In this carousel of Italian politics, the Left has remained out of the picture for too long. It has not been in parliament since 2008, with the exception of small lists in alliance with the Partito Democratico or MPs who quit other parties. It has thus been fourteen years since an independent left has had its own parliamentary representation in Italy. It is an even greater tragedy if we remember that Italy once had the largest Communist Party in Western Europe and a Left whose presence extended from social movements and trade unions to the world of culture.

This time, however, something has moved. With the launch of Unione Popolare, the Italian left is trying to reorganize itself to return to the political scene.