Historical Left
| Historical Left Sinistra Storica | |
|---|---|
| Leader |
Agostino Depretis, Benedetto Cairoli, Francesco Crispi, Giovanni Giolitti, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando |
| Founded | 1849 |
| Dissolved | 1882 |
| Succeeded by | Italian Liberal Party |
| Ideology |
Radicalism (Italy) Internal factions: • Social liberalism • Reformism • Trasformismo • Anti-clericalism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
|
Politics of Italy Political parties Elections | |
The Historical Left (Sinistra Storica), originally know as Left (Sinistra) was a Liberal, radical, and progressivist political party in Italy. It was founded in 1849 as opposition on the right-wing government of Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour; with the Historical Right it was one of the two biggest parties in Italy during the 19th and early 20th century.
History
From 1849 to 1876 the Historical Left remain often on the opposition, except for the two short cabinets of Urbano Rattazzi. In 1876, the Left won the election with a large majority, and his leader, Agostino Depretis was appointed Prime Minister. Benedetto Cairoli and Francesco Crispi succeeded to Depretis as head of the government. In 1892 the new leader of the Left, Giovanni Giolitti, won the election and he was nominated Prime Minister; Giolitti will rule at times up to 1921. Giolitti has been the second longest-service Prime Minister of Italy.
The Left dominated the political life in Italy until 1921, when the left-wing government of Giovanni Giolitti fell down; after 1921 the old parties were dissolved giving way to the new one, like the Socialist Party, the Communist Party and the People's Party and the Fascist Party.
