some allege that NIMBYism is at fault for italy's economic stagnation. ... should we take heed yet? (personal opinion: YES.)
?Nimbyism? blamed for Italy?s woes
By Guy Dinmore in Rome
Published: February 28 2008 13:34 | Last updated: February 28 2008 13:34
Italy?s Nimby syndrome is under attack from left and right.
Both main Italian political parties are promising in their election campaigns to tackle the ?not in my backyard? culture that is blamed in large part for the country?s economic decline and lack of infrastructure.
With Naples wallowing in uncollected garbage and energy chiefs warning that homes might go short of gas this winter, politicians say they will change the way Italy works, or doesn?t.
Industrialists are already delighted that the Green party, led by Pecoraro Scanio, the outgoing environment minister they blame for holding up vital infrastructure projects, is unlikely to play a role in the next government.
?Action Environmentalism!? and ?no to Nimbys? are among the slogans of the ruling centre-left Democratic party. Led by the reformist Walter Veltroni, until recently mayor of Rome, the party is seeking to capitalise on its decision to ditch the Greens (and Communists) from its coalition for the mid-April elections.
?My dear Green friends. Your experience is over,? commented Roberto Della Seta who quit as president of Legambiente, the green lobby group, to lead the Democratic party?s environmental policy.
The Democrats ? who are trailing Silvio Berlusconi?s opposition People of Freedom in opinion polls ? are campaigning on a promise to streamline and centralise the decision-making process for large infrastructure projects.
Mr Veltroni specifically mentions high-speed railways, regasifiers and energy-producing garbage incinerators ? all projects that have been stalled, blocked or fallen foul of incompetent management.
The centre-right coalition of Mr Berlusconi has yet to release details of its manifesto. However the former two-time prime minister has also promised to slim down bureaucracy by eliminating an entire tier at the level of province, and to back large-scale projects, including a controversial bridge to Sicily.
Even nuclear power will be back on the agenda in a centre-right government, Il Giornale, a pro-Berlusconi newspaper, reported on Wednesday.
The Democratic party, however, is maintaining its opposition to a return to nuclear energy in the ?next years? although this should not be considered a ?taboo subject?, Mr Della Seta told the FT.
Italians voted against nuclear power in a 1987 referendum. Italy, the only G-8 nation not to have nuclear energy, dismantled its existing plants and imports electricity from French nuclear power stations instead.
BG Group, the UK energy company whose partly built regasifier in southern Italy has been frozen by court order, said on Wednesday it would welcome new programmes to help Italy out of its gas emergency.
This would be a ?good signal for the foreign community willing to invest in Italy?, Damiano Ratti, general manager for BG Italy, told the FT.
Alessandro Beulcke, director of the non-profit Nimby Forum, says it is fundamental for Italy to overcome the Nimby syndrome.
?The country is completely blocked. There is opposition on the ground and at all levels of local and central politics,? he commented.
The decision of Mr Veltroni?s Democratic party to break with the Greens had empowered reformists on the left to take a new direction, he said.
The Greens, who have joined Communists in a Rainbow Left coalition that is attracting only some 8.0 per cent in opinion polls, argue that they were unfairly blamed for obstructing Italy?s development.
In an interview with Il Manifesto, a left-wing daily, Mr Scanio ? who was only saved from a vote of no confidence by the ruling coalition?s collapse last month -said the Prodi government had no sensitivity to environmental issues.
Polluting promoters of coal and producers of genetically modified foods would benefit from the Democratic party?s new position, Mr Scanio alleged.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
?Nimbyism? blamed for Italy?s woes
By Guy Dinmore in Rome
Published: February 28 2008 13:34 | Last updated: February 28 2008 13:34
Italy?s Nimby syndrome is under attack from left and right.
Both main Italian political parties are promising in their election campaigns to tackle the ?not in my backyard? culture that is blamed in large part for the country?s economic decline and lack of infrastructure.
With Naples wallowing in uncollected garbage and energy chiefs warning that homes might go short of gas this winter, politicians say they will change the way Italy works, or doesn?t.
Industrialists are already delighted that the Green party, led by Pecoraro Scanio, the outgoing environment minister they blame for holding up vital infrastructure projects, is unlikely to play a role in the next government.
?Action Environmentalism!? and ?no to Nimbys? are among the slogans of the ruling centre-left Democratic party. Led by the reformist Walter Veltroni, until recently mayor of Rome, the party is seeking to capitalise on its decision to ditch the Greens (and Communists) from its coalition for the mid-April elections.
?My dear Green friends. Your experience is over,? commented Roberto Della Seta who quit as president of Legambiente, the green lobby group, to lead the Democratic party?s environmental policy.
The Democrats ? who are trailing Silvio Berlusconi?s opposition People of Freedom in opinion polls ? are campaigning on a promise to streamline and centralise the decision-making process for large infrastructure projects.
Mr Veltroni specifically mentions high-speed railways, regasifiers and energy-producing garbage incinerators ? all projects that have been stalled, blocked or fallen foul of incompetent management.
The centre-right coalition of Mr Berlusconi has yet to release details of its manifesto. However the former two-time prime minister has also promised to slim down bureaucracy by eliminating an entire tier at the level of province, and to back large-scale projects, including a controversial bridge to Sicily.
Even nuclear power will be back on the agenda in a centre-right government, Il Giornale, a pro-Berlusconi newspaper, reported on Wednesday.
The Democratic party, however, is maintaining its opposition to a return to nuclear energy in the ?next years? although this should not be considered a ?taboo subject?, Mr Della Seta told the FT.
Italians voted against nuclear power in a 1987 referendum. Italy, the only G-8 nation not to have nuclear energy, dismantled its existing plants and imports electricity from French nuclear power stations instead.
BG Group, the UK energy company whose partly built regasifier in southern Italy has been frozen by court order, said on Wednesday it would welcome new programmes to help Italy out of its gas emergency.
This would be a ?good signal for the foreign community willing to invest in Italy?, Damiano Ratti, general manager for BG Italy, told the FT.
Alessandro Beulcke, director of the non-profit Nimby Forum, says it is fundamental for Italy to overcome the Nimby syndrome.
?The country is completely blocked. There is opposition on the ground and at all levels of local and central politics,? he commented.
The decision of Mr Veltroni?s Democratic party to break with the Greens had empowered reformists on the left to take a new direction, he said.
The Greens, who have joined Communists in a Rainbow Left coalition that is attracting only some 8.0 per cent in opinion polls, argue that they were unfairly blamed for obstructing Italy?s development.
In an interview with Il Manifesto, a left-wing daily, Mr Scanio ? who was only saved from a vote of no confidence by the ruling coalition?s collapse last month -said the Prodi government had no sensitivity to environmental issues.
Polluting promoters of coal and producers of genetically modified foods would benefit from the Democratic party?s new position, Mr Scanio alleged.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008