 De Michelis was elected secretary of the new party upon its foundation, which was viewed by many as the direct continuation of the PS, which joined the House of Freedoms coalition.After the dissolution of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), due in part to the Mani pulite scandal, Ugo Intini and other fellow leaders founded the Socialist Party (PS) on 24 February 1996 in order to represent the ideas of the former party.Bettino Craxi, the last PSI Secretary, did not approve the project and considered it as a wrong move, but Intini stated that he was trying to refound a new socialist party and not the craxist one.