Communist Refoundation Party

Italian political party

Communist Refoundation Party

Partito della Rifondazione Comunista

Secretary| Maurizio Acerbo
Founder| Armando Cossutta
Founded| 6 January 1991 (as the "Committees for the Communist Refoundation")
12 December 1991 (creation of the Party List)
Split from| Italian Communist Party
Headquarters| Via degli Scialoja 3, Rome
Newspaper| Liberazione (1991–2014)
Su la testa [it] (since 2020)
Youth wing| Young Communists
Membership (2019[1])| 11,496
Ideology| Communism
Political position| Left-wing[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
National affiliation| AdP (1994–1995)
Olive Tree (1996–1998; external support)
Union (2004–2008)
SA (2008)
FdS (2009–2012)
RC (2012–2013)
AET (2014)
PaP (2017–2018)
The Left (2019)
People's Union (2022–present)
Peace Land Dignity (2024–present)
European affiliation| Party of the European Left
European Parliament group| European United Left–Nordic Green Left
(1995–2009, 2014–2019)
International affiliation| IMCWP
Colours|  Red
Chamber of Deputies|

0 / 400

Senate|

0 / 200

European Parliament|

0 / 73

Regional
Councils|

0 / 896

Party flag
Website
www.rifondazione.it

* Politics of Italy
* Political parties
* Elections

* * *

The Communist Refoundation Party (Italian: Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, PRC) is a communist[10][11] political party in Italy that emerged from a split of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1991. The party's secretary is Maurizio Acerbo, who replaced Paolo Ferrero in 2017. Armando Cossutta was the party's founder, while Fausto Bertinotti its longest-serving leader (1994–2008). The latter transformed the PRC from a traditional communist party into a collection of radical social movements.

The PRC is a member of the Party of the European Left (PEL), of which Bertinotti was the inaugural president in 2004. The PRC has not been represented in the Italian Parliament since 2008, but had a member of the European Parliament, Eleonora Forenza, who sat with the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group in 2014–2019.

## History

[edit]

### Foundation and early years

[edit]

PRC's first congress in 1991 Part of a series on

Communism in Italy

People

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* Carlo Cafiero
* Errico Malatesta
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* Giangiacomo Feltrinelli
* Armando Cossutta
* Mario Tronti
* Antonio Negri
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* Gianni Vattimo
* Achille Occhetto
* Fausto Bertinotti
* Renato Curcio
* Domenico Losurdo
* Silvia Federici
* Margherita Cagol
* Ernesto Screpanti
* Franco Berardi
* Paolo Virno
* Marco Ferrando
* Cesare Battisti
* Oliviero Diliberto
* Nichi Vendola
* Paolo Ferrero
* Alberto Toscano

History

* Fasci Siciliani
* Biennio Rosso
* XVII Congress of the PSI
* I Congress of the PCd'I
* Proština rebellion
* Aventine Secession
* Italian Resistance
* Red Republic of Caulonia
* Third De Gasperi government
* Portella della Ginestra massacre
* May 1947 crises
* Manifesto of the 101
* Years of Lead
* Hot Autumn
* Primavalle fire
* Assassination of Sergio Ramelli
* Moro case
* Mitterrand doctrine
* Movement of 1977
* Historic Compromise

Ideologies

* Anarchist communism
* Autonomism
* Bordigism
* Christian communism
* Council communism
* Eurocommunism
* Italian road to socialism
* Left communism
* Leninism
* Marxism–Leninism
* Maoism
* Stalinism
* Marxist humanism
* Migliorismo
* Neo-Gramscianism
* Neo-Marxism
* Post-Marxism
* Trotskyism
* Western Marxism
* Workerism

Principles

* Anti-clericalism
* Anti-fascism
* Anti-imperialism
* Antimilitarism
* Class conflict
* Cultural hegemony
* Counterhegemony
* Euroscepticism
* Feminism
* Organic centralism
* Passive revolution
* Proletarian internationalism
* Secularism
* Solidarity
* Subalterns

Current organisations

* Lotta Comunista (Communist Struggle)
* Anticapitalist Left
* CARC Party
* Communist Alternative Party
* Communist Front
* Communist Party
* Communist Refoundation Party
* GC
* Communist Struggle
* Countercurrent
* Italian Communist Party (2016)
* Italian General Confederation of Labour
* Italian Marxist–Leninist Party
* Network of Communists
* People's Union
* Revolutionary Communist Party
* Trotskyist League of Italy
* Unified Communist Party of Italy
* Workers' Communist Party

Defunct organisations

* Armed Proletarians for Communism
* Autonomia Operaia
* Communist Party of Italy (2014)
* Communist Party of Italy (Marxist–Leninist)
* Communist Party of Italy (Marxist–Leninist) Red Line
* Critical Left
* Front Line
* Italian Communist Party
* FGCI
* The Left – The Rainbow
* Lotta Continua
* Movement of Unitarian Communists
* October 22 Group
* Party of the Christian Left
* Party of Italian Communists
* FGCI
* Popular Democratic Front
* Proletarian Democracy
* Proletarian Unity Party
* Red Brigades
* Volante Rossa
* Workers' Power

