Centrist political party whose several factions are united by their Roman Catholicism and anticommunism. They advocate programs ranging from social reform to the defense of free enterprise. The original party was founded in 1919 as the Italian Popular Party and quickly won popularity, but in 1926 the Fascists banned all political parties.
After Italy's surrender in World War II, former party leaders, along with Catholic organizations, founded the Christian Democratic Party, which held power in Italy (usually in coalition with other parties) for most of the postwar era. In 1992–93 it was rocked by the involvement of some of its leading members in financial scandals and political corruption. In 1993 the struggling party reverted to its original name, but in the 1994 parliamentary elections it fell from power and was reduced to a minor party. In the late 1990s it participated in elections as part of the La Margherita coalition, which comprised one element of the leftist Olive Tree coalition.
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