by Marco Pannella

Report about the Pr current difficulties among the worst in its history. The new political group now being formed on the left wing must help in sustaining the Pr

ABSTRACT: Quite long article on the newspaper "L'Unitê", in the "Comments" page. Very precise description of the Radical Party, or better of the radical "Thing" including its "libertarian" structures, its mechanisms and "rules", its members - currently more numerous in Moscow than in Turin ("one member out of four is not Italian"), "impossible" phenomenon for sociologists and politics experts, but able to give "voice and victory to a vast social majority," as G.Baget Bozzo wrote.

The article:

Recalls the relationship between the Radical Party and the PCI, with the two secretaries affirming the "trans-national" characteristic of the Radical Party, with radical adhesion to the referendum on the Senate electoral reform and the appeal for at least one PCI member in every Italian municipality to also become a member of the Radical Party, and finally with the account of the overturning of the PCI assertions and the Radical Party decision to "withhold" its political activity;

It shortly explains the initiatives taken during the current exceptional management period: the drying up of any fund left, the rescue of Radio Radicale, the increasing competitiveness of Teleroma '56, the launching of several campaigns in USSR, Italy, ecc.;

It confirms the danger of a going back to an ordinary management, which will re-establish "the immediate causes... of the crisis we had to face during the last five or six years.";

Finally, it calls for new members for both 1990 and 1991.

(L'UNITA', October 10, 1990)

Currently the Radical Party has more members in Moscow than in Turin, or in Prague than in Naples. One member out of four is not Italian. A bit less than one Italian member out of ten lives in jail. In our Federal Board, there are members of the Italian or European Parliaments who belong to the Liberal Party, Socialist Party, Communist Party, Social-democrat Party, Green and Anti-prohibitionist Groups as well as to the Soviet of People in Moscow and Leningrad - democratic people from twenty different countries. The Radical Party is the party of the political non-violence, political democracy, political tolerance and secularism, political ecology, political federalism, European federalism, human and civil rights. The Radical Party is a liberal-democratic and liberal-socialist, anti-prohibitionist on drugs, anti-authoritarian, anti-nationalism, anti-militarism party. It's the only party with rules and structures that are libertarian, trans-national, trans-party, secular because of its history, statute, method,

ideas and goals. It's a secular party and even an illuministic one, which calls for complete freedom for its activists, and without such a freedom it sinks and denies itself; it needs the complete freedom for its opponents, even more than for itself.

We are a Thing with a name, a statute, rules, ideas, a history to pursue; with the warranty of what has already been made as a basis for what needs to be done today and tomorrow; with no other power than the talking and acting by those people who are embodying and giving substance to this Thing , both for themselves and for history. We have neither power nor possessions. This is our identity but not our image yet. To sustain its historical goals, this Thing has too little activists, too little faces and stories behind, ordinary and extraordinary, to be known by people who are languishing within a communication and information system which simply mirrors itself instead of giving rise to debate, research, education, culture and fulfillment for every and each one of us.

Today our world, our planet is agonizing, probably close to death, unless we do not invent a possible new thing . This possible new thing has a milestone in the Radical Party, which has always been, for thirty years, an impossible story , era after era, year after year, event after event. We have been "existing in spite of the official negation" by the world of culture, power of politics, mass-media. Someone did become aware of us, including Vittorini (1), Pasolini (2), Sciascia (3), at times also Baget Bozzo (4), Panebianco (5), and a few others. In thirty years, we have had a maximum of 30,000 members. With only one exception, in a single year we have never reached the figure of 4,000 members.

Nevertheless, no other organized political group has ever posed to the consciousness of an entire country, of each woman and each man, so many problems, both at a general and at a personal level. Today, the Radical Party is an impracticable thing , not clear, yet increasingly real on one hand, and well established, on the other.

