Political parties in Italy Elections in Italy
The Italian Communist Party (Italian: Partito Comunista Italiano, or PCI) emerged as the Communist Party of Italy (Partito Comunista d'Italia) by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) at their congress on 21 January 1921 at Livorno. Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party reformed in Italy after the World War II and became the strongest force among the Italian left-wing parties, attracting the support of about a third of the voters during the 1970s. At the time, it was the biggest communist party in the West.
In 1991 the PCI disbanded to form the Democratic Party of the Left (Partito Democratico della Sinistra or PDS), with membership in the Socialist International. More radical members of the party, led by Armando Cossutta, left the party to form the Communist Refoundation Party (Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, or PRC). In 1998 the PDS, with several smaller parties, (the Liberal Socialists or Laburisti, the Christian Socialists or Cristiano Sociali, the United Communists or Comunisti Unitari (right-wing split of the PRC), the Left Republicans or Sinistra Repubblicana, and the Social Democratic Trade Unionists or Riformatori per l'Europa), co-founded the Democrats of the Left party ("Democratici di Sinistra", or DS). Later in the same year the a faction led by Armando Cossutta left the PRC to form the Party of Italian Communists (Partito dei Comunisti Italiani, or PdCI).

History

Secretaries of Italian Communist Parties