained 3.1% of the vote and no MEPs. Despite this, the PS' national council chose to continue to organise a "secular, libertarian and left-wing" force.[28] This led to the exit of Craxi, who launched theUnited Socialists in October.[29] However, one month later the PS left SL, later rebrandedLeft Ecology Freedom (SEL), having refused a full merger.[30] The PS was renamedItalian Socialist Party (PSI), chose to field party lists in support of PD candidates in the forthcoming regional elections,[31] opening the way to Craxi's return.[32]
In the2010 regional elections the PSI elected a total of 15 regional councillors.[33] The party obtained its best results inApulia (9.7% with SEL and four councillors),Basilicata (4.6% and one councillor),Umbria (4.2% and two councillors),Campania (3.5% with SEL and two councillors) andCalabria (3.7%).
At the second party congress in July, Nencini was re-elected secretary, but the PSI was divided in three: the majority around Nencini supported a "reformist" alliance with the PD, UdC and SEL (excluding IdV and theCommunist Refoundation Party), the right-wing "autonomist" wing led by Craxi wanted the party to stand alone and the left "frontist" wing favoured stronger co-operation with SEL.[26] In December 2010, Boselli, long-time SDI leader and PSI founder, who had left active politics after his 2008 defeat, joined theAlliance for Italy (ApI), led byFrancesco Rutelli.[29]
In November 2011,Carlo Vizzini, a senator ofThe People of Freedom (PdL) – the joint centre-right party formed by the union of the earlyForza Italia,National Alliance and minor party – and former leader of the PSDI, joined the party, giving it parliamentary representation after more than three years. While leaving the PdL, Vizzini stated: "It seems to me that the PdL is set to become the Italian section of theEuropean People's Party. I come from another tradition: I have been secretary of the PSDI and I was one of the founders of theParty of European Socialists. When I joined Forza Italia there wereLiberals,Socialists,Radicals. Now everything has changed".[29] Vizzini was soon elected president of the PSI.
The party did well in the2012 local elections. InCarrara, the Socialist mayorAngelo Zubbani was re-elected by a landslide and the party obtained 14.4% of the vote.[34] The PSI also won 15.1% inTodi, 8.9% inNarni, 7.2% inCivitanova Marche, 9.5% inFrosinone, 11.8% inPaola and 9.4% inTrapani.[35] In the2013 Basilicata regional election the PSI won 7.5% of the vote.
In the2013 general election the PSI was part of the "Italia. Bene Comune"centre-left coalition headed by PD leaderPier Luigi Bersani,[36] whom the PSI had supported in thecentre-left primary election. The party obtained four deputies and two senators, including Nencini, from the lists of the PD and right after supportedEnrico Letta'sgovernment.
During the third party congress in November 2013, Nencini was re-elected secretary, beatingFranco Bartolomei of the "frontist" left andAngelo Sollazzo of the "autonomist" wing.[37] In 2015, Bartolomei,Alberto Benzoni andFelice Besostri set up the leftistRisorgimento Socialista and were excluded from the party.[38][39][40][41]
When Letta was replaced byMatteo Renzi with strong support from the PSI in February 2014, Nencini was appointed deputy minister of Infrastructures and Transports inRenzi government. In the summer of 2015,Marco Di Lello, party leader in the Chamber, went so far as proposing the merger of the PSI into the PD and announced that were the party not to follow his proposal, he would join the PD.[29][42][43] In November, Di Lello along withLello Di Gioia, another deputy, left the PSI and formed along with a deputy of the PD theSocialists and Democrats (S&D) as a faction within the PD.[44][45] Contextually,Carmelo Lo Monte, elected in 2013 with theDemocratic Centre, joined the PSI's sub-group and the party as a full member.[46]
During the fourth party congress in April 2016, Nencini was unopposed.[47][48][49] However,Socialist Area, a faction launched in November 2015 by Craxi (who had changed sides within the party),Roberto Biscardini,Gerardo Labellarte andAngelo Sollazzo,[50] who criticised the party's "acritical" support to Renzi government and Nencini's double role as party leader and deputy minister while proposing a more left-wing positionment for the party as opposed to PD–PSI's "centrism",[51][52] chose not to participate in the congress,[53] a decision that marked the split from the party.[54][55][56] Otherwise, the party was endorsed byTommaso Nannicini, Renzi's undersecretary and economic advisor,[57] who would later join the PD anyway.[58]
After dismal results in the2015 regional elections with the exception ofUmbria (3.5%), the PSI did well in the2016 local elections, especially its strongholds in medium-sized cities. InCittà di Castello, the Socialist mayorLuciano Bacchetta was re-elected in the first round and the party obtained 21.5% of the vote.[59] The PSI also won 11.7% inFinale Emilia, 10.2% inSulmona, 14.7% inFrattaminore, 8.2% inSalerno, 12.1% inMelfi and 10.1% inCassano all'Ionio.[60]
Nencini was confirmed as deputy minister of Infrastructures and Transports in thegovernment led byPaolo Gentiloni (PD) in December 2016.
