 | |
| Abbreviation | TRP or NRPTT |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Radical Party (Italy) |
| Formation | 1 January 1989 |
| Founder | Marco Pannella |
| Founded at | Rome |
| Type | NonprofitNGO |
| Legal status | Active |
| Purpose | Defense of personal and collectivefreedoms,human,civil and political rights |
| Headquarters | Via di Torre Argentina 76, 00186Rome |
Region | Worldwide |
| Methods | Nonviolence,lobbying |
| Fields | Politics |
| Membership | 3,308[1] (2018) |
Secretary | Maurizio Turco |
President | Diego Sabatinelli |
Treasurer | Irene Testa |
| Subsidiaries |
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| Affiliations |
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| Website | www www www |
TheTransnational Radical Party (TRP), whose official name isNonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty (NRPTT), is a political association of citizens, members of parliament and members of government of various national and political backgrounds who intend to adoptnonviolent means to create an effective body ofinternational law with respect for individuals,human,civil and political rights, as well as the affirmation ofdemocracy andpolitical freedom in the world. The TRP does not participate in elections and, despite being named "party", is anon-governmental organization (NGO), with consultative status at theEconomic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of theUnited Nations (UN) since 1995,[2] adept in building synergies among political forces aimed at achieving the goals of its congressional motions.
The TRP is the direct evolution of theRadical Party, apolitical party inItaly, active from 1955 to 1989, and is a separate entity from the once-connectedItalian Radicals party, founded in 2001 as PRT's section in the country. The TRP often advocates the international use ofEsperanto in its literature.[3]
The TRP's forerunner, theRadical Party (PR), was established in 1955 by a left-wing splinter group from the centre-rightItalian Liberal Party (PLI), under the leadership ofMarco Pannella. In 1989, the PR was transformed into the TRP. In 1992, a majority of Italy's Radicals formed, at the national-level in Italian politics, thePannella List. Since 1999, Radicals ran in elections under the banner ofBonino List, named afterEmma Bonino. After a breakthrough in the1999 European Parliament election, Italy's Radicals formed theItalian Radicals (RI).
In the1979 European Parliament election, the first in which voters voted directly for theEuropean Parliament, the PR obtained its best result ever countrywide (3.7% of the vote, resulting in the election of threeMEPs, including Pannella). Following the election, the PR was involved with theCoordination of European Green and Radical Parties (CEGRP) and its unsuccessful efforts to create a single pan-European platform for green and radical politics.[4] More importantly, since then, the party projected itself into international politics.
In 1988, after a decade during which transnational issues and values were emphasised, the PR's congress decided that the party would be transformed during 1989 into the TRP and that the latter would not present itself in elections (in order to avoid competition with the other parties and stimulate cooperation instead), while permitting "dual membership" with other parties.[5] The new symbol featuring the stylised face ofMahatma Gandhi[6] was the point of no return in the transformation of the PR into an instrument of political fight completely at disposal of issue-oriented campaigns.[7][8]
All this provoked great controversy among Radicals. Some long-time members left in order to continue their own activity in other parties or retire from public life. However, also most TRP Radicals continued to be actively engaged in politics, sometimes supported by the TRP itself, sometimes seeking hospitality in traditional parties or creating entirely new electoral lists.[9][10] In the1989 European Parliament election Pannella stood as a successful candidate of the joint list between the PLI (his former party) and theItalian Republican Party, some Radicals formed the "Anti-prohibition List on Drugs" (1 MEP), while others joined theRainbow Greens (2 MEPs). In the run-up of the1992 general election the Pannella List was formed.
Sergio Stanzani andEmma Bonino were the first secretary and president of the party, respectively. In 1993 Bonino, who would be appointed to theEuropean Commission in 1995, replaced Stanzani, and Pannella became president.
The TRP was soon involved in comparing the conditions of therule of law among different democracies throughout the world.[11] While its members and economic resources continued to come primarily from Italy, the party strengthened its activities worldwide, especially in the countries of post-communistEastern Europe.[12][13] In this respect, the TRP launched the Multilingual Telematics System,[14][15] one of the firstbulletin board systems in Italy to allow multiple connections at the same time with the many countries where the party had influence and membership.
In 1995, after an intense institutional work, the TRP became a non-governmental organization for the promotion of human rights' legislation and the affirmation of democracy and freedom worldwide. As such, it was granted the general consultative status at theEconomic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of theUnited Nations (UN).[16]
Also in 1995,Olivier Dupuis, a long-time Radical fromBelgium and founding member of the TRP who had moved toBudapest,Hungary in 1988 and from there had coordinated TRP's activities in Eastern Europe, was elected secretary of the party, whileJean-François Hory, aFrench MEP of theRadical Party of the Left within the TRP-sponsoredEuropean Radical Alliance group, was president. In 1996, Dupuis took Pannella's seat in the European Parliament.
