Ifda dossier 47, May/June 1985

THE GREENS IN ITALY
by Alexander Langer
Member of the Regional Council
FOB 396
38100 BozenIBolzano, Italy
These days there is much talk in Italy about a new political force, ac-
tually not yet existing as such on the political scene, and, at best,
sprouting. "I verdi", the Greens: chiefly known after their electoral
successes in Western Germany, they have been the subject of conferences
(with mostly international participation) for almost two years. For
their future voters, they still remain a rather shady business, for the
political parties, however, they represent already now a very unpleasant
idea.
A political scientist from Milano, Enrico Finzi, made a prognosis in
March 1984 (meanwhile confirmed by a Makno-poll): 12 to 14% of the vo-
ters were more favourable to the Greens and sympathized with ecological
and pacifist ideas. Elections could bring 6 to 7% for a green party,
if.. . if the circumstances are favourable and if the Greens know how to
take advantage of the the political facts. Italian people too, take more
and more offence at pollution, nature depradation and metropolitan
chaos, and look for alternatives. Publicity for instance already clearly
goes out for nature's conservation. In a very short time, several ecolo-
gical magazines gained ground on the publishing market. The tourist in-
dustry does its best to make potential customers believe in unspoilt
nature, and so do many other industries, from the food sector to furni-
ture business. Green is definitely in, and a self-respecting municipa-
lity has to place as soon as possible some waste-glass containers or
organize some cycle-tracks. Moreover, one must consider people's fatigue
with the traditional political parties, an increasing mistrust towards
politics as a problem solving method, as well as the growth of different
grassroot movements. These facts explain the already considerable and
surely rising demand of going beyond the traditional representative po-
litical system.
WHY IT DOESN'T EASILY GROW GREEN IN ITALY
On the other hand, there are a series of circumstances explaining why
Italy is a rather difficult ground for a green movement. In the first
place, there is a distinct political tradition, which made Italy for
many years a kind of dream-world for all those who admired (and tried to
imitate) spontaneous social movements with mass character. The idea that
social change can only be achieved by a change of political power struc-
tures is still deeply rooted. From this results the strong political
character of all social movements, in the late sixties and the seven-
ties, often admired and envied abroad. That process is now somehow ex-
hausted and has come to a dead end: what could, years ago, give an in-
sight into complex interrelations and a perspective for global actions,
nowadays shows up to be a ballast and a brake for new, rising, energies.
The disillusion of the last years finally brought the inside that even a
strong or majority Left (being for the rest, in concrete power on many