Italian Socialist Party

The Italian Socialist Party (Partito Socialista Italiano, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.

Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II. It was disbanded in 1994 as a result of the Tangentopoli scandals.

History

Early years

The Italian Socialist Party was founded in 1892 by delegates of several workers' associations and parties, notably including the Italian Labour Party and the Italian Revolutionary Socialist Party. It was part of a wave of new socialist parties at the end of the 19th century and had to endure persecution by the Italian government during its early years.

At the start of the 20th century, however, the PSI chose not to strongly oppose the governments led by five-time Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti. This conciliation with the existing governments and its improving electoral fortunes helped to establish the PSI as a mainstream Italian political party by the 1910s.

Despite the party's improving electoral results, however, the PSI remained divided into two major branches, the Reformists and the Maximalists. The Reformists, led by Filippo Turati, were strong mostly in the unions and the parliamentary group. The Maximalists, led by Costantino Lazzari, were affiliated with the London Bureau of socialist groups, an international association of left-wing socialist parties.

In 1912 the Maximalists led by Benito Mussolini...
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