The Left

The Left may refer to :

See also

The Left (Germany)

The Left (German: Die Linke), also commonly referred to as the Left Party (German: Linkspartei), is a democratic socialistpolitical party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the Electoral Alternative for Labour and Social Justice (WASG).

Since mid-2012, its co-chairs have been Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger. In the Bundestag the party has 64 out of 630 seats after polling 8.6% of the vote in the 2013 federal elections. Its parliamentary group is therefore the third largest among the four groups in the German Bundestag, and the leading opposition group. The Left is a founder member of the Party of the European Left, and is the largest party in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group in the European Parliament.

The party is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag, and has been called far-left by German government authorities and different international media. Some of its internal factions are under observation by some states' or the federal Verfassungsschutz (constitutional protection) authorities on account of suspected extremist tendencies. In Bavaria, the entire party is under surveillance.

The Left – The Rainbow

The Left – The Rainbow (La Sinistra – L'Arcobaleno, SA), frequently referred as Rainbow Left (Sinistra Arcobaleno, SA), was a left-wing federation of parties in Italy that participated in the 2008 general election.

History

The federation was officially launched on 8–9 December 2007 with the goal of uniting Italian communist, socialist and ecologist parties in a united bloc, somewhat similar to what the centre-left forces have done with the Democratic Party and before that The Olive Tree.

The four parties tended to disagree on a number of issues, including the support for the Prodi II Cabinet, the symbol and the name of the federation, with the Greens wanting the word "ecologist" and the Italian Communists the hammer and sickle to be included, but in the end they formed a joint list for the 2008 general election.

In the election The Left – The Rainbow gained a disastrous 3.1% of the vote (down from 10.2%, combined result of the three parties in 2006 general election) and failed to gain any seats in the Italian Parliament. Shortly after, the Party of Italian Communists announced it would leave the federation, and the Communist Refoundation Party did the same soon after. These groups went on to launch the Anticapitalist and Communist List, which later became the Federation of the Left. Meanwhile the Greens and Democratic Left, together with the Socialist Party, Movement for the Left and Unite the Left, formed Left Ecology Freedom.

Irreplaceable

"Irreplaceable" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her second studio album, B'Day (2006). The song was written by Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel, S. Eriksen, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund, Beyoncé and produced by Stargate and Beyoncé. "Irreplaceable" was originally a country record; it was re-arranged as a mid-tempo ballad with pop and R&B influences by modifying the vocal arrangements and instrumentation. During the production and recording sessions, Beyoncé and Ne-Yo wanted to create a record which people of either gender could relate to. The song's lyrics are about the breakdown of a relationship with an unfaithful man and the song contains a message about female empowerment.

Following the moderate chart performances of "Déjà Vu" and "Ring the Alarm", "Irreplaceable" was released internationally on October 23, 2006 as the album's second single, and the third in the United States on December 5, 2006. The single was released through Columbia Records. "Irreplaceable" was well received by contemporary music critics, who cited its distinct production compared with most songs featured on the album, and complimented its hook, "To the left, to the left". Pitchfork Media and Rolling Stone placed it on their lists of Best Songs of the 2000s. "Irreplaceable" won several awards, including Best R&B/Soul Single at the 2007 Soul Train Music Awards. It was nominated for the Record of the Year award at the 50th Grammy Awards.

To the Left

To the Left (A Sinistra) was a social-democratic and democratic-socialist faction within the Democratic Party, a centre-left political party in Italy.

It was founded as an electoral list for the election for the Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Party of 14 October 2007, comprising Livia Turco, Furio Colombo, Peppino Caldarola, the Democrats, Laicists, Socialists (Massimo Brutti, Sergio Gentili, Mauro Zani), Say Left (Vincenzo Vita, Giuseppe Giulietti, Augusto Battaglia) and some Liberal Socialists (Annamaria Carli, Giorgio Ruffolo).

The list, which was present in only 15 constituencies out of 29, scored 7.7% in the election, electing more than 300 delegates to the Assembly. Its strongholds are the cities and especially Turin (32.7%) and Rome (27.1%).

On 5 July 2008, the three groups cited before plus Left for the Country, a group of splinters from Democratic Left and the Party of Italian Communists, merged into the faction, which became a united social-democratic and democratic-socialist faction within the Democratic Party.