Christian Democracy (Italy)

Christian Democracy (Democrazia Cristiana, DC) was a Christian democratic political party in Italy. It was founded on 15 December 1943 in the Italian Social Republic, then Nazi-occupied Italy, as the nominal successor of the Italian People's Party, and it used the same crusader shield symbol. A Catholic-inspired, centrist, catch-all party that held both centre-right and centre-left factions, the DC played a dominant role in Italian politics for fifty years and was in government from soon after its founding until its demise on 16 January 1994 amid the Tangentopoli scandals. Christian Democrats led the Italian government continuously from 1946 until 1981, and the party was the largest in the Italian Parliament from 1946 until 1994, governing in successive coalitions. It was nicknamed the White Whale for its huge organisation and official colour, and it was a founding member of the European People's Party in 1976.