Federation of the Greens

Federation of the Greens
Federazione dei Verdi
Spokesperson Giobbe Covatta
Founded 9 December 1990
Merger of Green Lists and
Rainbow Greens
Headquarters Via Salandra 6, Rome
Newspaper Notizie Verdi
Membership  (2004) 31,000[1]
Ideology Green politics
Eco-socialism
Anti-globalization
Political position Left-wing
National affiliation Alliance of Progressives (1994-1995)
The Olive Tree (1996-2004)
The Sunflower (2001)
The Union (2005-2008)
Together with the Union (2006)
The Left – The Rainbow (2007-2008)
Left and Freedom (2009)
Ecologists and Civic Networks (2011-2013)
Civil Revolution (2013)
Green Italy – European Greens (2014)
European affiliation European Green Party
International affiliation Global Greens
European Parliament group Greens/EFA (1994–2009)
Chamber of Deputies
0 / 630
Senate
2 / 315
European Parliament
0 / 73
Website
www.verdi.it

The Federation of the Greens (Italian: Federazione dei Verdi, or just Verdi) is a green political party in Italy, which includes also a large eco-socialist faction. The party's leader/s is/are variably known as "president/s" or "spokesperson/s". After being led by two co-spokespersons from 2013 to 2015, the Greens are currently led by a spokesperson, Giobbe Covatta.

History

Early years

The first official Italian Green symbol and political style was directly inspired by the Northern European environmentalist movements. The Green Lists, led by Gianni Mattioli and Alexander Langer, made their debut at the 1987 general election, when they gained 2.6% of the national vote.

At the 1989 European Parliament election there were two competing Green parties: the Green Lists and the Rainbow Greens, formed mainly by Radicals, including Adele Faccio, Adelaide Aglietta, Marco Taradash and Francesco Rutelli. In 1990 the two parties joined forces to form the Federation of Greens.

Government participation

The new party entered in alliance with the Democratic Party of the Left in 1993 (within the Alliance of Progressives) and was a founding component of The Olive Tree coalition in 1995. Following the 1996 general election, the Greens were part of the centre-left governments led by Romano Prodi, Massimo D'Alema and Giuliano Amato. Edo Ronchi was minister for the Environment from 1996 to 2000 and Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio Minister of Agriculture from 2000 to 2001

In the 2001 general election the Greens formed a joint list with the Italian Democratic Socialists: The Sunflower (Il Girasole). The combination scored 2.2%, thus failing to surpass the 4% threshold. The Greens elected 7 deputies and 10 senators in single-member constituencies, as part of The Olive Tree coalition.

Shift to the far left

After the end of the alliance with the Socialists, a much moderate outfit, the party shifted far to the left, prompting the exit of leading members as Edo Ronchi, Gianni Mattioli, Luigi Manconi, Massimo Scalia and Franco Corleone (Francesco Rutelli and Carlo Ripa di Meana had abandoned the party before, respectively in 1997 and in 1999). Since that point the Greens considered themselves as part of the Italian "radical left", along with the Party of Italian Communists and the Communist Refoundation Party.

In the 2004 European Parliamentary Election the Greens stood as a separate list, gaining 2.5% of the national vote and electing 2 MEPs. In the 2006 general election, the party was part of the winning The Union and scored 2.1%, winning 15 out of 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. An alliance of Greens, Communists and Consumers polled 4.2% in the election for the Senate, electing 11 out of 315 senators, 5 of them Greens. Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio was inaugurated Minister of the Environment, while Paolo Cento, national coordinator of the party and leader of the no global faction within it, became Under-Secretary for Economy and Finance.

In November 2006 Pecoraro Scanio's political line was confirmed in a party congress, but the Greens also tried to re-open the doors to all former members. The attempt of re-uniting the Italian Greens failed as soon as in January 2007, when Mattioli, Scalia and Corleone finally left the party, citing that it was drifting too much the far-left, and announced their intention to participate to the foundation of the Democratic Party (PD). Within the PD, they joined the Democratic Ecologists' faction, which already included many former Greens (Manconi, Ronchi, Lino De Benetti, Stefano Semenzato, Ermete Realacci, Gianni Vernetti, Franco Piro, Francesco Ferrante, Carla Rocchi, etc.). As a result, Legambiente, the largest ecologist association of Italy, showed more support for the PD than the Greens themselves.

