page_title: Left Ecology Freedom
section_title: Road to the new party
hierarchical_section_title: Left Ecology Freedom / History / Road to the new party
caption_attribution_description: Nichi Vendola, Presidente di Sinistra Ecologia e Libertà, durante il 1° congresso SEL. Firenze, ottobre 2010.
context_page_description: Left Ecology Freedom was a democratic socialist political party in Italy whose bulk was formed by former members of the Communist Refoundation Party.
  The party's leader was Nichi Vendola, a former President of Apulia. On 17 December 2016, SEL dissolved into Italian Left, which was officially launched as a party in early 2017.
context_section_description: In October 2009, during a party congress, the Greens elected a new party leader, Angelo Bonelli, and voted to opt out from the process of the foundation of the new party. However, Francescato and her faction decided to keep supporting SL as Ecologists with Left Ecology Freedom and leave the Greens. SL was also weakened by the split occurred within PS, when the United Socialists, who were opposed to the integration of PS into SL, walked out. Finally in November SL was hit by the sudden opt-out of the whole PS. Since November 2009 SL was thus composed of MpS, SD, UlS, the Ecologists and Socialism and Left, a small minority of PS that wanted to continue the experience of SL.
  In December SL was officially launched as a party, and Vendola was elected spokesperson.
  After an important meeting in September in Naples, where it was decided to add "Ecology" to the party's name, in December 2009 Left Ecology and Freedom (SEL) held a constituent assembly in Rome. The new symbol was presented and Vendola was confirmed as spokesperson.
  SEL, often in coalition with the PS, did well in the 2010 regional elections, especially in Central and Southern Italy. Overall, SEL won 3.0% of the vote, with the PS at 0.7% and the Greens at 0.2%. In the Apulian election Vendola was re-elected President of the Region and trailed SEL to 9.7%, its best regional result.
  The party was officially founded in a congress in Florence on 22–24 October 2010. Vendola was elected president.
caption: Nichi Vendola during the party's first congress in Florence.
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