Bërtold Meller | |
|---|---|
 Meller in 2023 | |
| Secretary of State for the Provinces | |
| Assumed office 14 May 2023 | |
| Premier | Albrec Pescosta |
| Preceded by | Tresl Pesko |
| Leader of the Free Voters of Trentin | |
| Assumed office 23 September 2011 | |
| Deputy | Andris Menegus Giuli Salaria |
| Preceded by | Cristgina Ploner |
| Deputy of the National Council | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Barbulina Vuleta |
| Constituency | Comezadurå & Plia Auc |
| Majority | 7,043 (16.2%) |
| Free Voters of Trentin portfolios | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 April 1953 Costadedoi, Provinzia Trentin |
| Political party | Free Voters of Trentin (since 1976) |
| Other political affiliations | Freedom Party of Trentin (until 1976) |
| Spouse(s) | Linda Mayer (m. 1978) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | .svg){kind=small} Tiroler Rifles |
| Years of service | 1971–1999 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Gherdëina Rifles Regiment |
Niclò Bërtold Meller (born 17 April 1953) is a Tiroler politician serving as Secretary of State for the Provinces since March 2023 and Leader of the Free Voters of Trentin (VLT) since 2011. Meller led the VLT in the formation of the Pescosta coalition ministry in the aftermath of the 2023 Tirol legislative election. He is therefore both the first leader of the VLT to be a deputy of the National Council (CDT) and the first to form a part of the national Government of Tirol. He is the CDT for Comezadurå & Plia Auc, which he has represented since 6 May 2023. Historically on the radical wing of the VLT, since 2000, Meller has increasingly become associated with the moderate wing of the party and no longer backs independence for Provinzia Trentin.
Born in Costadedoi in the Val Fra, Meller was educated first in Zuèl Ginase and subsequently in Fraìna Ginase. In place of university, Meller took an officer's commission in the Tiroler Rifles, serving from 1971 to 1999. Meller resigned in 1999 to run for the 2000 Plia special election for the Provincial Council, on which he served until his election as a CDT in May 2023.
Prior to his election as leader of the VLT in 2011, Meller was renowned for his political organising within Trentin, influencing both the policy of the VLT and the broader political conversation in the province. He held a position on the executive committee of the VLT at its founding and from 1993 until his election in 2023. He was criticised by the pro-independence faction of the VLT in both periods for his moderation of his views to advocate for only devolution. His return to the executive committee in 1993 was opposed strongly by the Trënt VLT branch due to their staunch opposition to pro-independence elements in the VLT and his historic links to the Freedom Party of Trentin.
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Leader of the Free Voters of Trentin (2011–present) Elections
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Early life and education
Meller was born on 17 April 1953 in Costadedoi, Provinzia Trentin to Kristian Meller, then mayor of Costadedoi, and Simona Meller (née Simona Martin). He has three brothers and two sisters. He was raised in a self-proclaimed "middle class 1950s Trentin household". His father was an engineer and a member of the League Party until his death in 1991. His mother did not work, and catered to the Meller household. Meller has described his family upbringing as "ideal", saying it "more than anything else, influenced [his] beliefs".
Meller received an intensive education at an independent preparatory school in Costadedoi, as an independent school it was allowed a greater focus on Trentin identity and history than state-run schools. He subsequently studied at Zuèl Ginase from the age of 13, he achieved highly in Prelimes, and continued his final two years of education at Fraìna Ginase, graduating in 1972.
Having achieved 92% in his Advanced Examinations, Meller qualified for a university place, which he chose not to take. He later stated his regret at having not studied history before entering politics, alleging he would likely have entered politics earlier if he had.
Military service
Meller took a commission in the Tiroler Rifles as an lieutenant in 1971. He joined the Gherdëina Rifles Regiment the regiment attached to the Val Gherdëina. Initially Meller and his section were stationed as the honour guards at Thun Palace, the seat of the Provincial Council of Trentin, where Meller first took an interest in politics. In 1972, the passage of the controversial Provincial Government Bill through second reading which would have prohibited the holding of elected office by individuals who advocated for the dissolution of Tirol, or those who sought the secession of any part of the territory of Tirol. The act was most controversial in Provinzia Trentin, where four Provincial Councillors hailed from the pro-secession Freedom Party of Trentin and their potential removal office saw substantial protests at the Thun Palace.
During the protests Meller had substantial contact with the protestors, who he found increasingly convincing. Having befriended some protestors, this is the first point at which Meller engaged in political activities. Since his entry to elected politics he has openly expressed his sympathy with the protests, though at the time Meller he expressed no sympathies publicly, which would have resulted in a discharge. Amongst the acquaintances made by Meller in this period, Mureda Rocca, leader of the Freedom Party of Trentin.
In 1974, Meller was first promoted, becoming an upper lieutenant following substantial success in officer training. He was further promoted in 1980 to the rank of captain, after a series of successes in tactical exercises. He would achieve the rank of major in 1998 due to seniority, and retains the title despite his retirement.
In Meller's period of service the Rifles were not posted to any foreign conflict zones, and Meller's foreign experience was limited to a number of diplomatic missions. Meller was the Rifles lead at the Tiroler consulate-general to Quebecshire in Franconie from 1980 to 1983, but was only present for official business and ceremonial purposes.