Out of Parliament

In the run-up of the 2008 general election, the Greens participated in the foundation of The Left – The Rainbow with the Communist Refoundation Party, the Party of Italian Communists and Democratic Left. The coalition obtained just 3.1% of the vote and the Greens were excluded from Parliament.

In July 2008 Grazia Francescato was elected party leader, replacing Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, with the support of 300 delegates in the national congress of the party. Francescato, who represented the party establishment and was supported by the left-wing of Paolo Cento, defeated two other candidates representing the modernizers within the party, Marco Boato (111 votes) and Fabio Roggiolani (63 votes).[2] Even if those who proposed an alliance with the Democratic Party (notably Boato, leader of the Greens in Trentino) were defeated, the party seemed to be headed to cut its ties with the far left.

For the 2009 election the Greens formed a joint list with the Movement for the Left, the Socialist Party, Democratic Left and Unite the Left. The list was named Left and Freedom (SL) and was launched on 16 March 2009.[3] The list received just 3.1% of the national vote and failed to return any MEPs. After the election, it was decided to transform SL into a permanent federation and Francescato wanted the Greens to join it. Although this line seemed to be approved by the majority of the party, during a congress in October 2009 the party rejected the proposal by narrowly electing Angelo Bonelli, candidate of the liberal faction led by Boato, instead of Francescato's candidate, Loredana De Petris.[4][5] After his election, which marked the end of the dominance of the internal left wing over the party, Bonelli announced that the party will pursue an independent course from SL, and will try to coalesce a new "ecologist constituent assembly" on the model of the French Europe Écologie.[6] However, Francescato, De Petris and Cento continued to support SL as Ecologists for Left Ecology Freedom and finally left the Greens.[7]

Ecologists and Civic Networks

In September 2010 the Greens launched a Ecologist Constituent Assembly. In Bonelli's view the new political force would have taken inspiration both from the French Verts and the German Grünen and would have be open to the contribution of movements and associations, notably including Beppe Grillo's Five Star Movement.[8] Other than the Greens, participants of the new political force included, among others, Massimo Scalia (a former leading Green), Bruno Mellano (president of the Italian Radicals), movie maker Mario Monicelli, writer Dacia Maraini, geologist Mario Tozzi and comedian Giobbe Covatta.[9]

In November 2011 the Ecologists and Civic Networks (Ecologisti e Reti Civiche, ERC) coalition was officially launched.[10][11]

In 2012 Bonelli stood as candidate for Mayor of Taranto, garnering 11.9% of the vote.[12]

In the 2013 general election the Greens were part of the Civil Revolution coalition, which obtained a mere 2.2% of the vote and no seats.[13] Later that year, during a party congress, Luana Zanella was elected to serve as co-spokesperson along with Bonelli.[14]

The Greens contested the 2014 European Election with Green Italy, a green party established in 2013, within the joint list Green Italy – European Greens.[15] The electoral list received 0.91% of the vote and did not return any MEPs.[16]

In January 2015 senator Bartolomeo Pepe, a former member of the Five Star Movement (M5S), joined the party,[17] giving it parliamentary representation after seven years. In June another former senator of the M5S, Paola De Pin, joined the Greens[18][19] and sat with senator Pepe within the Great Autonomies and Freedom group.[20]

In November 2015, during a party congress, Giobbe Covatta was elected spokersperson, succeeding to co-spokerspersons Bonelli and Zanella.[21]

In their history the Greens were never able to reach the electoral success of many green parties all around Europe. They have a stable share of vote around 2% and experienced a slight decline in the last decade. Their characterization as party of the far left did not help them in Northern Italy, where they had their best results at the beginning (for instance 7.1% in the 1990 Venetian regional election).

The Greens are stronger in cities and urban areas (Milan, Venice, Rome, Naples, etc.), in mountain regions, such as Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Aosta Valley, and in some Southern regions, such as Basilicata and Campania.