No business venture, of any kind has ever had the creative and productive capacity of the Radical Party regarding organization and setting up of professional resources and projects, especially when talking about ratio of cost vs. profit, price vs. quality. Our association, with a barely perceptible social value, is more so alive - but with such an impossibility that no sociologist, no politics expert can admit its existence and even investigates its own characteristics because exactly those characteristics are what is able to deeply criticize and deny the very systems upon which the slavish and Ptolemaic activities of those experts stand. Baget Bozzo in his own time (rarely this expression was more appropriate) defined us as a political minority able to give voice and victory to vast social majorities .

However, even this one time dear prophet of ours is now speechless; instead, he has become the perfect story-teller on Andreotti (6), on Craxi (7), and on nothing at all because of nostalgic and passionate feelings of a well-defined something of a while ago: Ptolemaic, finally totally conscious!

The Radical Party is closing the year 1990 with a new clear defeat of the likely , and a similarly clear reaffirmation of the impossible .

Balance (budget) for 1990

Our Federal Board thought that we could have been joined (maybe as a reward or compensation!) by most probably a few thousand of Italians, particularly enlightened communists , at least with a ratio of one out of every Italian municipality - that is about 8,000 out of 1,4 million of PCI members. The secretaries of the two Parties, Occhetto (8) and Stanzani (9), had officially declared the International , in absolute no competition with any existing Party, as the definitive characteristic of the Radical Party; the PCI secretary also wished for the support of any democratic individual to help the PR in overcoming its difficulties.

Mr. Darhendorf (10) looked like one of the prophet of L'Unitê as well as of The Thing [La Cosa] (11).

The so-called Nathan lists (12) should have unified us both electorally and politically for the approaching regional, provincial, and municipal ballots.

The adhesion to the referendum asking for the switch to the anglo-saxon system - at least for the Senate election - announced by the PCI during our latest Federal Board session, appeared to everybody, including neutral mass media, as a giant step toward a radically new Thing , realistically real for the majority of the Communists of PCI or the Liberal democrats and Liberal socialists, non-violent people and westerners of PR and whereabouts.

Most probably they thought that the human and financial resources would allow, starting from 5-10,000 Italian members, to add at least 20,000 new ones in the USSR and 10,000 more in other countries.

In fact, it could have been quite conceivable that 4 out of 1,000 PCI members could have understood the importance of financing and literally give strength to an Internationalist non-violent, environmental, secular, European federalist enterprise, able to act and to achieve timely goals, with a direct coalition of people, activists, strong of a perfect clean past about the crisis of the Soviet empire and of most southern regions of the world, in a climate quite close to a liberal revolution . By reaching those eight thousand (or maybe even one thousand) new members, we could have been facing with two natural and inevitable consequences: more than 80 percent of the PR Italian members would have been members of PCI; after the fall of the radical taboo Berlin wall , those eight thousand would have grown to an avalanche. Waiting for the old/new apparatus to join the International Socialist, in order to reform politics, the Institutions, themselves and the others, the Italian Communists could have had i

n their hands a powerful "tool of political battle and new aggregation" for the Pr, its history and its potential. If this would happen today, I believe the entire democratic debate would gain an immediate benefit. Instead, the impossible has come about. Within the PCI everything happened, from the ideological apology of capitalism, to the apology of Munich clerical politics, and of deadly pacifism . However, secularly acting and not ideologically speaking, we have been joined by three thousand others and only less than a hundred communists , despite the contribution by Willer Bordon (13) and Michele Serra (14). During last January, we estimated very likely that which did not actually happen, and impossible (without that likely ) that we could do anything different from the immediate suspension of the PR political activities, due to the lacking of the minimum resources needed to act. In order to having to move on later to the financial liquidation of the Party itself.

Should we pay off our Party?

The PR is increasingly revealing itself as a rich well of precious and rare matter, that we ourselves have not yet fully explored; although reduced to hunger and thirst, we haven't given in to undersell this well, avoiding that it be buried in a waste dump. It is possible, even probable, that they will succeed in closing down the well: thanks to a constant rights violation needed by the ones in power in the so-called real democracies . This scenario, however, could present itself without jeopardizing the future or without the bankruptcy of our society.

