The next big thing in Italian politics: born in the South, bred on the Web

Among a majority of luddite, low tech politicians, Nichi Vendola – president of the region of Puglia and rising star of the opposition – mobilizes young voters thanks to a social network of virtual ‘factories’.

Within the small world of Italian politics some call this outsider ‘the white Obama’. It’s no longer a shock to Nichi Vendola, the well-known opposition leader who built his name on the Internet. “Considering his character and his personal history, Nichi Vendola has no choice but to be an innovator”, says Federico Mello, journalist for the daily newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano. It’s an understatement to say the man is atypical: president of the region of Puglia – located in the South-East of the Peninsula – Nichi Vendola calls himself a communist, a Christian and a homosexual. This didn’t stop him from winning two regional elections in a row, after winning the primaries of the left-wing parties. His success has relied a lot on his online strategy.

The local company in charge of his communication strategy, Proforma, was ultimately inspired by Obama’s method when launching Nichi’s factories or ‘Fabbriche di Nichi‘: a network of supporters, disaffected members of the left-wing, but mostly youths, often students, living their first political experience, willing to organise the campaign for their candidate on social networks. The ‘Fabbrica’ of Bari, capital-city of the region of Puglia, sets the beat, arranging a number of  simple and team-building activities such as ‘guerrilla gardening’ or ‘tupperware meetings’ to persuade people to vote for their candidate.

Roma’s Fabbrica won him an extra 240 ballots by organising a bus trip from the capital. “We delegated whole portions of the organisation and the creative aspect of the campaign”, explains Dino Amenduni, social network manager at Proforma. According to him, since this summer there are at least 1,000 Facebook fans willing to get involved in the Fabbriche.

Campaining for the primaries, from fabbrica to fabbrica
In October, the stakes were raised from the regional to the national level when Nichi Vendola won the opposition primaries. In this race, the fabbriche could be a decisive tool. Campaigning outside his region, Nichi Vendola acts as a wandering candidate, visiting all of Italy from ‘fabbrica ‘ to ‘fabbrica’. First, in the capital, where Roman supporters gathered in the hundreds for a debate that echoed in the national press; then in Sicily for a meeting dedicated to “a better South”.

“Nichi Vendola needs to become a familiar face in the rest of the country, so the ‘fabbriche’ have an important part to play. Popular involvement is essential to follow Nichi in his meetings, bring video content… “, says Dino Amenduni. There are 479 Fabbriche accross Italy and abroad, in Paris and Berlin. A lot of Italian students and (migrants) joined them to link back to their roots.

From activist factory to political lab
For Nichi Vendola, who came up with the slogan “poetry is in facts”, “la fabbrica with its volunteers, represents a self-education in politics and political reform. It’s not a simple election committee but a different place, active and creative (…) Ideas, proposals and all sorts of activities emerged and spread out the region, through the Internet and the territory (1)”. A visit to Laterza, a small town in the backwater of Puglia, proves his point. Here, the Fabbrica organises guided tours of the natural park of Gravina, threatened by real estate agents and hunters. Their objective is to introduce the inhabitants of the region to another form of development, based on respecting the environment.

It’s the same in Galatone, where another Fabbrica has arranged a ‘cleaning campaign’ for the territory. The Florence supporters organised free workshops to learn how to make cleaning products with natural materials alone. The recipe was soon passed to the Fabbrica of Rome.

This is one of many examples of the bonds built through the network: via emails, videoconferences, Skype , the website, the summer camps and the conferences. “We are currently setting up a social network to make the exchanges between the Fabbriche even more horizontal”, adds Dino Amenduni, who is also contemplating alternative fundraising tools for the self-financed Fabbriche.
In a country where the temptation for political apathy is strong, Nichi Vendola has aroused a great deal of energy from a new generation and channelled it into a concrete political project. Now there’s nothing left for him but to live up to the expectations.

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Translation by Federica Cocco

Photo Credits: nichivendola.it, Flickr CC Paride de Carlo