Election results

Italian Parliament

Chamber of Deputies
Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Leader
1987 969,218 2.5%
13 / 630
–
Gianni Mattioli
1992 1,093,995 2.8%
16 / 630
Increase 3
Carlo Ripa di Meana
1994 1,047,268 2.7%
11 / 630
Decrease 5
Carlo Ripa di Meana
1996 938,665 2.5%
14 / 630
Increase 3
Carlo Ripa di Meana
2001 805.340 2.2%
8 / 630
Decrease 5
Grazia Francescato
2006 783,944 2.1%
15 / 630
Increase 7
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio
2008 1.124.298° 3.0%°
0 / 630
Decrease 15
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio
2013 765,188°° 2.2%°°
0 / 630
–
Angelo Bonelli

° In list with The Left – The Rainbow.
°° In list with Civil Revolution.

Senate of the Republic
Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Leader
1987 634,182 1.9%
1 / 315
–
Gianni Mattioli
1992 1,022,558 3.0%
4 / 315
Increase 3
Carlo Ripa di Meana
1994 with Progressives
–
7 / 315
Increase 3
Carlo Ripa di Meana
1996 with Ulivo
–
14 / 315
Increase 7
Carlo Ripa di Meana
2001 with Ulivo
–
8 / 315
Decrease 6
Grazia Francescato
2006 1,423,226 4.2%
11 / 315
Increase 3
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio
2008 1,053,154° 3.2%°
0 / 315
Decrease 11
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio
2013 549,995°° 1.8%°°
0 / 315
–
Angelo Bonelli

° In list with The Left – The Rainbow.
°° In list with Civil Revolution.

European Parliament

Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Leader
1994 1,055,797 3.2
3 / 87
–
Carlo Ripa di Meana
1999 548,908 1.8
2 / 87
 Decrease 1
Grazia Francescato
2004 803,356 2.5
2 / 78
–
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio
2009 958,458° 3.1°
0 / 72
–
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio
2014 250,102 0.9
0 / 73
–
Angelo Bonelli

° In list with Left and Freedom.

Regional Councils

Region Latest election # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 List
Apulia 2015 6,278 (#17) 0.4
0 / 76
 Own list
Campania 2015 26,401 (#15) 1.2
1 / 60
 Own list
Emilia-Romagna 2014 17,984 (#9) 1.5
0 / 50
 PSI, SC
Marche 2015 26,677 (#6) 5.0
2 / 41
 PSI, SC, IdV
Sicily 2012 58,753 (#12) 3.1
0 / 60
 SEL, PRC
Sardinia 2014 7,551 (#21) 1.1
1 / 60
 IdV
Veneto 2015 20,282 (#13) 1.1
0 / 60
 SEL, SV

Leadership

References

  1. ↑ Archive Cattaneo
  2. ↑ RaiNews24 - Francescato rilancia i Verdi: non siamo più quelli dei 'no'
  3. ↑ Archived November 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ "Soli o a sinistra? Rissa all' assemblea dei Verdi". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  5. ↑ Archived October 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ "Bonelli ribalta i Verdi: apre a Grillo, sinistra addio". Affaritaliani. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  7. ↑ Green economy La Nuova Ecologia
  8. ↑ "Verdi addio, è nata Costituente ecologista". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  9. ↑ Archived October 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ "Ecologia per uscire dalla crisi". Archiviostorico.corriere.it. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  11. ↑ "Mai più alleanze ogm con il Pd". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  12. ↑ "News". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  13. ↑ "Elezioni 2013". Elezioni. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  14. ↑ "[Chianciano Terme] Bonelli e Zanella eletti portavoce nazionali dei Verdi". gonews.it. 24 November 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  15. ↑ "Archivio Corriere della Sera". corriere.it. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  16. ↑ "::: Ministero dell'Interno ::: Archivio Storico delle Elezioni". interno.it. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  17. ↑ "L'ex Cinque Stelle Bartolomeo Pepe aderisce ai Verdi". repubblica.it. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "Paola De Pin, ex senatrice M5S passa nei Verdi: "Legge Ecoreati sconfitta per tutti"". ilfattoquotidiano.it. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  19. ↑ "ADESIONE AL NUOVO PARTITO DEI VERDI - Paola De Pin - Senato della Repubblica". paoladepin.it. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  20. ↑ "senato.it - Senato della Repubblica senato.it - Variazioni nei Gruppi parlamentari". senato.it. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  21. ↑ "Verdi, Giobbe Covatta è il nuovo portavoce della federazione ecologista". ilfattoquotidiano.it. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
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