We clearly have to notice a few facts. The impossible , that is the non-disaster, the course reversal, the straightening out of the PR current situation even without 5/10/50,000 members in 1990, is becoming true, nonetheless. Due to the impossible membership of more than 3,000 Italians and more than 1,000 non-Italians, our activities frozen, we were capable to actually decrease our debts, so that for the first time in several years, we are facing the end of the year without even touching the government finance aid for 1991, having cut our debts by more than 50%.

We will soon inaugurate our new office headquarters (first time as owners), quite efficient and very beautiful, whose value is three times higher than the amount we invested.

We were able to save at the very last second Radio Radicale, with its incredible function as public, civic, and democratic service. A great success, also in terms of acknowledgment and prestige for one of the best radical achievements of the last fifteen years.

The new regulations on TV broadcasting creates a very delicate situation within a field where our area , including Teleroma 56 and Canale 66 (15) , should be able to confront with something different form the "jungle law" and to work for better developments toward a broader information stance and democratic activities.

I also believe in saying that, in those literally impossible circumstances (as recognized both by our Federal Board and the II Italian Congress of the PR, when forced to declare the complete suspension of any Party activity), along with Sergio Stanzani, Paolo Vigevano (16), Emma Bonino (17) and barely ten more fellows we were capable to sustain our activities, goals, social and political involvement and in Italy, USSR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary - pursuing initiatives of great political importance and ideal for every democratic individual.

If we stopped now, if we surrendered to the daily temptation, stronger and stronger, to feel satisfied of what has been achieved so far, to invest our little funds left into a new Congress, if we decided to re-start our common , that is extraordinary, activities - we would quickly deteriorate what we have been able to gain, together with the 4,000 radicals of 1990, so to re-introduce the initial and still persistent causes of our crisis of the last five and more years.

At this point, we are opening the membership campaign for 1991. The fee increases to 208,000 Italian Lira according to the PIL, as stated in our Congress.

We urge anyone who could afford it to become a member for both 1990 and 1991. At the same time, we are launching an exceptional fund raising campaign, especially targeting the final year extra-income and the Christmas shopping.

We urge anyone to give us permission to publish their personal statements about the reasons for becoming a member or for membership renewal, so to help us in our difficult task and to encourage other people in doing the same. Of such actions, we all have a great necessity and need. The modesty, the strength, the intelligence, the hope, the creativity expressed and made feasible in 1990 by those impossible 4,000 members and the desolate results obtained by those millions of people who decided, with a single voice, to forget about the PR - I hope they will bring consideration and will lead to forethought and generosity.

Translator's notes:

(1) VITTORINI ELIO. (Siracusa 1908 - Milan 1966). Sicilian writer. Diffused the American literature in Italy in the '30s, with a famous anthology of 1942. Author of an acclaimed novel, "Uomini e no". Cultural organizer, after the war he founded the magazine "Il Politecnico". Entered a controversy with Togliatti, left the Italian Communist Party (PCI) and joined the Radical Party, becoming president after its schism, together with the group of the Radical Left headed by Pannella.

(2) PASOLINI PIERPAOLO. (Bologna 1922 - Rome 1975). Italian writer and director. Novels ("Ragazzi di vita", 1955; "Una vita violenta", 1959), verse ("Le ceneri di Gramsci", 1957, etc.), plays, cinema ("Accattone", 1961, "Il Vangelo secondo Matteo", 1964, etc.), but especially powerful polemist and moralist, he denounced the evils of the "bourgeoisie" and severely criticized the Italian Left for its shortcomings. Sympathizer of the Radical Party, on the subject of which he wrote some beautiful pages, the day after his death he was supposed to go to Florence to take part in a congress of the party.

(3) SCIASCIA LEONARDO. (Racalmuto 1921 - Palermo 1990). Writer and author of several famous novels ("Le parrocchie di Regalpetra", 1956; "Il giorno della civetta, 1961; Todo modo, 1974), but also known as a polemist, he took active part in the Italian civil life for at least twenty years. During one legislature (1979-1983) he was also radical member of Parliament, actively intervening in civil rights campaigns (Tortora case, etc.).

(4) BAGET BOZZO GIANNI. (Savona 1925). Priest, political analyst and writer. Editorialist for "La Repubblica", author of several successful books. Member of the European Parliament, Italian Socialist Party.

