South Tyrolean independence movement

The rise to power of Benito Mussolini and Fascism in Italy in 1922 produced a strong desire for cultural assimilation via a policy of Italianization, which sought the elimination of the German language in speech and education, as well as everyday use, such as dual language notices on road signs and in advertisements.[9] At the onset of World War II, Italy and Nazi Germany converged to form the Axis Powers. Under the South Tyrol Option Agreement, the two countries agreed to compel South Tyrolese (or South Tyroleans) who resisted Italianization to immigrate into the Greater Germanic Reich. 86% of South Tyrolese complied with resettlement in territories controlled (or occupied) by Germany. While most of the immigrants returned after the war, these policies resulted in the permanent departure of 75,000 of the populace.[10] Linguistic reforms were instituted following the Fascist regime's overthrow in 1945, restoring most of the basic rights of South Tyrolese that had been previously revoked.

South Tyrol was granted the status of an autonomous area by an agreement between the Government of Italy and local officials in 1972.[11] This entailed a much greater level of self-government in the province; the extent of which was a topic of heated debate until a final agreement between the governments of Austria and Italy in 1992.[12] South Tyrol's designation as a self-governing province grants it an abundance of privileges; for example, only 10% of the taxes paid in South Tyrol go to the Italian central government.[1]

Ein Tirol ("One Tyrol") demonstration in 2009.

The earliest post-war activism for South Tyrol's removal from Italy can be found in the South Tyrolean Liberation Committee, which conducted bombings of Italian infrastructure and fascist monuments primarily between the mid-1950s and 1961. The most notable of these incidents was the Night of Fire on June 12, 1961, in which a large electrical supply unit was destroyed via explosives.[13] The incident was followed by a series of bombings and ambushes on carabinieri and other security forces, with the 1967 attack on a patrol at Cima Vallona being the most notorious.[14]

Years after the Liberation Committee ceased activity came the Ein Tirol, a far right terrorist organization which followed in the footsteps of its predecessor by executing the explosive damage of various relics of Italian fascism as well as historic memorials. Since the mid-1980s the extremist group has taken on a far less prominent and violent role in the independence movement; in 2009 a mountainside overlooking celebrations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus feast was burned to spell out the name of the group.[15]

Some political parties advocating South Tyrol's secession have risen to minor prominence on both the local and national levels, among them the South Tyrolean Freedom, Die Freiheitlichen and Citizens' Union for South Tyrol.[16] These parties encompass 4 of the 35 seats of the South Tylorean Provincial Council, with the autonomist South Tylorean People's Party consistently coming on top of the coalition above in elections. The movements specific to South Tyrol do not maintain a relationship with the Lega Nord, whose agenda is sometimes dedicated to the establishment of an independent state of Padania in Northern Italy.[17]

A team of scientists, professors, bloggers, book authors and other experts - with different attitudes towards statehood - with the support of experts from South Tyrol and the whole world and accompanied by an advisory board, published the White Book "Kann Südtirol Staat?" (Can South Tyrol [be a] State?). According to the authors, the book is not intended as a strictly scientific treatise, but is structured in a clear, simple and concise way to explore possible steps towards state-building. The chances, risks, conditions and various strategies are worked out in detail.[18][19][20]

Polls held by the Austrian research institute Karmasin show that 54% of German or Ladin-speaking South Tyroleans would support secession from Italy, while 46% of the total population (including Italians) would encourage South Tyrol's secession.[2]

Listed below are percentages, obtained via census, of South Tyrol's population, based on their first language:[21][22]

Language distribution in 2011

Tensions over the fair treatment and acknowledgement of minority-language speakers have been a historical justification for separatism, although their protection is cemented by a law passed in November 1991.[23]

South Tyrol is among the wealthiest provinces of Italy[1] with a GDP per capita of €32,000.[24] This being said, Italy is a nation which has suffered unrelenting decline since the birth of the Eurozone crisis in 2009. In 2012 the region was projected to allocate 120 million euros towards stabilizing the national budget of Italy. To accomplish this, the region was forced to heighten taxes and fees on crop production, a move which pundits say violates South Tyrol's status as an autonomous region. Eva Klotz, founder and representative of South Tyrolean Freedom in the local parliament, has reflected much of current German-speaking South Tyrolean sentiment in stating that the region "shouldn't be dragged down" with the rest of Italy.[25]