Media

* Liberazione
* il manifesto
* Pattuglia
* Il Pioniere
* Il Politecnico
* La Plebe
* Quaderni piacentini
* Quaderni Rossi
* Rinascita
* Società
* l'Unità
* Vie Nuove

Related topics

* Anarchism in Italy
* Bandiera Rossa
* Bella ciao
* Christian left
* Christian socialism
* Democratic socialism
* Fischia il vento
* History of Italy
* Italian neorealism
* Politics of Italy
* Prison Notebooks
* Socialism in Italy
* Craxism

Communism portal

* v
* t
* e

In February 1991, when the Italian Communist Party (PCI) was transformed into the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) under the leadership of Achille Occhetto, left-wing dissidents led by Armando Cossutta launched the Movement for Communist Refoundation. Hardliners in PCI were not happy about the changes made inside the party after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Later that year, Proletarian Democracy (DP), a far-left outfit, dissolved itself so that its members could join the PCI dissidents and form a united front composed of all Italian communists. In December, the PRC was officially founded and Sergio Garavini was elected secretary. In the 1992 general election, the party obtained 5.6% of the vote.

Garavini resigned from his role as secretary in June 1993 and was replaced by Fausto Bertinotti, a trade unionist of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) who had left the PDS only a few months before. In the 1994 general election, the PRC was part of the PDS-led Alliance of Progressives and obtained 6.1% of the vote. In June 1995, a splinter group led by Lucio Magri and Famiano Crucianelli formed the Movement of Unitarian Communists (MCU), which would eventually merge with the PDS, being one of the founding members of the Democrats of the Left (DS) in February 1998.

### Bertinotti vs. Cossutta

[edit]

The leadership of Bertinotti was a turning point for the party, which jumped to 8.6% of vote in the 1996 general election, fought by the party in a loose alliance with The Olive Tree, the major centre-left coalition whose dominant partner was the PDS. After the election, the PRC decided to externally support the first cabinet led by Romano Prodi.

Tensions soon arose within the coalition and the party. In October 1998 the PRC was divided between those who wanted to stop supporting Prodi's government, led by Bertinotti; and those who wanted to continue the alliance, led by Cossutta, the party's president. The central committee endorsed Bertinotti's line, but Cossutta and his followers decided to ignore this line and to support Prodi. The votes of the cossuttiani were not enough and the government lost a confidence vote in Parliament.

The dissidents, who controlled the majority of deputies and senators, split and formed a rival communist party, the Party of Italian Communists (PdCI), which would soon join the first cabinet led by Massimo D'Alema, the leader of the DS, who replaced Prodi and became the first post-communist to hold the job of Prime Minister of Italy.

Deprived of most of its parliamentary representation, the PRC fought for its existence and voters supported it rather than the PdCI, both in the 1999 European Parliament election (4.3% to 2.0%) and the 2001 general election (5.0% to 1.7%).

### Renewal and heyday

[edit]

PRC's long-time leader Fausto Bertinotti at a party congress in 1999

Despite competition from the PdCI, the PRC confirmed its status as Italy's largest communist party. Having been left by most traditional communists, it also started to enlarge its scope aiming at becoming a collector of radical social movements and, foremost, the main representative of the anti-globalization movement in Italy. The PRC also forged new alliances at the European level and was instrumental in the foundation of the Party of the European Left in May 2004.[12][13]

In October 2004, the PRC re-joined the centre-left coalition, once again led by Prodi. In April 2005, Nichi Vendola, an openly gay politician and one of the emerging leaders of the party, won a primary election and was elected president of traditionally conservative southern region of Apulia, becoming the only regional president ever belonging to the PRC.

In the 2006 general election, the PRC was part of The Union, which won narrowly over the centre-right House of Freedoms coalition and the party obtained 5.8%. After the election, Bertinotti was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies and replaced by Franco Giordano as secretary. Additionally, for the first time it entered a government by joining the Prodi II Cabinet, with Paolo Ferrero Minister of Social Solidarity and seven undersecretaries. The decision to participate in the coalition government and vote to refinance the Italian military presence in Afghanistan and send troops to Lebanon attracted criticism from sectors of the European far-left[14] and provoked the splits of several groups from the ranks of his own party, notably including the Workers' Communist Party, the Communist Alternative Party and Critical Left. Prodi, whose majority was weak and fragmented, resigned in January 2008.

### Crisis, splits and decline

[edit]

For the 2008 general election, the PRC formed a joint list named Rainbow Left (SA) with the PdCI, the Federation of the Greens and the Democratic Left under Bertinotti's leadership. SA obtained a mere 3.1% (compared to 10.2% won by the constituent parties individually two years before) and no seats. Consequently, Bertinotti quit politics and Giordano resigned and after that some bertinottiani, led by Ferrero and Giovanni Russo Spena (both former Proletarian Democracy members), had forged an alliance with former cossuttiani.

