New Italian Socialist Party: Difference between revisions

The Partito Socialista – Nuovo PSI is a small Italian party which professes a socialist ideology and claims to be the successor to the old Italian Socialist Party, which was disbanded after an impressive series of corruption scandals of the early 1990s (see Mani Pulite). Despite its name and purported ideology, the party is affiliated to the ruling right-wing House of Freedoms coalition, led by Silvio Berlusconi, who also was a close friend of Craxi.

The NPSI is however currently planning to leave the House of Freedoms, considering the alliance "exhausted", and join the centre-left Union, and there merge with the Italian Democratic Socialists to rebuild the Italian Socialist Party. However, they are not planning to leave the government until the elections in spring 2006, and are therefore going to run "against themselves". Some believe this is just an old-style, machiavellian attachment to power by any means, since it is currently expected that the Union will win the next national elections.

The party's members are often former followers of Bettino Craxi, whom they often portray as a victim of political persecution, notwithstanding the many convictions he received on corruption charges. The party's current leader is Gianni de Michelis, former minister of foreign affairs in a number of Italian governments, and formerly a close ally of Craxi.

National elections

Three PSNI members were elected to the Chamber of Deputies and one to the Senate on the House of Freedoms Ticket in the parliamentary election of 2001, and two PSNI members currently hold cabinet office in the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

European elections

In the 2004, having campaigned on a joint ticket together with the smaller Unità Socialista, known as Socialists United for Europe (Socialisti uniti per l'Europa) two PSNI candidates, Gianni De Michelis and Alessandro Battilocchio were elected to the European Parliament.

In the European Parliament, the two PSNI members did not join any party group and are therefore sitting as Non-Inscrits.

Leading members

Leading members of the PSNI include Vittorio (Bobo) Craxi, son of former Prime Minister and long time leader of the old Socialist Party, Bettino Craxi, and Professor Gianni de Michelis. Craxi was elected to the Chamber of Deputies from a Sicilian constituency in the parliamentary election of 2001, while de Michelis and Battilocchio were elected to the European Parliament in 2004.

See also: List of political parties in Italy

External links

• Official web site

en:Socialist Party New PSI