When the Motovun branch of the Green Party – Green Alternative was set up three days ago, we had fifteen members. This was pretty close to the minimum number needed to satisfy all the legal requirements for such an organization, for there are all kinds of functionaries and committees that must be there from the very start. By now we have two more members, I am happy to report, and tomorrow I expect to get yet another one. By mid-April, when election lists will be drawn, I hope we will have about thirty members. This number will be sufficient to secure an election list to reckon with. With some luck, we will secure a few seats in the municipal council, for many more people will vote for us than will join us outright.

Why would people not join us even if they sympathize with our party’s goals? Out of deep fear, to put it simply. The leading party, in power since independence, has everyone by their most tender parts by now. Some people stand to lose something while others stand to get into trouble if they make a single wrong political move. That is democracy Istrian style. And the leading party is vigilant beyond compare. Every single transgression is punished within days. Nay, within hours.

How do I know all this? I have talked with many people since I have decided to get into politics, which was a few months ago. It does not take them long to figure out that I would like them to join the Green Party. And many of them tell me exactly where they stand within minutes. “I am still studying,” says one in a lowered voice, “and I know that I would have hard time finding a job anywhere in Istria if I joined your ranks.” Of course, the same party has been in power ever since independence not only in Motovun, but on the entire peninsula, as well. “My business is all I have,” says another close to a whisper, “and I would have all kinds of difficulties with the municipal administration if I joined you.” And so on. “But,” everyone I talk to concludes their story with almost the same words, “I am sure to vote for you.”

Whenever I hear such stories, I just nod in silent sympathy. There is nothing else I can do, anyhow. The fear these people face is very real. I cannot but wonder about democracy in Istria, though. Will it ever come to this fear-ridden peninsula? Will these people ever free themselves from the clutches of political parties that do not shy from terrorizing everyone in sight for years on end? Will they rebel at long last and cast their chains away once and for all? Sadly, I cannot even start answering these questions. At the moment, they strike me as unanswerable.

Addendum (December 18, 2015)

Much of this piece is about the leading political party in Istria at the time, which is the same as the leading political party on the peninsula to this day, but its name is not mentioned even once. How come? Not to beat around the bush, the name of that magical party was not mentioned out of sheer fear. I was already in court with the party in question when this piece was written, but my legal troubles were only starting. Anyhow, the party in question is the Istrian Democratic Assembly. At the time, Ivan Jakovčić was at its helm, and he ruled it with a big smile and an iron fist. Not for nothing were so many people in Motovun afraid to even talk to me before the municipal elections in 2009, let alone to join the Motovun branch of the Green Party.