The Technical Group of Independents was formed in 1979. The group was officially called "Group for the Technical Coordination and the Defence of Independent Groups and Members"[1] and it used the abbreviation "CDI".[1] It was a coalition of parties ranging from the centre to the radical left, which were not aligned with any of the major international party federations. In 1984[3] most of the CDI members later joined the "Rainbow Group".[7]