The Left (Italy)

The Left
La Sinistra
LeadersNicola Fratoianni
Maurizio Acerbo
FoundedMarch 2019
DissolvedJune 2019
IdeologyDemocratic socialism[1]
Eco-socialism[1]
Political positionLeft-wing[2]
European affiliationParty of the European Left (PRC)
DiEM25 (èViva)
European Parliament groupGUE/NGL
Colours  Red

The Left (Italian: La Sinistra) was a left-wing coalition of political parties in Italy which took part in the 2019 European Parliament election.[3][4] Its main members were Italian Left and the Communist Refoundation Party.

History

The alliance is the direct heir of The Other Europe (AET),[5] a left-wing coalition representing the anti-austerity movement which took part to the 2014 European election, obtaining 4.0% of the vote and electing three MEPs. After the election, they joined the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) Group.[6] The list main member parties, Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) and the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC), elected one MEP each.

In the 2018 general election, the evolution of SEL, Italian Left (SI), led by Nicola Fratoianni, joined Free and Equal (LeU)[7] while the PRC, led by Maurizio Acerbo, ran within Power to the People (PaP).[8] However, SI and PRC broke from their respective alliances in late 2018. Fratoianni accused his LeU former allies of being too close to the Democratic Party (PD) while PRC left the PaP alliance after losing an internal vote over its statutory form.[9]

In February 2019, Acerbo launched the proposal of a joint list composed of SI, the PRC and other minor left-wing parties to participate in the upcoming 2019 European Parliament election.[10] The name and the symbol of were chosen through an online vote in April.[11][12]

Composition

The coalition was formed by the following parties:

Party Main ideology Leader
Italian Left (SI) Democratic socialism Nicola Fratoianni
Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) Communism Maurizio Acerbo
ÈViva Eco-socialism Francesco Laforgia
The Other Europe (AET) Democratic socialism Massimo Torelli
Party of the South (PdS) Regionalism Natale Cuccurese
Socialist Convergence (CS) Socialism Manuel Santoro

Electoral results

European Parliament

European Parliament
Election year Votes % Seats +/– Leader
2019 469,943 1.75
0 / 76
–
Nicola Fratoianni

References

  1. ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Italy". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  2. ^ Clare Speak (30 April 2019). "European elections: Who can I vote for in Italy and what are the big issues?". The Local Italy.
  3. ^ "Europee: due liste a sinistra del Pd: I Verdi e un cantiere "rosso".
  4. ^ "Proposta per le Elezioni Europee del Partito della Sinistra Europea e delle organizzazioni italiane che ne fanno parte". Sinistra Europea - Italia (in Italian). 23 March 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Nasce "L'altra Europa con Tsipras", la lista della società civile contro l'austerità". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). 18 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  6. ^ "Barbara Spinelli lascia "L'Altra Europa con Tsipras" e conserva il seggio a Bruxelles".
  7. ^ "Liberi e Uguali, Grasso si presenta bene". Il manifesto (in Italian). 3 December 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Viola Carofalo, National Spokesman of "Potere al Popolo". Potere al Popolo. 10 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Potere al popolo si scinde sullo statuto. Rifondazione se ne va".
  10. ^ "Acerbo: "Basta rifugiarsi nel Pd, ora Sinistra italiana stia con noi".
  11. ^ "Europee, vince "La Sinistra": scelto online il nome degli eredi della lista Tsipras".
  12. ^ "La sinistra" ora in cerca di donne per le europee".