Progressive Democrats and Greens

Progressive Democrats and Greens
Leader	TBA
Chairperson	TBA
Founded	Proposed
Ideology	Liberalism, Green politics
Political position	Centre
Colours	Blue-green
Senato	0 / 100
Constazione	9 / 715 * post-merger
Political parties

The Progressive Democrats and Greens (PD+G, Pacitalian: Democrate Progressivar'e Verdari, DP+V) is an electoral alliance and proposed political party in Pacitalia that would result from the merger of the centrist Pacitalian Green Party and centre-right Federation of Progressive Democrats.

Background

Both parties endured among their worst-ever results in a national-level election in 2023. The FPD's traditional base of liberal and moderately conservative voters largely abandoned it in favour of the Christian Democrats and eDemocrats, while the Greens were further marginalized by an increased focus on environmental policies by the incumbent centre-left PSDC government.

In the aftermath of the election, both parties' leaders resigned and, as of November 2024, have yet to be replaced. For the Greens, previous leader Rosa Bardolin remains in place as a caretaker leader, while for the FPD, longtime senior lawmaker Pino Bernardin has taken over interim leadership duties. As internal deliberations continued over the timing of respective leadership campaigns and elections, the parties had begun to explore the possibility of a merger, with proponents asserting the merged party would have better campaign resources and more effective fundraising, and would be able to stake out a stronger position at the political centre.

Opposition and concerns

Members in both parties have expressed concern over how a merger might actually work, citing ideological incompatibility, though the two parties have historically demonstrated overlap on the traditional left-right political spectrum. The Green Party has a significant "green capitalist" faction; likewise, the FPD, aiming to be a "big tent" party on the centre-right, has always had a large socially liberal contingent.

Some senior Green Party officials have warned that a merger would effectively mean their party being absorbed by the FPD, rather than a "marriage of equals", and claim that traditional Green political principles, such as participatory democracy, social justice, and nonviolence, would likely be abandoned.

Future developments

Both parties have suspended their preparations for leadership elections as a result of the proposal and will instead put the merger to their respective members for a vote. The merger must be approved by a supermajority of each party's members, and approved by Elections Pacitalia, before it is official.

The parties intend for the merger to take place before the end of July 2024, to allow the new organization enough time to prepare for the 2024 regional and communal elections, which take place in November. Failing approval occurring in time, the parties would alternatively sign a memorandum of understanding to form an electoral alliance to contest the elections and then revisit a formal merger in 2025.