(5) PANEBIANCO ANGELO. (1948). Structuralist political analyst, studied with Professor Sartori in the United States. Professor of Political Science at the University of Bologna. Co-author of "I nuovo radicali". Editorialist for "Il Corriere della Sera". Former member of the Radical Party.

(6) ANDREOTTI GIULIO. (Rome 1919). Exponent of the Christian Democratic Party. Secretary of A. De Gasperi, very young, as under-secretary of the Presidency of the Council, he began an uninterrupted career as minister: Interior (1954), Finance (1955-58), Treasury (1958-59), Defence (1959-66), Industry (1966-68), Budget (1974-76). Prime Minister from 1972 to 1973, then from 1976 to 1979 and from 1990 to date.

(7) CRAXI BETTINO. (Milan 1934). Italian politician. Socialist, deputy since 1968. Appointed secretary of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) in 1976, he operated important changes in the party's phisiognomy, turning it into the core of a wide project of institutional and other reforms and of unity of the socialist forces.

(8) OCCHETTO ACHILLE. (Turin 1936). Italian politician. At first exponent of Ingrao's group, he then shifted to Berlinguer's centre. He became secretary of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1988, succeeding Alessandro Natta. After launching the idea of a major "Constituent" of the left with all reformist forces, he then decided to change only the name of the party ("Democratic Party of the Left").

(9) STANZANI GHEDINI SERGIO AUGUSTO. (Bologna 1923). Exponent of the Italian Students Association in the '50s, among the founders of the Radical Party. Senator and member of Parliament, ex-secretary of the Radical Party. Former IRI executive. Engineer.

(10) DAHRENDORF RALPH. (1929). German political analyst and philosopher, scholar of modern industrial societies, professor at the London School of Economics. One of the greatest living theorists of liberalism. Very popular in the Left, after the dissolution of Marxism.

(11) LA COSA. Name used ironically sense to designate the project to change the name, the symbol and the program of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) during the period of transition after November 1989. In October 1990, the Secretary General, Achille Occhetto, proposed the name "Democratic Party of the Left" and the symbol of an oaktree to the central Committee.

(12) NATHAN ERNESTO. (London 1845 - Rome 1921 - assumed Italian citizenship in 1888). Politician, at the beginning of the century he headed a lay and reformist coalition to conquer the local administration of Rome, until then controlled by exponents of land speculation linked to the most reactionary and clerical forces. As mayor of Rome (from 25 November 1907 to 4 December 1913) he achieved major social reforms of the Roman local administration. A Jew and member of the Masonry, Nathan represented a never forgotten nightmare for Roman reactionary forces. In 1989 Marco Pannella launched a project called "Lista Nathan" for the administrative elections which he proposed to the lay forces of the Left. The proposal was not accepted.

(13) BORDON WILLER. (Trieste 1949). Deputy of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), member of the Radical Party's federal council. In Trieste he organized a "transverse" ticket in Trieste for the elections of 1992, representative of several democratic forces. Re-elected on such ticket at the Chamber of Deputies.

(14) SERRA MICHELE. Journalist, editor of "Cuore", at first a satirical insert of the daily newspaper of the Italian Communist Party, then independent weekly.

(15) TELEROMA 56 and CANALE 66. Private TV channels operating in the sphere of the Radical Party. With regional diffusion, in particular in Rome and Latium, they are also connected to the Rete Italia network.

(16) VIGEVANO PAOLO - Long-time member and former treasurer of the Radical Party, director of Radio Radicale, member of the Italian Parliament.

(17) BONINO EMMA. (Bra 1948). President of the Radical Party, former member of the European Parliament, as of 1976 member of the Italian Parliament. Among the promoters of the CISA (Information Centre on Sterilization and Abortion) and active militant in the campaign against clandestine abortion. She was tried and acquitted in Florence. Participated in the conduction, on a national and international scale, of the campaign on World Hunger. Among the founding members of "Food and Disarmament International", promoted the circulation of the Manifesto of Nobel Laureates.