<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Civic Network of South Tyrol

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Political parties

The problems of ethnic groups in South Tyrol are also reflected in the party political scene where representatives of all the three linguistic groups are found. As a collective party, the South Tyrolese People's Party (Südtiroler Volkspartei or SVP) has represented the overwhelming majority of German and Ladin-speaking South Tyrolese since 1948. Only in the 1980s and 1990s could German and Ladin-speaking opposition parties establish themselves. In the 1990s considerable changes occurred in the Italian party political scene; until then the great majority of Italians in South Tyrol voted for Italian parties represented at national level. Also inter-ethnic groupings like the "Grünalternative Fraktion" were able to establish themselves successfully in the political scene of South Tyrol.

The South Tyrolese People's Party sees itself as a "collective" party for German and Ladin South Tyrolese of all social classes who, as convicted and responsible democrats profess loyalty to Freedom, People and Homeland; in its political orientation the SVP declares its belief in the Christian-Humanistic vision of mankind and society. The political objective of the Party is the preservation and development of the German and Ladin ethnic groups as well as to ensure that they remain the majority in their homeland. In the course of the years movements in the Party have emerged which "take into account the different ideas, views and interests of the groups forming the democratic community". Founded in May 1945, the SVP has received a majority of the votes in all Assembly and Parliamentary elections since then; in the Assembly elections of 1998 the party received 171,820 votes (56.6 per cent).

There have also been German-speaking opposition parties since 1948, and since 1964 these have been from time to time represented in the South Tyrolese Assembly, for example, the "Tiroler Heimatpartei" (1964-1968), the "Soziale Fortschrittspartei" (founded in 1966), the "Sozialdemokratische Partei Südtirols" (founded in 1972) or the "Wahlverband der Unabhängigen - WDU" (1983-1988). In the present South Tyrolese Assembly the "Union für Südtirol" has two representatives and the "Freiheitliche Partei Südtirols" has one representative.
The "Union für Südtirol" (Union for South Tyrol) emerged from the "Südtiroler Heimatbund" founded in 1974 as an association of former political prisoners. It stands primarily for self-determination for South Tyrol and rejects the Package Agreement.
The "Freiheitliche Partei Südtirols" (South Tyrolese Freedom Party) sees itself as a liberal party which stands particularly for freedom and protection of civil rights. In the 1990s more new political parties and movements came into existence. With the "Ladins" in the Provincial elections of 1993 an exclusively Ladin list captured for the first time a seat in the South Tyrolese Assembly and could defend it successfully also in elections of Assembly in 1998.

More complex is the party political spectrum on the Italian side. With the change in the Communist Party (PCI/KPI), with the rise of the "Lega Nord" (Northern League) and the "Forza Italia" movement, and with the transformation of the neo-fascist party MSI into the Alleanza Nazionale and the Christian Democratic Party (DC) into several subsequent parties, the lesser Italian parties (PSI, PRI, PLI, PSDI, etc.) have been pushed to the edge. As the strongest Italian Party in the Province the Alleanza Nazionale, in coalition with the Liberals under the name "Polo degli Italiani", has got three seats in the Provincial Assembly of 1998. Since 1995 the "Alleanza Nazionale" has toned down the former resistance against the Autonomy Statute from the side of the MSI, as, for example, with regard to the ethnical proportions. In the 1998 Provincial elections also the Italian fractions "Lista Civica- Forza Italia- Centro Cristiano Democratico (CCD)", "Popolari - Alto Adige Domani", "Unitalia- Movimento Sociale FT", "Il Centro" and "Progetto Centrosinistra" are represented with one deputy each.

The Green-Alternative Fraction sees itself as an interethnic movement, which is represented by two deputies in the South Tyrolese Assembly of 1998, calls for the abolition of ethnic barriers and certain provisions in the Autonomy Statute (such as ethnic proportions) as well as for improved protection of the countryside and the environment and for a "South Tyrol in Europe".
Finally, at municipal elections citizens action groups and citizens and local lists have campaigned.