Historical Left

The Left group (Italian: Sinistra), later called Historical Left (Italian: Sinistra storica) by historians to distinguish it from the left-wing groups of the 20th century, was a liberal and reformist parliamentary group in Italy during the second half of the 19th century. The members of the Left were also known as Democrats or Ministerials. The Left was the dominant political group in the Kingdom of Italy from the 1870s until its dissolution in the early 1910s.

Different to its Right counterpart, the Left was the result of coalition who represented Northern and Southern middle class, urban bourgeoisie, small businessmen, journalists and academics. It also supported a right to vote and the public school for all children. Moreover, the party was against the high tax policies promoted by the Right. After the 1890s, the Left began to show more conservative tendencies, including advocating breaking strikes and protests and promoting an aggressive colonialist policy in Africa.