grass-roots organisation of a referendum about the future of traffic in the Pustertal (Selbstverwaltete Volksbefragung zur Verkehrszukunft des Pustertales)

Best Practice

Topics

• New forms of decision-making
• Mobility, Policies and instruments

Short description

Grass-roots organisation of a referendum for awareness-building purposes and to test public opinion with regard to future developments in traffic management for the Puster Valley. The formal basis for the referendum was a plebiscite on direct democracy submitted to the regional parliament of South Tyrol. That caused the regional government to rethink its highway construction programme. The results are to be presented with the help of video interviews at meetings held in the 11 municipalities.

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Project executive

Supporting organizations of the people's questioning. Iinitiator, coordinator and adviser: the Initiative for more democracy

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Participants

The organisations supporting the referendum: Bürgerforum Bruneck, Plattform Pro Pustertal, Heimatpflegeverband (regional heritage association), Umweltschutzgruppe Vintl (environmental protection group), trade unions (AGB / CGIL Pustertal, ASGB Pustertal and SGB/CISL Eisack-Rienz), Dachverband für Natur- und Umweltschutz (environmentalist federation), KVW Pustertal (catholic labour movement), Verein für Kultur und Heimatpflege (regional heritage group), Familienverband Bezirk Pustertal (family association), Südtiroler Jugendring (youth welfare), AVS Brixen (Alpine Club, about 200 volunteer tellers, and the approx. 32,000 citizens with the right to vote in the eleven communities of the main Puster Valley.

Objectives

Awareness-building and opinion-making with regard to the problem of traffic developments in the valley, also in view of the danger of the creation of a new transit traffic route; Empowering the people living in the valley to take responsibility for future developments in traffic management there; Polling local residents with regard to their wishes for future traffic developments in the Puster Valley; Giving publicity to an integrated approach to solving the traffic problem, which will only be possible on the basis of a holistic strategy; Giving people hands-on experience of direct democracy; Testing a new political tool in a specific application (a referendum on a choice of possible solutions); Using the results to persuade the regional government to rethink its highway construction programme.

Activities

- obtaining the necessary support from local organisations and collecting the necessary signatures to be able to hold a self-organised referendum. - various events to inform the local people - referendum activities - promoting and disseminating the results

Process

Summer 2004: the Initiative for More Democracy obtained the necessary support from local organisations to hold a self-organised referendum. Autumn 2004: the organising committee collected about 2900 signatures in the 11 communities of the Puster Valley (approx. 9% of voters) thus satisfying the legal requirement for holding a referendum. Winter 2004: various events held by the supporting organisations to inform the local people. February 2005: voting papers distributed to all 32,000 voters. 20 March: the referendum was held in 26 wards of the 11 communities of the Puster Valley, involving a total of 32,000 persons eligible to vote. Summer 2005: activities in support of the result of the referendum. Autumn 2005: video interviews with the actors in the referendum and politically involved persons. Spring 2006: citizens’ assemblies in the 11 communities to consider the importance and result of the referendum.

Results

It can be assumed that the goal of awareness-building with regard to the traffic problem has been achieved. The result of the referendum shows that for 80% of those who are interested in the subject and actually voted, public transport is a clear priority in the framework of transport policy. For months during the run-up to the referendum, the traffic problem was the subject of intensive public debate. The opportunity to cast their vote gave the people a feeling of responsibility for the problem; they saw that they can have a potential influence on policy-making. The feeling of frustration and resignation has been largely overcome and people’s self-confidence strengthened. The regional government has had to apply the brakes to its highway construction program and enter into a dialogue with the people directly affected.

Evaluation

The project was awarded the CIPRA best practice award in the Future in the Alps competition in the category of New forms of decision-making.

Difficulties

The initial scepticism regarding the readiness of the citizens to participate and the fear of unwanted results results was overcome in the phase of the signatures collection. The discrediting attitude of the proprietors of the political power, who feared delegitimization of their plans, was counteracted with the impersonal and impartial frame of the people inquiry, in which all positions stood to the selection.

Budget

ca. 25.000,00 € (Euro)

Financial backer

The organisations supporting the referendum

Source of information

Competition

Participant at the 2005 Future in the Alps competition

Homepage

http://www.dirdemdi.org/pustertal/

Comments

Impact on nature and environment

The action has initiated an open debate and raised the awareness of citizens about the issues of transport development. Despite the non binding nature of the referendum, 25% of all voters voted for one of the scenarios, among them 80% for public transport priority and measures for limiting the negative impacts. This support legitimated further actions against the planned road development and for improved public transport.

Economic value added

Fast road connections between peripheral and central economic areas have critical impact on purchasing power and jobs. The more time one stays in one place, the more he/she there produces and consumes. By the referendum the valley decided for an environmentally friendly mobility and for the preservation of natural and cultural landscape values, which are an important economic resource for the valley.

Socio-cultural value added

The South Tyrol community is in the transition from a closed, hierarchically structured order to a free one, dependent on search for consensus. The project promoted the culture of equal rights, mutual respect and co responsibility. The transport policy is usually determined by male actors aged 20-45. The referendum gave everyone the same opportunity and took into consideration (according to the outcome) also future generations.

Innovative content

The referendum has clearly shown that the sustainable transport policy could only be achieved as a social contract and democratically approval. It also made a critical step forward realization of such policy. Project is innovative above all because the people have made this step on their own initiative, independent from any institution.

Good governance

The project has enabled the affected population to directly influence the decisions about the transport policy. The community forces, which were indispensable, could be gathered in the intensive process of clarification. All phases of the project could only be implemented because of the consistent application of the subsidiarity principle: on each level, from the quarter to the voting section, the actors undertook those responsibilities, which could best be realized.

PR impact

The self organized referendum was an absolute novelty in the political landscape of Südtirol. As such it was considered a success in the scale of the whole country and had caused a strong echo in the media. It has proved the worth and strength of the direct involvement in the decision making process and has positively impacted the present level of practicing direct democracy. With the planned movie this experience could be publicized even further.

Multiplier effect / networking

The project showed that the direct political decision making is possible, makes sense and, for the first time in Südtirol, that majority of the citizens want a sustainable transport policy. As such it functions as an example for the whole Südtirol, and this effect could be increased by the film. The project had specifically increased the sensibility of the country law and the local election process for the issues of direct democracy and quality of life.

Transferability

The approach is based on the concrete application of the art. 118 of the Italian constitution, which gives the citizens, with the support of the institutions, the right and the mandate to take care of the common issues. The decisive was the experience of the complementarity of information and decision: the information achieves its aim, if citizens can use it for action. This relation can everywhere foster the responsibility of the common good, strengthen and develop the democracy.

Further information