Within the UN, the party has been involved in a variety of issues: themoratorium on the death penalty and the proposal of a complete abolition,[17] anti-prohibition against global mafias,[18] fair justice,[19] freedom of scientific research and the ban on female genital mutilation.[20] Additionally, the TRP has allowed access to UN meetings to some stateless people, includingTibetans,[21]Uyghurs[22] andMontagnards,[23] and led active monitoring of conflicts, such as the case ofUkraine versusRussia,[24] or gave voice to dissidents opposed to authoritarian regimes likeCuba[25] andTurkey.[22] For its proposal of a peace plan in theChechen–Russian conflict,[26] the party has collided with Russia and its members risked expulsion from the country.[27]
Radicals have often accused the Italian media of ignoring their initiatives and focusing merely on internal conflicts within the Radical world.[28][29][30] The inadequate information on Radical initiatives by the Italian media has been meticulously verified by the TRP-sponsoredCentro d'Ascolto dell'Informazione Radiotelevisiva[31] and produced several sentences featuring compensations to be paid byRAI, the Italian public broadcaster, and commercial TV as well. Some confusion came from the fact that since the 2000s, rather than highlighting its expansion abroad, the TRP has preferred to focus on the "Case Italy", emblematic of the decadence of a constitutional political system into a "real democracy", that is to say a formal democracy in which its very institutions substantially act in contrast with the constitution.[32][33]
According to the TRP, Italy has become a "partycratic regime" and, as such, has started to spread the "plague" of "real democracy" around the democratic world. That was denounced by Radicals within international organisations and though the publication of a "yellow book" on the "Italian plague".[34] However, the TRP effectively suffered internal problems too. In 2003 Dupuis resigned from secretary because of serious political differences with Pannella. In 2011–14Demba Traoré, a politician fromMali, served briefly as secretary: he left the party without officially resigning, after being returned to the government of his own country. The TRP was later provisionally run by a committee, known as the "senate", led by Pannella and composed of the party's leading members.
After the death of Pannella in May 2016, an extraordinary congress was convened in September to overcome the long inactivity due to the absence of the secretary, as well as the economic problems undermining the party's viability. The congress adopted with 178 votes in favour, 79 against and 13 abstentions on the final resolution:
The minority faction, led by Bonino andMarco Cappato, in turn, controlled the RI,[37][38] as confirmed in their November 2016 congress.[39][40] In February 2017 the TRP severed its ties with the RI (accused of boycotting the TRP, using its assets without paying for them and pursuing an Italian-only electoral agenda), and the latter could no longer use the Radical headquarters.[41][42][43][44][45] However, the RI's congress invited its members to adhere to the TRP.[46] The 3,000-member target for 2017 was achieved by the TRP in December,[47] while the RI had launched apro-Europeanist electoral list namedMore Europe for the2018 Italian general election.[48][49]
With the 2019 congress, the TRP, having met the membership targe of 3,000 both in 2017 and 2018,[1] returned to regular business. The new elected leadership included Turco as secretary,Diego Sabatinelli as president of the newly-formed general council andIrene Testa as treasurer, as well as three honorary presidents (Ettore Cannavera,Michael Giffoni andGaia Tortora).[50] In 2024, the TRP announced an electoral pact withForza Italia for the2024 European Parliament election.[51]
The 2016 congress elected a collective Presidency, composed of the following members:Matteo Angioli,Angiolo Bandinelli,Marco Beltrandi,Rita Bernardini (coordinator),Maurizio Bolognetti,Antonella Casu (coordinator),Antonio Cerrone,Deborah Cianfanelli,Maria Antonietta Coscioni,Sergio D'Elia (coordinator),Mariano Giustino,Giuseppe Rippa,Giuseppe Rossodivita,Irene Testa,Maurizio Turco (coordinator and legal representative),Valter Vecellio, andElisabetta Zamparutti.[52]
Current prominent members (as of December 2017):[53][54]
Former prominent members:[55]
The Transnational Radical Party is one of Marco Pannella's most interesting insights. Born in 1989 in Budapest, after a few years of intense activity and unexpected successes, a long decline begins that will lead him to the suspension of congress activities, but not to cease producing ideas and initiatives. Massimo Lensi describes this parable through his personal experience
D'importantes adhésions à l'appel, promu par le Parti radical à travers le septième numéro du "Parti Nouveau" et "Lettre Radicale 23" et adressé aux autorités cubaines, continuent à parvenir. Ci-après le texte de l'appel et les signatures des députés et des personnalités recueillies à ce jour. »Nous soussignés, membres des Gouvernements et des Parlements démocratiques, demandons aux autorités cubaines la libération des citoyens cubains Luis Alberto Pita Santos et Daniel Azpillaga, emprisonnés pour avoir organisé des manifestations populaires non violentes en faveur des réformes démocratiques à Cuba. Nous demandons aussi qu'il soit permis à Mario Chanes de Armas, prisonnier politique pendant trente ans et remis en liberté récemment, de quitter Cuba et de se réunir à sa famille en exil