Reformist Democratic Party (Italy)

The Reformist Democratic Party (Partito Democratico Riformista, PDR) was a short-lived political party in Italy that existed in the mid-1990s. It was formed in 1994 from a split within the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) following the "Tangentopoli" scandals and the collapse of the First Republic.

The PDR sought to represent a reformed and modernized social democratic current, distancing itself from the corruption and clientelism that had plagued the PSI. Its leading figure was Giorgio Benvenuto, a former trade union leader and prominent socialist.

The party contested the 1994 general election as part of the Alliance of Progressives coalition, led by Achille Occhetto. The coalition was defeated, and the PDR failed to gain significant representation in Parliament.

Due to its limited electoral success and the ongoing fragmentation of the Italian socialist movement, the Reformist Democratic Party soon dissolved and its members largely joined other center-left political formations. It played a minor role in the broader efforts to reconstruct a credible social democratic force in Italy after the collapse of the PSI. The PDR's legacy is primarily as a footnote in the turbulent political landscape of Italy during the transition from the First to the Second Republic.