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Italian Left (, SI) is a left-wing political party in Italy. SI was launched in November 2015 as a parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies (full name: Italian Left – Left Ecology Freedom), including Left Ecology Freedom (SEL), dissidents from the Democratic Party like Future to the Left, and splinters from the Five Star Movement.Una nuova sinistra, non-una "cosa rossa" http://ilmanifesto.info/una-nuova-sinistra-non-una-cosa-rossa At its launch, SI included 32 deputies, who were soon followed by eight senators (who formed a sub-group within the Mixed Group of the Senate in February 2016), and two MEPs. SI was officially formed as a full-fledged party in February 2017, after SEL had chosen to merge into it in December 2016.
The party is led by Nicola Fratoianni. Notable founding members included Nichi Vendola (former leader of SEL), Loredana De Petris, Stefano Fassina, and Sergio Cofferati. In the aftermath of its founding congress, 18 deputies left the party, leaving it with 13 deputies, eight senators and 2 MEPs: 17 deputies, led by former group leader Arturo Scotto, joined the brand-new Article One, while Laura Boldrini (President of the Chamber of Deputies) joined the Chamber's Mixed Group. In late 2017, the party was a founding member of Free and Equal, a left-wing joint list for the 2018 general election, and more recently in 2022 founded the Greens and Left Alliance (AVS) with Green Europe.
In November, one senator (Corradino Mineo) and three more deputies (, and ) left the party in protest against Renzi. D'Attorre, who holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, wrote a manifesto for a new "labour" party, which was signed also by the other five MPs and, which read: "The genetic mutation of the PD, born as central force of the Italian centre-left, is unfortunately already completed. The Renzi experience and the introduced mutations won't be a parenthesis. They have already altered in an irreversible way the perception of the PD and its function in the collective imagination".Alfredo D'Attorre esce dal Pd. Il documento scritto con Fassina e gli altri: "Con Renzi il partito trasformato nel suo ufficio stampa" http://www.huffingtonpost.it/2015/11/04/dattorre-pd-renzi-addio_n_8470840.html Subsequently, a parliamentary group under the banner of Italian Left was formed in the Chamber of Deputies, whose core was formed by SEL.Nasce 'Sinistra italiana', nuovo gruppo di 31 deputati. Fassina: "Siamo alternativi al liberismo da Happy Days di Renzi" http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/politica/2015/11/07/nasce-sinistra-italiana-nuovo-gruppo-di-31-deputati-la-diretta-_d02aa4ad-9f47-4615-8e57-4f6136149f73.htmlSi chiamerà "Sinistra italiana": domani Sel e gli ex Pd battezzano il nuovo gruppo 'anti-Renzi' http://www.huffingtonpost.it/2015/11/06/sinistra-italiana-sel-ex-pd_n_8487950.html
Several lists named after SI participated in the 2016 local elections. The party did particularly well in Sesto Fiorentino, a medium-sized city in the metropolitan area of Florence, where it won 17.5% of the vote and its candidate for mayor was elected in the run-off with 65.5%, by beating his Democratic opponent.
In December 2016, SEL was dissolved, to merge it into SI in early 2017.
In February 2017, SI was officially formed and Nicola Fratoianni was elected as its first secretary.
Contextually, SI leader in the Chamber of Deputies Arturo Scotto (who was originally a candidate for the leadership Massimiliano Smeriglio), D'Attorre, Galli and Folino led a splinter group into the Article One – Democratic and Progressive Movement (MDP), a party formed by left-wing splinters of the PD.
In March 2017, SI welcomed the four deputies of Possible (Pos) in its group in the Chamber. In April, Campanella left the party.
On 24 June 2017, SI was accepted into the Party of the European Left as an observer member.
In the election, SI obtained three deputies (Fratoianni, Fassina and ) and one senator (De Petris).
In October, SI focused on forming an alliance with Luigi de Magistris' Popular Coalition for the 2019 European Parliament election, and broke with the MDP and LeU.
In January 2019, after the MDP's departure, SI returned into LeU's fold and, under the leadership of senator Francesco Laforgia and deputy Luca Pastorino (dissenting members of the MDP and Possible, respectively), the two organisations initiated a collaboration with the goal of forming a joint party at some point.
For the 2019 European Parliament election, SI formed a joint list named The Left with the Communist Refoundation Party and other left-wing and far-left groups. The list obtained a mere 1.8% of the vote, leading Fratoianni to resign from secretary of SI.