At the July 2008 congress, the PRC was highly divided around ideological and regional lines with Vendola, the bertinottiani's standard-bearer, accusing northern delegates of having absorbed leghismo and stating that it was the end of the party as he knew it. The internal left-wing (which wanted to return to PRC's original communist project) finally prevailed over the bulk of bertinottiani (who insisted on the creation of a broader left-wing party) and Ferrero was elected secretary by the central committee with 50.5%.[15]

In January 2009, the faction around Vendola and Giordano, silently supported by Bertinotti, left the PRC and launched the Movement for the Left (MpS), aimed at forming a broader left-wing party,[16] which would eventually be Left Ecology Freedom (SEL).

### Left-wing alliances

[edit]

In the 2009 European Parliament election the PRC ran with the PdCI and minor groups within the Anticapitalist and Communist List,[17] obtaining 3.4% of the vote and no MEPs. In April 2009 the list was transformed into the Federation of the Left,[18][19] which would be disbanded by the end of 2012[20] and officially dissolved in 2015.[21]

In the 2013 general election the PRC ran within Civil Revolution along with the PdCI, the Greens, Italy of Values and minor groups, obtaining 2.2% and no seats.[22]

In the 2014 European Parliament election the PRC was part of The Other Europe, which obtained 4.0% of the vote and three MEPs, including PRC's Eleonora Forenza.

In April 2017 Ferrero was replaced as secretary by Maurizio Acerbo, a former member of the Chamber of Deputies.[23][24][25]

In the 2018 general election the PRC was part of the Power to the People (PaP) electoral list,[26][27] which obtained 1.1% of the vote and no seats.[28] In 2020–2021 the party was briefly represented in the Senate by Paola Nugnes, a splinter from the Five Star Movement who later joined Italian Left (SI).[29][30][31]

In the 2019 European Parliament election the PRC was part of The Left electoral list, which obtained 1.8% and no seats.

In February 2022 the party formed a joint sub-group with PaP in the Chamber of Deputies' Mixed Group.[32] In June 2022 the same happened in the Senate,[33] and senator Nugnes returned to the party. In the run-up of the 2022 general election the PRC was a founding member of the People's Union (UP), a left-wing electoral list led by Luigi de Magistris.

In the run-up of the February 2025 congress the proposition put forward by incumbent secretary Acerbo obtained 50.7% of the vote of party members in local congresses, while a large majority led by Ferrero won 49.3%.[34] As a result, Acerbo was narrowly re-elected secretary.[35]

## Factions

[edit]

A PRC rally in Rome, 2007 PRC headquarters in Castello, Venice

The majority of the party following the October 2004 congress was led by Fausto Bertinotti (59.2%) and viewed the PRC as the representative of the anti-globalization movement in Italy. Other factions strongly opposed Bertinotti's innovations. These included the hard-line traditionalist Being Communists (26.2%) which was composed of former followers of Armando Cossutta as well as the Trotskyists of Critical Left, Communist Project and HammerSickle (14.6% together). Communist Project, which opposed the party's participation in the Prodi II Cabinet, unfolded shortly after the 2006 general election. A group led by Francesco Ricci established the Communist Alternative Party, others, led by the Trotskyist Marco Ferrando, formed the Workers' Communist Party, while a tiny minority chose to stay in the party and launched Countercurrent.

In February 2007, senator Franco Turigliatto of Critical Left, led by Salvatore Cannavò, voted twice against the government's foreign policy, leading Romano Prodi to temporarily resign from Prime Minister. In April, Turigliatto was expelled from the party and Critical Left was suspended from it, leading to its final split and establishment as a party in December. Turigliatto's ejection was supported also by Claudio Grassi (leader of Being Communists) and this caused a break-up of the faction. A group led by Fosco Giannini launched an alternative faction named The Ernesto (from the eponymous communist publication), but it would suffer the 2008 split of Communist Left, which would splinter in 2011 into Communist Left and Communists Together/The Future City.

Following the severe defeat of the party in the 2008 general election, a group of bertinottiani composed mainly of former members of Proletarian Democracy and led by Paolo Ferrero and Giovanni Russo Spena allied with the other minority factions, notably including Being Communists, to force Franco Giordano's resignation from secretary. Subsequently, in the July congress Ferrero's and Grassi's Refoundation in Movement motion (40.1%) faced the bulk of bertinottiani, who organized themselves around a motion named "Manifesto for the Refoundation" (47.6%) with Nichi Vendola as standard-bearer. Giannini's The Ernesto and Countercurrent (7.7%), Claudio Bellotti's HammerSickle (3.2%) and a minor group of former bertinottiani called "Disarm, Renew, Refound" (1.5%) joined forces with the Ferrero-Grassi group. Vendola, defeated by Ferrero, announced the creation of a new minority faction, Refoundation for the Left (RpS).[15][36]

