Ticino's Green Liberals to run alone in April cantonal elections

The Ticino Green Liberal Party has decided to run on its own in April's cantonal elections, presenting its own list for the government and aiming for up to 90 candidates for the cantonal parliament, up from 37 in 2023. This emerged from Saturday's assembly in Bellinzona, which opened with criticism of outgoing state councillor Claudio Zali and of the entire government, accused of being unable to work strategically.

The party first entered the cantonal parliament three years ago, with two seats held by Sara Beretta Piccoli and Massimo Mobiglia. Party president Leandro De Angelis spoke of "a moment of rupture" ("Siamo in un momento di rottura"), in which people are said to be seeking an alternative. The stated goal is to approach the 8% the party has achieved nationally; the ideal reference point remains the 12% recorded in Zurich, the canton where the movement was founded nearly twenty years ago. The starting point in Ticino, however, remains the 1.6% won in 2023.

The programme lists three priorities: the demographic challenge, purchasing power and the energy transition.

Distancing from the Greens

Much of the assembly was devoted to distinguishing the party from the Greens, with whom it is sometimes confused. De Angelis told RSI: "C'è ancora gente che ci crede parte dei Verdi o una specie di spin-off derivato da essi, ma non è assolutamente così" (there are still people who think we are part of the Greens or some kind of spin-off from them, but that is absolutely not the case). He said the party largely agrees with the environmentalists on environmental issues, much less on public finances and the role of the state, an area where it claims a more liberal approach.

The same distinction appears in the new logo, which highlights the words "liberal" and "progressive". "Si può essere progressisti senza essere socialisti e si può essere liberali rimanendo un partito progressista" (one can be progressive without being socialist, and one can be liberal while remaining a progressive party), De Angelis said. Whether this positioning between environmental concerns and a leaner state translates into concrete campaign proposals on cantonal spending and taxation remains to be seen.

The president also acknowledged that the party's local organisation had in the past been "un po' troppo macchinoso" (somewhat too cumbersome), naming a stronger presence on the ground as a goal of this new phase.