Federation of the Greens
| Federation of the Greens Federazione dei Verdi | |
|---|---|
 Italian National Party | |
| Leader | A. Pecoraro Scanio |
| Founded | November 16, 1986 |
| Headquarters | Via Salandra, 6 00187 Rome |
| Coalition | The Union |
| Political ideology | Ecology, Pacifism, Anti-globalization |
| Official newspaper | Notizie Verdi |
| Website | www.verdi.it |
| See also | Politics of Italy |
| Part of the Politics series on Green politics |
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The Federation of the Greens (Federazione dei Verdi, or just Verdi) is an Italian green and eco-socialist party. Its leader is Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, minister for the Environment from April 2006 in Romano Prodi's centre-left government.
The Greens are strong in cities and urban areas (Venice, Rome, Naples, etc.) in Trentino-Alto Adige and in some southern regions, Basilicata and Campania, where they control the leadership of the Province of Naples from 1995.
History
The first official Italian Green political movements became electorally active at the 1985 local elections. Their symbol and political style was directly inspired by the Northern European environmentalist movements. The Green Lists, led by Gianni Mattioli, then made their debut at the 1987 general election when they gained 2.6% of the votes.
At the 1989 European Parliament Election two were the competing Green parties: the Green Lists and the Rainbow Greens, close to the Radical Party and featuring some Radical politicians (Alex Langer, Adelaide Aglietta and Francesco Rutelli). In 1990 the two movements joined forces to form the Federation of Greens.
The new formed party entered in alliance with the Democratic Party of the Left in 1993 and was a founding component of the Olive Tree coalition in 1996. After the 1996 general election, the Greens were part of the centre-left governments with Edo Ronchi, minister for the Environment (1996-2000), and then with Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, minister of Agriculture (2000-01).
In the 2001 general election it formed a group called Il Girasole (Sunflower) with the Italian Democratic Socialists. The combination scored 2.2% and so did not surpass the 4% treshold. Anyway the Greens elected 7 deputies and 10 senators in first-past-the-post districts, as part of the Olive Tree coalition.
After the disbanding of the alliance with the Socialists, a much moderate outfit, the party shifted far to the left, prompting the exit from it of important members as Edo Ronchi, Gianni Mattioli, Luigi Manconi, Massimo Scalia and Franco Corleone (Francesco Rutelli and Carlo Ripa di Meana had yet abandoned the party, respectively in 1997 and in 1999). From then the Greens are self-considered part of the Italian "radical left", alongside 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 9-10 April 2006 general election, the party was part of the winning The Union (L'Unione) and scored 2.1%, winning 15 out of 630 seats in the Italian Chamber of Deputies. An alliance of Greens, Communists and Consumers scored 4.2% in the elections for the Italian Senate, electing 11 out of 315 senators, of those 5 Greens. Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio was inaugurated minister of the Environment, while Paolo Cento, national coordinator of the party and member of the no global faction within it, became under-secretary for Economy and Finances.
In 10-12 November 2006, the party congress reinforced the political line traced by Pecoraro Scanio, supported by his number two Cento. Anyway the Greens decided to re-open the doors to people as Mattioli and Scalia, while setting as their mid-term goal that of the growth of the party, possibly as far as reaching the 5-6% of the votes. This will mean making the party more open and less sectarian, an alternative both to the centre-left parties (Democracy is Freedom and Democrats of the Left) and to the old-fashioned communist parties.
Leaders
Party sopkesman/president:
- Gianni Mattioli (1986-89)
- Sauro Turroni (1989-91)
- Lino De Benetti (1991-93)
- Carlo Ripa di Meana (1993-96)
- Luigi Manconi (1996-99)
- Grazia Francescato (1999-2001)
- Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio (2001-present)
Categories
Green political parties | Political parties in Italy | 1986 establishments | European Green Party