RpS finally left the party in 2009 to form the Movement for the Left (MpS), but some of its members, led by Augusto Rocchi, decided to stay in the PRC[37] and launched To the Left with Refoundation.[38] However, the alliance between Ferrero and the traditionalists did not last. The Ernesto joined the PdCI in 2011 while Being Communists divided in two groups, both eventually quitting the party. One group joined SEL in 2014[39] and was later merged into the Democratic and Progressive Movement (MDP) in 2016;[40] a second, larger group (including Grassi) participated in the foundation of SEL's successor, Italian Left (SI).[41]

In the 2017 congress, two motions were presented by Ferrero and Eleonora Forenza, respectively.[42] The coalition of factions led by Ferrero prevailed with the vote of 71.5% of party members.[43] Consequently, Maurizio Acerbo, supported by Ferrero,[44] was elected secretary by the central committee.[45]

## Popular support

[edit]

The electoral results of the PRC in general (Chamber of Deputies) elections and European Parliament elections since 1994 are shown in the chart below. The 2008 result refers to that of The Left – The Rainbow, a joint list comprising the Party of Italian Communists, Democratic Left and the Federation of the Greens. After that, the party formed joint lists with the Party of Italian Communists. The 2014 result refers to that of The Other Europe, a joint list led by Left Ecology Freedom.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

|

The electoral results of the PRC in the ten most populated regions of Italy are shown in the table below.[46]

| 1994 general | 1995 regional | 1996 general | 1999 European | 2000 regional | 2001 general | 2004 European | 2005 regional | 2006 general | 2008 general | 2009 European | 2010 regional | 2013 general | 2014 European

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Piedmont | 5.9 | 9.3 | 10.3 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 4.1
Lombardy | 5.1 | 7.7 | 6.8 | 4.0 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 3.5
Veneto | 4.4 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 2.8
Emilia-Romagna | 6.6 | 7.6 | 8.3 | 5.0 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 4.1
Tuscany | 10.1 | 11.1 | 12.5 | 7.4 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 9.1 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 5.1
Lazio | 6.6 | 9.2 | 10.4 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 7.1 | 5.9 | 7.4 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 4.7
Campania | 6.9 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 4.1 | 6.1 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 3.8
Apulia | 7.0 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 6.0 | 5.1 | 5.7 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 4.3
Calabria | 9.3 | 8.7 | 10.0 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 5.8 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 3.2 | 6.7 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 4.2
Sicily | – | 4.3 (1996) | 7.0 | 2.2 | 2.4 (2001) | 3.2 | 3.6 | – (2006)[47] | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 4.9 (2008) | 3.4 | 3.6

## Election results

[edit]

### Italian Parliament

[edit]

Chamber of Deputies

Election year  | Votes  | %  | Seats  | +/−  | Leader
1992 | 2,202,574 (5th)  | 5.6  |

35 / 630

Sergio Garavini

1994 | 2,334,029 (6th)  | 6.0  |

39 / 630

Fausto Bertinotti

1996 | 3,215,960 (5th)  | 8.5  |

35 / 630

Fausto Bertinotti

2001 | 1,868,659 (5th)  | 5.0  |

11 / 630

Fausto Bertinotti

2006 | 2,229,604 (5th)  | 5.8  |

41 / 630

Fausto Bertinotti

2008 | into SA | –  |

0 / 630

Fausto Bertinotti

2013 | into RC | –  |

0 / 630

Paolo Ferrero

2018 | into PaP | –  |

0 / 630

Maurizio Acerbo

2022 | into UP | –  |

0 / 400

Maurizio Acerbo

Senate of the Republic

Election year  | Votes  | %  | Seats  | +/−  | Leader
1992 | 2,163,317 (5th)  | 6.5  |

20 / 315

Sergio Garavini

1994 | into AdP | –  |

18 / 315

Fausto Bertinotti

1996 | 934,974 (4th)  | 2.9  |

11 / 315

Fausto Bertinotti

2001 | 1,708,707 (3rd)  | 5.0  |

5 / 315

Fausto Bertinotti

2006 | 2,518,624 (5th)  | 7.4  |

27 / 315

Fausto Bertinotti

2008 | into SA | –  |

0 / 315

Fausto Bertinotti

2013 | into RC | –  |

0 / 315

Paolo Ferrero

2018 | into PaP | –  |

0 / 315

Maurizio Acerbo

2022 | into UP | –  |

0 / 200

Maurizio Acerbo

### European Parliament

[edit]

Election  | Leader  | Votes  | %  | Seats  | +/–  | EP Group

|
|
|
|
|
|

1994 | Fausto Bertinotti | 1,991,977 (6th)  | 6.08  |

5 / 87

| New  | EUL
1999 | 1,330,341 (4th)  | 4.27  |

4 / 87

|  1  | GUE/NGL
2004 | 1,971,700 (7th)  | 6.06  |

5 / 78

|  1
2009[a] | Paolo Ferrero | 1,038,247 (6th)  | 3.39  |

0 / 72

|  5  | –
2014 | Into AET |

1 / 73

|  1  | GUE/NGL
2019 | Maurizio Acerbo | Into LS |

0 / 76

|  1  | –
2024 | Into PTD |

0 / 76

|  0

1. ^ Run in a joint list with PdCI.

