The Left – The Rainbow

La Sinistra - L' Arcobaleno (Italian for The Left - The Rainbow) referred to in Italy also surnamed Cosa Rossa ( Red thing), was a party alliance of the Italian Left and the Greens, which formed in late 2007 and the first time in the parliamentary elections in 2008 took. It consisted of the following parties:

• Partito della Rifondazione Comunista (PRC)
• Sinistra Democrática (SD)
• Partito dei Comunisti Italiani ( PdCl )
• Federazione dei Verdi ( Green )

History

Since the merger of the former Democrats of the Sinistra ( Democrats of the Left ) with La Margherita - Democrazia è Libertà ( the Christian Democrats of the center- left coalition L' Unione ) and some small parties of the political center to the Partito Democratico (PD ) in October 2007 resulted in the groupings in the left margin of the Italian political spectrum, the need for a reorganization. Thus, the four parties PRC, SD, PdCI and the Greens met on a first national congress in Rome on 8 and 9 December 2007 initially agreements and planned further cooperation under the alliance name La Sinistra - L' Arcobaleno.

After the fall of the Prodi government in January 2008 and the final resolution of the hitherto ruling Unione by the sole commencement of PD in the general election in April 2008, the four left-wing parties were formed for electoral alliance and entered with the former PRC Chairman and President of the Chamber of Deputies, Bertinotti than on the top candidate. The lists were equal representation of women and men.

As for the second time could choose after the parliamentary elections in 2006 living abroad Italians in the consulates of their residence, representative groups of La Sinistra were in other European countries - L' Arcobaleno founded. In Germany since the beginning of 2008, there are such sections, which promoted the so-called constituency Europe ( circoscrizione Europe) for the votes of Italians abroad, inter alia, in Berlin and Hamburg.

With only 3.1 % in the Chamber of Deputies elections and 3.2% in the Senate elections, the Alliance recorded on 14 April 2008 landslide losses and missed due to the restrictive clauses (4 and 8 %) of the catchment in both chambers. This was represented for the first time since the founding of the Italian Republic no communist party in parliament. As a consequence of this historic defeat Bertinotti announced his complete withdrawal from politics.

The Federazione dei Verdi and the Sinistra Democratica then founded on 16 March 2009 with other left-wing parties, the party Sinistra e Libertà coalition, the successor to the Sinistra - can be understood Arcobaleno.