In January 2021, Fratoianni was re-elected secretary of the party during an online congress.
In February, after the collapse of the government led by Conte, Mario Draghi was sworn in at the head of a Draghi Cabinet comprising the main parties of the centre-left and the centre-right. Fratoianni voiced concerns over SI's participation in the government and the party's national assembly voted against the cabinet. However, two out of three MPs, senator De Petris and deputy Palazzotto, announced their intention to vote in favour anyway, splitting the party. Subsequently, Palazzotto left the party.
In July 2022, SI and EV held a joint convention in Rome named "New Energies", promoting their cooperation and a unitary electoral program. Nuove energie rossoverdi: «Uniti per cambiare l'Italia», il manifesto The alliance deliberately took inspiration from the New Ecologic and Social People's Union, the left-wing list formed in the run-up of the 2022 French legislative election. Patto Sinistra Italiana-Europa Verde per le politiche 2023: nasce la lista rossoverde, Fanpage Following the fall of Draghi's government, the early dissolution of the Italian Parliament and the calling of the 2022 general election, the AVS was officially launched and its logo presented. SI and Verdi revealed their logo for the next general election, Twitter On 6 August 2022, the alliance formalised an electoral agreement with the PD. AVS elected 12 deputies and four senators, including four deputies and two senators from SI.
The November 2023 congress, in which Fratoianni was re-elected secretary, marked the return to active politics by Nichi Vendola, former SEL leader, who was elected president.
The alliance with EV is renewed for the 2024 European Parliament, where AVS with a 6.78% elected six MEPs, including two candidates from SI, Ilaria Salis and Domenico Lucano, both of them decide to join The Left group in the EU parliament.
| Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) | Democratic socialism | Nichi Vendola | Cosmopolitica, Fratoianni: congresso fondativo il 2/3/4 dicembre. E' la fine della stagione degli accordi e dei cartelli elettorali http://www.sinistraecologialiberta.it/notizie/cosmopolitica-fratoianni-congresso-fondativo-il-234-dicembre-e-la-fine-della-stagione-degli-accordi-e-dei-cartelli-elettorali/ | |
| Future to the Left (FaS) | Social democracy | Stefano Fassina |
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> NASCE OGGI SINISTRA ITALIANA, NUOVO GRUPPO PARLAMENTARE UNITO | |
| Venetian Left (SV) | Communism | Pietrangelo Pettenò
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/ref> local groups and individuals have joined SI.
According to its statute, " Sinistra Italiana is an association that is formed to represent work ... and it is inextricably linked to the movement for peace and anti-fascism. It fights for a society founded on social equality, on respect for the environment. Its objectives are the full implementation of the Constitution and a democratic and social State of law, in the belief that the freedom of all is the condition and not the limit of everyone's freedom".
It supports a greater investment in public health and public education (from preschool to university), and condemns their strong privatization.
It proposes the establishment of a free basic psychologist for all, psychological support services in schools, awareness campaigns and structural investments for the protection of mental health, so that psychological well-being will be "a guaranteed and accessible right for all".
It also proposes a salary increase for teachers, policies to combat Precarious work, free public Preschool, a reduction in the number of students per class, free textbooks for schoolchildren, free public university (with the gradual abolition of student fees and a remodulation of the regional tax on the right to study), the ban of unpaid Internship, policies to combat the emigration of young people abroad and a greater investment in research.
To reduce deaths in the workplace, it proposes more inspections and controls, constant training for safety at work, contracts that guarantee stability, and fewer working hours.
To counter gender stereotypes, gender-based violence and homotransphobia, it proposes specific information campaigns, the introduction in schools of courses on Sex education and education to respect and differences; funding for a "freedom income", investments in anti-violence associations and centres, in order to "build a society free from patriarchy and imposed religious legacies".
It also supports compulsory and equal parental leave for both parents in order to ensure greater gender equality in work.
It also supports the introduction of an anti-relocation law, the fight against Tax haven, the lowering of the threshold limit for the use of cash and the gradual replacement of the use of cash with electronic payment methods (eliminating bank commissions) in order to fight tax evasion (recovering hundreds of billions of euros) and mafias.
On LGBT rights, the party proposes: the legalization of equal marriage and adoption for gay couples (and for Single parent), the prohibition of reparative therapies and the prohibition of medically unnecessary surgery on intersex children, a law against homotransphobia (and against ableism).
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