### Regional Councils

[edit]

Region  | Election year  | Votes  | %  | Seats  | +/−

|
|
|
|
|

Lombardy | 2023 | 39,913 (11th)[a] | 1.4  |

0 / 80

South Tyrol | 2018 | into United Left |

0 / 35

Trentino | 2023 | 1,088 (23rd)[a] | 0.5  |

0 / 35

Veneto | 2020 | into Solidarity Environment Work |

0 / 51

Emilia-Romagna | 2020 | into The Other Emilia-Romagna |

0 / 50

Tuscany | 2020 | into Tuscany to the Left |

0 / 41

Marche | 2020 | into Depend on Us |

0 / 31

Lazio | 2023 | 10,289 (14th)[a] | 0.7  |

0 / 51

Campania | 2020 | into Terra |

0 / 51

Apulia | 2020 | into The Other Apulia |

0 / 51

Basilicata | 2019 | into Possible Basilicata |

0 / 21

Sicily | 2017 | into 100 Steps for Sicily |

0 / 70

Sardinia | 2019 | 4,308 (22nd)[b] | 0.6  |

0 / 60

1. ^ a b c Into People's Union.
2. ^ In a joint list with the Italian Communist Party.

## Symbols

[edit]

* 1991–1998

* 1999–2004

* 2004–2011

* 2011–present

## Leadership

[edit]

