On 21 April 1996, the Olive Tree won 1996 general election in alliance with the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC), making Romano Prodi Prime Minister of Italy.

The Olive Tree's main component was the Democratic Party of the Left, which contained the bulk of the former Italian Communist Party.

The PDS' Walter Veltroni, who ran in ticket with Prodi in a long electoral campaign, served as Deputy Prime Minister, and 15 other PDS ministers joined him in cabinet alongside 10 PDS junior ministers.

Besides the external support of PRC, the coalition received the support also of some minor parties: the Italian Republican Party (PRI, social-liberal), The Network (social-democratic), the South Tyrolean People's Party (regionalist and Christian democratic) and some other minor parties which later merged with PDS.

[1] The government fell in 1998 when the Communist Refoundation Party withdrew its support.