Popular Unity (Italy)


Popular Unity was a short-lived social-democratic and social-liberal and political party in Italy. Its leaders were Piero Calamandrei, a Democratic Socialist, and Ferruccio Parri, a Republican and former Prime Minister.

History

Popular Unity was formed in April 1953 by disgruntled members of the Italian Democratic Socialist Party and the Italian Republican Party, who again did not agree with the new electoral law.
Three different parties came together in Popular Unity:
The party won 0.6% of the vote in the 1953 general election and, along with the like-minded National Democratic Alliance, prevented the governing coalition from passing the 50% and getting the majority bonus.
The party was active until 1957. After that, some of its members, including Parri, joined the Italian Socialist Party, but most of them returned to their former parties.