In the2017 local elections the party obtained its best results inNocera Inferiore (13.2%),[61]Palmi (12.0%),[62]Galatina (9.5%),[63]Narni (8.6%)[64] andTrapani (8.8%)[65] while losing ground in its historical stronghold ofCarrara (6.5%),[66] where a Socialist was the incumbent term-limited mayor. In September 2017Michela Marzano, originally elected with the PD, joined the PSI sub-group in the Chamber as an independent[67] while Lo Monte left in November. In the2017 Sicilian regional election the party, in alliance withFuture Sicily, obtained 6.0% of the vote.
In the run-up to the2018 general election the PSI, the Greens andCivic Area formed theTogether electoral list.[68][69][70] The list obtained a mere 0.6% of the vote and no seats, but Nencini was re-elected to the Senate from the single-seat constituency ofArezzo andFausto Longo was elected in an overseas constituency from the PD's list. Nencini joined theMixed Group, while Longo joined a sub-group of the Mixed Group composed of minor centre-left parties, such asPopular Alternative.
In March 2019, during a party congress,Enzo Maraio was elected secretary to replace Nencini,[71] who was later elected president.[72]
In the2019 European Parliament election the PSI ran within an electoral list led byMore Europe,[73] a liberal party, latest re-incarnation of the Radical Party, which obtained 3.1% of the vote and no seats. In the2019 Basilicata regional election the party won 3.8% in one of its residual strongholds.
In September 2019 the PSI was instrumental in the formation of the parliamentary group ofItalia Viva, Renzi's new party, in the Senate.[5]
In July 2022 the party announced it would join theDemocratic and Progressive Italy list led byEnrico Letta, within the centre-left coalition, for the2022 general election.
In 2023 a group of dissidents formed theLiberal Socialist Movement (MSL), under the leadership ofOreste Pastorelli. They included former leader Nencini, Craxi (who did not leave the party),[74] Del Bue,Enrico Buemi,Ugo Intini andGiovanni Crema. Together with the new party, an online newspaper namedLa Giustizia, edited by Del Bue, was launched.[75]
In March 2024, in the run-up of the2024 European Parliament election, the party was a founding member of a broad, liberal and pro-Europeanist list named "United States of Europe" (SUE), along with More Europe, Italia Viva, theItalian Radicals and theEuropean Liberal Democrats, in order to overcome the 4% electoral threshold.[76][77] In late April the list was joined also byL'Italia c'è.[78] As opposed to the PSI, the recently-formed ASL joined the electoral list led byAction.[79] In the election, SUE and Action obatained 3.8% and 3.4% of vote, respectively, and no seats.
