This chapter delves into the case study of the Italian left, focusing on the interplay between objective and subjective processes, ideology, and relations of production. It draws on key insights from interviews with central figures in Italy’s political left and the trade union historically closest to its trajectory, the CGIL. The chapter provides a concise overview of the evolution of the Italian left, from the Italian Communist Party (PCI) to the Democratic Party (PD), with a particular emphasis on the latter. It explores the internal dynamics of the PD to better understand how neoliberalism has taken shape within it, culminating in the leadership and government of Matteo Renzi. Through the bulk of the interviews presented here, the chapter offers a close-up view of the PD’s neoliberalisation process, highlighting its contradictions and specificities. The analysis aims to integrate both the subjective, or in Gramscian terms, ‘sentimental’ dimension of neoliberalism and its structural foundations rooted in global economic transformations and the influence of international and European relations.