ABSTRACT: In order to avoid confining environmentalism in the sad field of ideology, starting with the upcoming administrative elections it is vital to concentrate the radical energies in the organization of environmental battles and organizations; of a party not of environmentalism, but of an environmentalist party to "conceive and produce life instead of contributing in creating or suffering logics of death"; of an act of confidence and of hope, foreshadowing today that which we want others to become. It is the invitation to the environmental organizations to come out of the closet, and take part in the electoral competitions with their own environmental lists.

(Radical News No. 70 of 24 April 1984)

Intervening in the congress of the Amici della Terra, Marco Pannella among other things stated with reference to the Italian situation:

"My personal belief is the following: if, in the coming weeks and months, even one of my party companions did not prove to draw the energy to create environmental battles and organizations from his being constituent subject of the Radical Party, I would find no further reasons of common association with this party fellow.

If a single vote of the 400.000 I received at the last European elections, if one of 1.200.000 votes obtained by the Radical Party should fail to be the certain capital of departure of the electoral and institutional force of the environmental movement - and of being so starting with the upcoming administrative elections - personally speaking I would experience it as a loss of hope and of political reason of my choices, in their length and aspiration. Today a new awareness is vital and necessary, otherwise we risk being defeated, turning environmentalism into one of those ideological litanies which are doomed to follow the course of all other ideologies, is they are experienced as they have been experienced.

What we need therefore is the awareness of representing not a party of environmentalism - with all the ideological sectarianism which this implies - but parties that are first of all, in their integrity, environmentalist parties. It can no longer be ignored that certain choices should be prejudicial and not final, of we really want to conceive and produce life instead of creating or accepting logics of death. It is urgent to prevent the absence of an organized proposal and of a strictly environmental proposal from making possible, for example, the pathetic surprise of the Presidents of the Republic possible faced to the punctual candidature - which we radicals have always submitted in official consultations - of Aurelio Peccei for prime Minister. We did it every time, on every occasion, knowing that we risked misunderstanding and ridicule but providing this testimony of rigour and reasonableness.

An act of hard, serene confidence is needed, of integrity and hope, foreshadowing in the present - through the existence of each of us - that which we want others to become".