The PD is moving ever closer to nuclear power. The other sticking point with its broad coalition allies

Within the PD, some are coming out into the open: nuclear power? Why not? Secretary Elly Schlein has opened a window of opportunity. “The PD has no ideological preconceptions about nuclear power. As a Member of the European Parliament, I have always supported research into nuclear fusion,” she said during her interview with Il Foglio, emphasising that the problem is not the technology, but the timing. This was followed by an endorsement from Pierluigi Bersani, a long-standing figure on the Italian left, a founding member and former secretary of the PD: “I have no ideological or emotional reaction when it comes to nuclear power,” he said at the event ‘Da Fermi al futuro’, organised by Open at the Ara Pacis. On that occasion, he described the approach outlined by the Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin (seated in front of him in the hall), as reasonable: “Let’s establish a procedural and legal framework and then we’ll see. If it’s meant to be, it will work out, and politics must play its part. It strikes me as a matter of common sense.” The process should be bipartisan, but there should be no referendum: “I say no, I’d leave it alone.” And whilst considering renewables to be the cornerstone of Europe’s strategic autonomy, the “sensible approach” to take instead of a referendum is to pursue “research into credible developments in nuclear power”, whilst continuing to rely on gas.

Scepticism remains, but these are significant concessions from the Democratic Party, which clash with the outright rejection of nuclear power expressed by their allies in the broad coalition. The M5S is opposed to nuclear energy, although when the enabling bill on nuclear power was approved last June, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte sought to demonstrate that he did not hold an ideological stance, arguing that he was opposed to fission but in favour of fusion – a technology which, at present, is not even capable of producing energy, but rather remains a field of research. In the same context, AVS leader Angelo Bonelli took an even tougher line: “The government is lying to the Italian people. Today’s nuclear power presents many problems: the length of time and the duration required to build the power stations, and the cost.” For him, in fact, “nuclear power is not the solution; we need a modern grid and investment in storage and renewables”. Yet, even within AVS, there has been no shortage of openness to the idea. As we report here, last May on the Decidiamo platform (the online direct democracy tool implemented by the federation), Alessandro Jelveh, a representative of physics students at the University of Padua with the Union of Young Leftists, launched a proposal entitled "Openness to nucl34r3". “If you’re wondering why the word is censored, it’s because this very democratic platform automatically removes proposals containing that word,” he wrote, not without a touch of irony, before getting to the point: “I believe we must put an end to the anti-nucl34r3 rhetoric, which is often based on anti-scientific arguments. It causes us to lose credibility as reasonable and objective people.”

The PD also voted against the enabling bill in the Chamber of Deputies, arguing that the bill was merely propaganda. “However, I agree with what Secretary Schlein says; we are in favour of research,” PD MP Lia Quartapelle told Il Foglio. “Certainly, at the moment, the crisis in Italy concerns the slow pace at which renewable energy sources are being installed, which has worsened under this government.” There are signs of openness from the PD, albeit tentative. It remains to be seen to what extent and how the nuclear issue will be addressed with coalition partners – a highly complex matter.