At the extraordinary congress held in March 2025 Maraio was re-elected secretary unopposed.[80]
In the2025 regional elections the party ran under the banner of "Forward", from the Socialist newspaperAvanti!, obtaining 1.4% inMarche, 5.9% inCampania and 4.1% inApulia, or, otherwise, along withItalia Viva, obtaining 4.4% inCalabria, 8.9% inTuscany and 2.1% inVeneto (where also the "Forward" banner was displayed). In the aftermath of the elections, in Campania Maraio was appointed by presidentRoberto Fico as regional minister of Tourism, Territorial Marketing and Digital Transition.[81][82]
Similarly to its precursors (SI, SDI and NPSI), the PSI has its strongholds inSouthern andCentral Italy.
In the2008 general election, the first and latest general election the PSI fought with its own list, the party obtained 1.8% inUmbria, 2.0% inCalabria (2.8% for the Senate), 2.8% inBasilicata and 1.6% inApulia. In the2010 regional elections, the party confirmed its strength in its strongholds: 4.2% in Umbria, 3.7% in Calabria, 4.6% in Basilicata, 9.7% in Apulia (along with SEL) and 3.5% inCampania. In the2013 regional election, the party increased its percentage of the vote to 7.5% in Basilicata.
In the2015 regional elections, the party formed joint lists with the PD in several cases while obtaining 3.5% in theUmbrian regional election with its own list.
In the2020 Campania regional election the party obtained 2.5% of the vote.
| Election | Leader | Chamber of Deputies | Senate of the Republic | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | ||
| 2008 | 355,575 (10th) | 0.98 | 0 / 630 | – | 285,802 (9th) | 0.9 | 0 / 315 | – | |
| 2013 | intoPD | – | 4 / 630 |  4 | 57,688 (13th) | 0.2 | 3 / 315 | 3 | |
| 2018 | intoTogether | – | 1 / 630 |  3 | intoTogether | – | 1 / 315 | 2 | |
| 2022 | intoPD–IDP | – | 0 / 400 | 1 | intoPD–IDP | – | 0 / 200 | 1 | |
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Riccardo Nencini | IntoSeL | 0 / 72 | New | – | |
| 2014 | IntoPD | 0 / 73 |  0 | |||
| 2019 | Enzo Maraio | Into+E | 0 / 76 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | IntoUSE | 0 / 76 | 0 | |||
| Election year | Region | Votes | % | Seats | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Abruzzo | into Reformists and Civics | – | 0 / 31 | – |
| 2020 | Aosta Valley | – | – | 0 / 35 | – |
| 2020 | Apulia | into Solidary and Green Apulia | – | 0 / 51 | – |
| 2024 | Basilicata | intoAVS | – | 1 / 21 | 1 |
| 2021 | Calabria | 7,024 (19th) | 0.9 | 0 / 30 | – |
| 2020 | Campania | 60,100 (13th) | 2.6 | 1 / 51 | – |
| 2020 | Emilia-Romagna | with+E andPRI | – | 0 / 50 | – |
| 2023 | Friuli-Venezia Giulia | – | – | 0 / 48 | – |
| 2023 | Lazio | 7,974 (16th) | 0.5 | 0 / 51 | – |
| 2020 | Liguria | withIV and+E | – | 0 / 31 | – |
| 2023 | Lombardy | – | – | 0 / 80 | – |
| 2020 | Marche | withIV andDemoS | – | 0 / 31 | 2 |
| 2023 | Molise | into Democratic and Socialist Molise | – | 0 / 21 | – |
| 2019 | Piedmont | – | – | 0 / 50 | – |
| 2024 | Sardinia | 11,637 (17th) | 1.7 | 1 / 60 | 1 |
| 2022 | Sicily | intoPD | 0 / 70 | – | |
| 2023 | South Tyrol | intoPD | – | 0 / 35 | – |
| 2023 | Trentino | 0 / 35 | – | ||
| 2020 | Tuscany | into Proud Tuscany for Giani | – | 0 / 41 | – |
| 2019 | Umbria | into Bianconi for Umbria | 0 / 21 | 1 | |
| 2020 | Veneto | into Daniela Sbrollini for President | – | 0 / 51 | – |
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