* Secretary: Sergio Garavini (1991–1993), Fausto Bertinotti (1994–2006), Franco Giordano (2006–2008), Paolo Ferrero (2008–2017), Maurizio Acerbo (2017–present)
* Coordinator: Walter De Cesaris (2004–2008), Nando Mainardi (2014–2017), Stefano Galieni (2017–present)
* President: Armando Cossutta (1991–1998)
* Party leader in the Chamber of Deputies: Lucio Magri (1992–1994), Famiano Crucianelli (1994–1995), Oliviero Diliberto (1995–1998), Franco Giordano (1998–2006), Gennaro Migliore (2006–2008)
* Party leader in the Senate: Lucio Libertini (1992–1993), Ersilia Salvato (1993–1995), Fausto Marchetti (1995–1996), Luigi Marino (1996–1998), Giovanni Russo Spena (1998–2001), Giorgio Malentacchi (2001–2002), Luigi Malabarba (2002–2006), Giovanni Russo Spena (2006–2008)
* Party leader in the European Parliament: Luigi Vinci (1994–2004), Roberto Musacchio (2004–2009), Eleonora Forenza (2014–present)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ Fabio Padovano; Roberto Ricciuti (2007). Springer New York (ed.). Italian Institutional Reforms: A Public Choice Perspective. p. 35\. ISBN 9780387721415.
3. ^ Jens Borchert, Jürgen Zeiss. The Political Class in Advanced Democracies: A Comparative Handbook. OUP Oxford, 2003. p. 232
4. ^ Georg Picot. Politics of Segmentation: Party Competition and Social Protection in Europe. Routledge, 2013. p. 138
5. ^ Richard Corbett, Francis Jacobs, Michael Shackleton. The European Parliament. John Harper Publishing, 2005. p. 88
6. ^ Donald Sassoon. Contemporary Italy: Politics, Economy and Society Since 1945. Routledge, 2014. p. 137
7. ^ Michael Holmes, Knut Roder. The European left and the financial crisis. Manchester University Press, 2019. p. 38
8. ^ Stephen Gundle, Simon Parker. The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi. Routledge, 2002. p. 10
9. ^ David Broder. First They Took Rome: How the Populist Right Conquered Italy. Verso Books, 2020. p. 56
10. ^ [2]
11. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2008). "Italy". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
12. ^ "The Emerging New Euroleft". April 2006.
13. ^ "A new left turn for Europe". TheGuardian.com. 2 November 2005.
14. ^ Megan Trudell (4 January 2007). "Rifondazione votes for war". International Socialism. Retrieved 5 January 2007.
15. ^ a b "Ferrero: "Più col popolo, meno in tv"
Vendola: "Io, sconfitto da comunista"".Vendola:+"Io,+sconfitto+da+comunista"&rft_id=http://www.corriere.it/politica/08_luglio_27/vendola_ritiro_8b3b2250-5bb4-11dd-b836-00144f02aabc.shtml&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Communist+Refoundation+Party" class="Z3988">
16. ^ "PRC: serve una nuova sinistra
Vendola consuma la scissione (il punto)".[permanent dead link‍]
17. ^ "Pdci e Prc, lista unitaria il 6 giugno
"Anticapitalisti, con la sinistra europea"".
18. ^ "Per un nuovo inizio: costruiamo insieme la federazione della sinistra di alternativa". 18 July 2009.
19. ^ "Al via la nuova Federazione della sinistra".
20. ^ "Le primarie spaccano la FDS" Archived 2014-07-15 at the Wayback Machine.
21. ^ "Atto di scioglimento di associazione politica" (PDF).
22. ^ "Elezioni 2014". [permanent dead link‍]
23. ^ "Maurizio Acerbo eletto nuovo segretario nazionale del Partito della Rifondazione Comunista".
24. ^ "Rifondazione comunista, finisce l'era Ferrero: il nuovo segretario è Maurizio Acerbo". 2 April 2017.
25. ^ "Acerbo eletto segretario nazionale di Rifondazione Comunista". 2 April 2017.
26. ^ "L'associazionismo si fa partito: nasce la lista "Potere al popolo". today.it (in Italian). 15 December 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
27. ^ "Debutta Potere al popolo: "Non siamo la terza lista di sinistra, ma l'unica"". ilmanifesto.it (in Italian). 16 December 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
28. ^ "Eligendo: Camera". elezioni.interno.gov.it (in Italian). 4 March 2018. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
29. ^ "Senato, respinto emendamento di Rifondazione Comunista contro le classi pollaio | il manifesto". 30 December 2020.
30. ^ "Nugnes (Misto): "Il Governo ha il mio sostegno, Renzi è inqualificabile"". 13 January 2021.
31. ^ "Senato, le ex-grilline Paola Nugnes ed Elena Fattori aderiscono a sinistra italiana - la Repubblica". 26 February 2021.
32. ^ "XVIII Legislatura - Deputati e Organi - Modifiche intervenute".
33. ^ "Senato.it - Senato della Repubblica senato.it - Variazioni dei Gruppi parlamentari".
34. ^ "Alleanze e strategie. Rifondazione divisa va a congresso". Il manifesto.
35. ^ "Rifondazione Comunista: rieletto segretario Maurizio Acerbo". AgenPress. 10 February 2025.
36. ^ "Manifesto per la rifondazione". Archived from the original on 2017-08-15. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
37. ^ "Prc, Vendola conferma l'addio
nasce Rifondazione della sinistra".
38. ^ "A Sinistra con Rifondazione". Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
39. ^ "Fuori dall'angolo per una sinistra all’altezza delle sfide del tempo presente".
40. ^ "Caro Montanari, hai fatto una frettolosa stroncatura della nostra conferenza programmatica".
41. ^ ""Sinistra italiana, un passo in avanti"". Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
42. ^ "Forenza al Prc: «Unire le lotte, non i ceti politici»".
43. ^ "Rifondazione comunista, il congresso: "Vogliamo fare la sinistra".
44. ^ "Rifondazione comunista, Maurizio Acerbo segretario è un investimento sul futuro".
45. ^ "Maurizio Acerbo eletto nuovo segretario nazionale del Partito della Rifondazione Comunista".
46. ^ "Archivio storico delle elezioni". [permanent dead link‍]
47. ^ PRC formed a joint-list with the Italian Democratic Socialists (SDI), Italy of Values (IdV), the Union of Democrats for Europe, the Federation of the Greens and the Party of Italian Communists to pass the 5% threshold. The list, named Uniti per la Sicilia, scored 5.1% and 4 regional deputies were elected, 3 SDI and 1 IdV.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Partito della Rifondazione Comunista – Sinistra Europea.

* Official website

* v
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Communist Refoundation Party

Secretaries|

* Sergio Garavini (1991–1994)
* Fausto Bertinotti (1994–2006)
* Franco Giordano (2006–2008)
* Paolo Ferrero (2008–2017)
* Maurizio Acerbo (2017–present)

General|

* Italian Communist Party
* Proletarian Democracy
* Communist Party of Italy (Marxist–Leninist)
* Prodi II Cabinet
* Eurocommunism
* Liberazione
* Young Communists
* International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties
* Party of the European Left
* European United Left–Nordic Green Left

Factions and splits|

| Current factions|

In the 2017 congress, two motions were presented: the majority one led by Paolo Ferrero and the minority one led by Eleonora Forenza.

|

Former factions|

* Bertinottiani
* Refoundation in Movement
* To the Left with Refoundation

Splintered factions|

* Movement of Unitarian Communists (1995)
* Party of Italian Communists (1998)
* Communist Alternative Party (2006)
* Communist Project / Communist Workers' Party (2006)
* Critical Left (2007)
* Refoundation for the Left / Movement for the Left (2009)
* The Ernesto (2011) / Italian Communist Party (2016)
* Countercurrent (2013)
* HammerSickle / Left Class Revolution / Revolutionary Communist Party (2016)
* Being Communists (2016)

