ABSTRACT
The year 1994 marked a new nadir in the history of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Left in general. The March national elections presented the left with its greatest opportunity since the war of gaining power. This chapter documents the trajectory of the Left in the watershed year in five parts. The first part outlines the background to the emergence, in February, of the Progressive Alliance and the nature of its election campaign. The second part analyses the election defeat and explains its most likely causes. The third part assesses the impact of the defeat on the PDS (as the largest member of the alliance) and on the Progressive Alliance as a whole. The fourth part analyses the attempt to realign the Left in the second part of the year. The fifth part finally evaluates the role of the Left in opposition to the short-lived Silvio Berlusconi government.
