The Social Democrats
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The Social Democrats (i Socialdemocratici, iSD), whose complete name was The Social Democrats – Federalists for the Euromediterranean (i Socialdemocratici – Federalisti per l'Euromediterraneo), was a minor social-democratic political party in Italy. Mimmo Magistro is the party leader.
The party was founded in November 2011 by a split from the Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI). Magistro had been the secretary of the PSDI from 2007 to July 2011, when a tribunal in Rome declared Renato D'Andria, who had been elected secretary in 2006 only to see his election invalidated by the party, legitimate secretary of the party. Magistro proposed a reconciliation between the two factions,[1] but D'Andria did not accept the conditions posed by him.[2] In mid November 2011, 28 members out of 31 of the outgoing National Council, including Magistro, thus left the PSDI in order to form a new party named The Social Democrats (iSD).
On 11 January 2012, on the 65th anniversary of the split of Palazzo Barberini, the PSDI and iSD organized a common event in remembrance of Giuseppe Saragat, a former President of the Italian Republic (1964–1971) and long-standing leader of the PSDI from 1947 until his death in 1988. A recomposition of the two groups may still be possible, but it has been made difficult also by the fact that D'Andria is keen on an alliance with the centre-right (three MPs of The People of Freedom – Massimo Baldini, Giancarlo Lehner and Paolo Russo – are quite close to the new PSDI),[3][4][5] while Magistro has aligned his iSD with the centre-left.[examples needed]
Originally Mimmo Magistro was planned to be the leader of the Social Democracy, a new project to refound PSDI.[6] He later became honorary chairman of that party.[7]