Alliances|

* Alliance of Progressives (1994)
* The Union (2005–2007)
* The Left – The Rainbow (2007–2008)
* Anticapitalist and Communist List (2008–2009)
* Federation of the Left (2008–2012)
* Civil Revolution (2012–2013)
* The Other Europe (2014)
* Power to the People (2017–2018)
* The Left (2019–present)

* v
* t
* e

Italian Communist Party

Leadership|

| General Secretary|

* Amadeo Bordiga (1922–1923)
* Executive Committee (1923–1924)
* Antonio Gramsci (1924–1927)
* Camilla Ravera (1927–1930)
* Palmiro Togliatti (1930–1934)
* Ruggero Grieco (1934–1938)
* Palmiro Togliatti (1938–1964)
* Luigi Longo (1964–1972)
* Enrico Berlinguer (1972–1984)
* Alessandro Natta (1984–1988)
* Achille Occhetto (1988–1991)

|

President|

* Luigi Longo (1972–1980)
* Alessandro Natta (1989–1990)
* Aldo Tortorella (1990–1991)

Leader in the Chamber of Deputies|

* Luigi Longo (1946–1947)
* Palmiro Togliatti (1947–1964)
* Pietro Ingrao (1964–1972)
* Alessandro Natta (1972–1979)
* Fernando Di Giulio (1979–1981)
* Giorgio Napolitano (1981–1986)
* Renato Zangheri (1986–1990)
* Giulio Quercini (1990–1991)

Leader in the Senate|

* Mauro Scoccimarro (1948–1958)
* Umberto Terracini (1958–1973)
* Edoardo Pema (1973–1986)
* Gerardo Chiaromonte (1983–1986)
* Ugo Pecchioli (1986–1991)

Leader in the European Parliament|

* Giorgio Amendola (1979–1980)
* Guido Fanti (1980–1984)
* Giovanni Cervetti (1984–1989)
* Luigi Alberto Colajanni (1989–1991)

Publications|

* l'Unità (1924–1991)
* Vie Nuove (1946–1978)
* Pattuglia (1948–1953)
* Rinascita (1944–1991)

Related articles|

* Italian Socialist Party
* Culturalists
* XII International Brigade (Garibaldi Battalion)
* Italian resistance movement
* National Liberation Committee
* May 1947 crises
* AvtoVAZ
* Tolyatti
* Italian Communist Youth Federation
* Marxism–Leninism
* Bordigism
* Eurocommunism
* Migliorismo

Derivatives|

* Internationalist Communist Party
* International Communist Party
* Communist Party of Italy (Marxist–Leninist) / Italian Marxist–Leninist Party
* Italian (Marxist–Leninist) Communist Party
* Democratic Party of the Left / Democrats of the Left / Democratic Party
* Communist Refoundation Party / Party of Italian Communists

Alliances|

* Popular Democratic Front (1947–1948)
* Historic Compromise (1976–1980)

* v
* t
* e

Political parties in Italy

Chamber of Deputies|

* Brothers of Italy (117)
* Democratic Party (71) (incl. DemoS and CD)
* Lega (66)
* Five Star Movement (50)
* Forza Italia (48) (incl. NPSI)
* Action (10)
* Italia Viva (7)
* Greens and Left Alliance
* Green Europe [5]
* Italian Left [4]
* Progressive Party [1]
* Us Moderates (5)
* South Tyrolean People's Party (3)
* More Europe (2) (incl. RI)
* Animalist Movement (1)
* Associative Movement of Italians Abroad (1)
* Coraggio Italia (1)
* South calls North (1)
* Union of the Centre (1)
* Valdostan Union (1)

Senate of the Republic|

* Brothers of Italy (66)
* Democratic Party (37)
* Lega (29) (incl. Fassa)
* Five Star Movement (26)
* Forza Italia (20)
* Italia Viva (7)
* Action (2)
* Greens and Left Alliance
* Italian Left [2]
* Green Europe [1]
* Us Moderates
* Union of the Centre [1]
* South Tyrolean People's Party (2)
* Associative Movement of Italians Abroad (1)
* Campobase (1)
* Coraggio Italia (1)

European Parliament|

* Brothers of Italy (24)
* Democratic Party (21)
* Five Star Movement (8)
* Forza Italia (8)
* Lega (8)
* Greens and Left Alliance (6)
* South Tyrolean People's Party (1)

