Popular Democratic Front (Italy)

The Popular Democratic Front (Italian: Fronte Democratico Popolare), shortened name of the Popular Democratic Front for Freedom, Peace, Labour (Fronte Democratico Popolare per la libertà, la pace, il lavoro) was a political alliance of political parties in Italy.

Popular Democratic Front Fronte Democratico Popolare
Leaders	Palmiro Togliatti Pietro Nenni
Founded	28 December 1947 (1947-12-28)
Dissolved	18 April 1948 (1948-04-18)
Ideology	Socialism[1][2] Communism[3][4] Frontism Anti-fascism Anti-Atlanticism
Political position	Left-wing to Far-left[5][6]
Colors	Red
Politics of Italy Political parties Elections

Restored 1948 graffito in Rome's Garbatella neighbourhood calling to vote for the Popular Democratic Front

History

The alliance was formed for the 1948 general election and consisted of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) and Italian Socialist Party (PSI).[7] Its symbol was the picture of Italian Unification hero Giuseppe Garibaldi within a star.[7] The Social Christian Party (PCS) and Sardinian Action Party (PSd'Az) were not allied with the coalition, and formed their own electoral lists. The right wing of PSI opposed the Front, left the party, and organise the list of Socialist Unity, which later became the Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI).

The elections of 1948 was maybe the most important one in Italian republican history, the future alliance with United States or with the Soviet Union being in game. The Popular Front managed to obtain 31.0% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies and 30.8% of the vote for the Senate.[8] Following the defeat of the FDP by Christian Democracy, Italy became a founding member of the NATO in 1949.

Composition

It was composed of the following political parties:

Party		Ideology	Leader
	Italian Communist Party (PCI)	Communism	Palmiro Togliatti
	Italian Socialist Party (PSI)	Socialism	Pietro Nenni

Election results

Chamber of Deputies
Election year	Votes	%	Seats	+/−	Leader
1948	8,136,637 (2nd)	31.0	183 / 574	–	Palmiro Togliatti

Senate of the Republic
Election year	Votes	%	Seats	+/−	Leader
1948	6,969,122 (2nd)	30.8	72 / 237	–	Palmiro Togliatti

References

1. Fedele, Santi (1978). Bompiani (ed.). Fronte popolare: la sinistra e le elezioni del 18 aprile 1948.
2. Cacciatore, Giuseppe (1979). Dedalo (ed.). La sinistra socialista nel dopoguerra. Meridionalismo e politica unitaria in Luigi Cacciatore. pp. 2014–218.
3. Gori, Francesca; Gons, Silvio (1998). Carocci (ed.). Dagli archivi di Mosca: l'URSS, il Cominform e il PCI : 1943-1951. p. 83.
4. Gundle, Stephen (1995). Giunti (ed.). I comunisti italiani tra Hollywood e Mosca: la sfida della cultura di massa : 1943-1991. p. 86.
5. Gori, Francesca; Gons, Silvio (1963). Aggiornamenti sociali. 14. p. 217.
6. Tobagi, Walter (2009). Il Saggiatore (ed.). La rivoluzione impossibile: l'attentato a Togliatti, violenza politica e reazione popolare. p. 35.
7. Victoria Belco (2010). War, Massacre, and Recovery in Central Italy, 1943-1948. University of Toronto Press. p. 498. ISBN 978-0-8020-9314-1.
8. Ram Mudambi; Pietro Navarra; Giuseppe Sobbrio (2001). "A History of the Italian Political System – 1913 to the Present". Rules, Choice and Strategy: The Political Economy of Italian Electoral Reform. Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-1-78195-082-1.