A few days ago I had a good talk with our new priest, Ilija Jakovljević. He came to Motovun about a year ago, when he replaced Josip Zović, but this was the first time we had a chance to talk at length. I wanted him to know what the Green Party would be trying to achieve after the upcoming elections. And I wanted him to help us with our goals and program, copies of which I gave him as soon as we sat down to talk. The priest strikes me as an enterprising man, and I hope we can work together in the years ahead.

I explained at once that I was not a believer, but that I appreciated the church as an institution that brings people together. This is why I come to the church on major holidays, where many people in the community regularly gather. I also explained that I did not have any grand green projects up my sleeve. The economic crisis and global warming worry me very much, and I feel that the only way to avoid the worst is to start working together. I offered him three broad propositions in this context, and it seemed to me that he took all three very well, indeed.

To begin with, agriculture is a good thing. Many young people in and around Motovun have been running away from it, though. They need to understand that one can live well from agricultural produce, especially in combination with tourism. Wine, olive oil, and fruit, for which Motovun has always been famous, can sustain many a family here. Even if things get really tough, agriculture can feed them, as well. It is thus essential to stop the exodus from land.

Next, land in the hands of the municipality should be leased out rather than sold. The municipal authorities have been selling land for years, however, and this must be stopped as soon as possible. Although leasing is not an established mode of dealing with land ownership in these parts, we must adopt it before it is too late. The myopic policy of selling land will eventually impoverish everyone, not only the municipal authorities.

Last but not least, people in and around Motovun must learn how to form and maintain cooperatives in agriculture and related activities associated with tourism. The funds already available from the European Union in large part favor cooperatives to sole proprietorships of any kind. The current resistance to cooperatives comes from many bad experiences under socialism, but we must show that they work well in neighboring countries with similar produce—such as Italy, France, and Spain.

Again, the priest agreed with me on all these points. Assuming the Green Party will get at least one seat on the municipal council, we must meet again after the elections and figure out how to work together. It will take a while to package agriculture, land leasing, and cooperatives into a coherent agenda appealing to everyone, but it seems to me we can do it together. After a while, the three propositions may become widely accepted. In my mind, that is something well worth trying to achieve.