Other parties in Regional councils|

* Aosta Valley
* Civic Network
* Edelweiss
* For Our Valley
* For Autonomy
* Mouv'
* Valdostan Alliance
* Piedmont
* Moderates
* Lombardy
* Renaissance
* Trentino
* Autonomy House
* La Civica
* Futura Trentino
* Popular Autonomists
* Trentino Project
* Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party
* Union for Trentino
* South Tyrol
* Team K
* Greens
* Die Freiheitlichen
* For South Tyrol with Widmann
* JWA List
* South Tyrolean Freedom
* La Civica
* Vita
* Veneto
* Liga Veneta Repubblica
* Friuli-Venezia Giulia
* Pact for Autonomy
* Slovene Union
* Abruzzo
* Political Action
* Molise
* Building Democracy
* Populars for Italy
* Campania
* Italy Is Popular
* Italian Socialist Party
* Us of the Centre
* Apulia
* Popular Apulia
* Basilicata
* Identity and Action
* Sicily
* Christian Democracy Sicily
* Movement for Autonomy
* Sicilia Vera
* Sardinia
* Civic Sardinia
* Sardinia 20Twenty
* Sardinian Action Party
* Sardinian Reformers
* Possible

* Historical Italian political parties
* 19th-century Italian political groups
* Early 20th-century Italian political parties
* 1950s–1990s Italian political parties

* v
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* e

Orthodox communist parties in Europe

* Abkhazia
* Albania
* PKSH
* PKSH 8 Nëntori
* Armenia
* Austria
* KPÖ
* PdA
* Azerbaijan
* AKP
* AYNKP
* Basque Country
* Belarus
* CPB
* JW
* Belgium
* PvdA/PTB
* PC
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* KPB
* BKP-M
* SKB
* Catalan Countries
* Endavant
* Poble Lliure
* Communists of Catalonia
* Croatia
* SRP
* CA
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* KP
* KPiD
* DKP
* AKP
* Donetsk People's Republic
* Finland
* KTP
* SKP
* KL
* France
* PCRF
* PRC
* PRCF
* Galicia
* UPG
* MGS
* FPG
* PCPG
* Georgia
* Germany
* DKP
* KPD
* MLPD
* Greece
* KKE
* KKE (m-l)
* Anasintaxi
* M-L KKE
* ΚΟΕ
* NAR
* Hungary
* MKM
* MM 2006
* MSZMP
* Ireland
* WPI
* CPI
* Italy
* PRC
* PCI
* PC
* PMLI
* PCIM-L
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* LKP
* SLF
* Luhansk People's Republic
* Luxembourg
* Macedonia
* SKM
* STLS
* Moldova
* Netherlands
* Norway
* NKP
* Rødt
* Poland
* PZPR
* KPP
* Portugal
* PCP
* PCTP
* Romania
* Russia
* CPRF
* CR
* ROT Front
* RCWP
* UCP
* AUCPB
* UC
* San Marino
* Slovakia
* KSS
* VZDOR
* South Ossetia
* Spain
* PCE
* PCPE
* PCTE
* PCOE
* PTD
* PCE(r)
* RC
* PCE (m-l)
* Sweden
* KP
* SKP
* Switzerland
* Transnistria
* Turkey
* 1920TKP
* ESP
* EHP
* EMEP
* HKP
* MKP
* SYKP
* TİP
* TKH
* TKP
* TKİP
* TSİP
* United Kingdom
* CPB
* RCG
* CPGB-ML
* NCPB
* CPGB-PCC
* CPB-ML
* RCPB-ML
* CL
* CPS
* Ukraine
* KPU
* KPU(o)
* KPRS
* Borotba

Communism portal

* v
* t
* e

Party of the European Left

European Parliament group: The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL

Parties|

| Member parties|

* KPÖ
* Spravedlivyj Mir
* BL/БЛ
* RF
* Levice
* Vasakliit
* SKP
* Vas.
* PCF
* GRS
* Die Linke
* New Left
* Syriza
* European Left
* PRC
* Déi Lénk
* PCRM
* PCP
* PSR
* SU
* Levica
* IU
* PCE
* EUiA
* PdA/PST-POP/PSL
* SOL
* Left Unity

|

Observer parties|

* MD
* AKEL/ΑΚΕΛ
* KSČM
* SI
* YKP
* BKP
* KSS
* Sortu

Partner parties|

* Der Wandel
* Ensemble!
* République et socialisme
* Marxist Left
* Táncsics
* Democratic Left Scotland

Former members|

* KP
* PCB
* Enhedslisten
* SYN/ΣΥΝ
* Munkáspárt
* RCS
* PG
* FI
* B.E.

Party presidents|

* Fausto Bertinotti
* Lothar Bisky
* Pierre Laurent
* Gregor Gysi

European Parliament
Group presidents|

* Giorgio Amendola
* Guido Fanti
* Gianni Cervetti
* René-Émile Piquet
* Alekos Alavanos
* Joaquim Miranda
* Luigi Alberto Colajanni
* Alonso Puerta
* Francis Wurtz
* Lothar Bisky
* Gabi Zimmer
* Manon Aubry
* Martin Schirdewan

Other prominent figures|

* Gesine Lötzsch
* Klaus Ernst

See also|

* European Parliament
* Elections to the European Parliament
* List of communist parties represented in European Parliament
* List of left and far-left parties in Europe

European political foundation: Transform Europe

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef

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