Italian Green spokespeople Angelo Bonelli and Luana Zanella, and co-spokesperson of Green Italia, Oliviero Alotto, have welcomed Senator Bartolomeo Pepe, who has decided to join the Italian Green party.

Announcing his new beginning with the Greens, Bonelli and Zanella said, “this is an important day, and a new start for us. Since 2008, the Greens have not had representation in parliament. We now have a strong voice for our battles, to help us take political initiative, and to show our political perspective.”

For a long time, Pepe has focused on environmental-related organised crime. Hailing from the Campania where problems associated with the environment are well known, Pepe remarked that, “environmental protection means protecting our health. It must become a commitment of the state – and in this way it can even become a new opportunity for us.”