AVS, from universal basic income to renewables: all the proposals to be voted on ahead of Sunday’s meeting
The party has put forward 16 proposals on the ‘Decidiamo’ platform as part of the ‘Vote for Ideas’ initiative. The aim is to give citizens the opportunity to contribute to the creation of the centre-left’s joint manifesto
From a guaranteed minimum income at European level to reducing emissions, including free transport for under-30s, equal marriage and tackling homophobia. These are just some of the proposals put forward by the Green and Left Alliance on the ‘Decidiamo’ online platform, giving citizens the chance to vote for the ones they identify with most and to suggest new ideas of their own. The aims of the ‘Vote for Ideas’ initiative are to ‘reiterate that the centre-left urgently needs a common programme’ and to build ‘a participatory, “grassroots” contribution’.
How the platform works
‘Decidiamo’ is the AVS’s participatory platform and has been online since last May. The tool was created by the party to gather proposals from the public. On the portal, from Monday 12 October, users have been given the opportunity to vote on 82 proposals, divided into 16 themes ranging from energy to housing, from work to peace, and from healthcare to digital issues. Voting will close on Sunday 18th at 11.00 am, to coincide with ‘Decidiamo insieme’, the AVS national assembly dedicated to the participatory development of the red-green contribution to the centre-left’s joint programme.
In a statement, the party announced that in just four days nearly 10,000 people had signed up to the platform and that over 90,000 votes had been cast. Just under two days before the start of the assembly, 44 proposals had already received over 1,000 votes, and the most popular had surpassed the 2,000-vote mark. AVS also explained that 58 per cent of those who joined the platform are not party members and that the most represented age group is 18 to 34. The proposals with the most votes will be presented during the assembly.
The environmental challenge
Among the main objectives of the Green and Left Alliance are tackling climate change and reducing emissions. To this end, there are plans to adopt a law on the national climate transition within the first 100 days of the parliamentary term. To protect the environment, the idea of a radical rethink of transport is also being put forward, involving an investment of 30 billion drawn from the PNRR’s supplementary fund to make local public transport ‘widespread, efficient and competitive’. But that’s not all. AVS aims to make urban transport and regional trains free for those under 30 and over 65.
The Red-Greens would also like to see Italia powered 100 per cent by renewable energy sources, moving away from gas, oil and coal. The party remains firm on its long-standing position: there is no need to ‘rely on costly, false solutions such as nuclear power’. To tackle high energy prices, however, they propose ‘capped energy prices and targeted support measures for businesses in difficulty, whilst introducing additional incentives (such as tax credits) for concrete investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources’.