Early political career (1974–2000)
Freedom Party activist
Meller first became politically active in 1974. He had been invited to join the Freedom Party of Trentin by Mureda Rocca, then leader of the party, whom Meller had met during the 1972 protests in Trënt. Meller accepted this offer in July 1974, joining the party. At this stage the Freedom Party was limited to the fringe of Trentin politics, with a cohort of only four legislators in the provincial council, and a small number of councillors in district and comun councils across in the Val Gherdëina. Before Rocca's death in 2008, he recalled in an interview how he thought Meller was a clear political talent, and had the potential to lead the party to political relevancy. Alongside Meller's military service, he quickly established a reputation as a "charismatic firebrand" within Trentin regionalism.
Meller was selected as party secretary in 1975 after being nominated uncontested, and established the first youth and student wings of the party, alongside establishing a party newsletter. He began his political career as a staunch conservative, and in the party conferences between 1976 and 1980, Meller advocated for a range of right-wing policies, from the reintroduction of the monarchy in Trentin to the abolition of income taxation. This approach saw a shift in the Freedom Party from a single-issue regionalist and independence-focused party towards a party with a platform for government. Despite a general lack of popularity of the policies espoused by the party, they saw a some gains in the 1975 local elections entering local government executives for the first time, as junior coalition parties in the Gherdëina District Council. Due to his position in the Rifles, Meller was prohibited from public political activity and therefore despite this electoral success, Meller could not run for election himself.
Formation of the Unia Provincièla
In 1976, Meller was invited as secretary of the Freedom Party to join the Trentin Convention in Pruca, a convention established by the Trentin Agrarian Party, and several local parties within the Alliance Party. At the convention, Meller played a crucial part in convincing a majority of the members present to form a new partisan alliance to fight for Trentin interests. He accepted key concessions in the platform of the new alliance, due to the dominant post-industrial interests in the Agrarian Party and the Alliance Party. The convention agreed upon the alliance that was quickly named the Unia Provincièla (UP) or Provincial Union.
The conference had only a month to establish the new alliance effectively in time for the 1976 Trentin provincial election. Meller formed part of the core team and attempted to establish an identity for the new alliance. Meller commissioned his wife and Trentin artist, Linda Mayer, to create the first logo of the Unia Provincièla which has remained the symbol of the alliance's successor the VLT. The logo was approved by Meller, as it incorporated the wheatsheaf of the Agrarian Party and the Magenta of the Freedom Party. The alliance at this stage operated with formally independent parties, however Meller ensured that the core team of the alliance formed a central executive responsible for decision-making and the alliance functioned as a singular party. He was strongly opposed by many members of both parties, particularly those most extreme advocates of independence in the Freedom Party and the most conservative anti-independence activists in the Agrarian and Alliance Parties.
In the 1976 election the alliance performed relatively well, gaining an aggregate three seats compared to their previous notional results. Taking advantage of this success, Meller forwarded a formal bid to establish an executive committee and register the Unia Provincièla as one party. He was backed by the major party leaders, and the newly 9 of the 10 elected councillors. The party was formally registered on the 29 July 1976.
Decline and resurgence
Following the formation of the new party, Meller still stood for no formal election. Antipathy amongst the membership of the new organisation towards the unelected man who had forcibly unified the parties led to a contested conference in September 1976, where Meller failed to retain his position on the newly formed executive. In the course of the following decade, Meller was increasingly detached from the leadership of the new party, which distanced itself from the origins with the Freedom Party of Trentin and its pro-independence goals. With Meller's promotion to Captain in 1980, he was increasingly unable to challenge the leadership of the UP in Trënt. He founded the Cerneu Society, a faction of UP members composed of some former Freedom Party members, but also the regionalist members from the other parties that formed the UP. The society focused purely on the issue of self-government, and was less focused on the goal of independence that had been so contentious within the party. Meller, as founder, became the General-Secretary of this new organisation, and retained control over its functioning. He targeted individual local parties within the UP, initially in the Val Gherdëina. Gradually the society established more influence, although no members held positions in the UP's executive. Electoral stagnation from 1976 to 1991, increasing dissatisfaction with the UP leadership saw the society gain substantial support among party members at large.
In 1993, the Gherdëina Branch of the UP insisted upon the election of Meller as their representative to party executive committee, something Nico Curschellias, then the party's leader, chose to endorse. With his election, the Cerneu Society gained a majority stake on the executive committee for the first time. Meller sought to transform the party, completing the unification into one cohesive bloc, his first motion to the executive committee was to abolish the UP name which implied the party was still a union of parties, not a united entity in its own right. He proposed the establishment of the "Free Voters of Trentin". The majority stake for the Cerneu Society saw this passed with a simple majority and opposition from all other members of the executive.
Meller at this point was the most powerful person in the party besides the leader, and the resignation of Curschellias as leader in 1995 saw the first open leadership election at the party conference in the same year. Meller was widely expected to run for the leadership, and was touted as the most likely victor by the Zeita Trënt, the largest newspaper in Trentin. He chose not to run, however, and put his full support behind Cristgina Ploner, Deputy Leader of Gherdëina District Council. It is unclear why Meller chose not to run in the election, but with Meller's backing, Ploner was elected in a landslide, securing 86% of the 200 delegates at the party conference.
In 1998, Meller finally sought elected office. He was placed on a shortlist for the 2001 provincial election. With the death of Peider Hemmi, the League Party councillor for Plia, in 1999 a special election was called for the seat. The VLT had finished in a close third at the 1996 election and a special election was expected to favour the VLT, as the short term that the victor would serve (only one year until the 2001 election) was perceived as discouraging the tactical voting that traditionally favoured the League and Internationale. Meller retired from the Tiroler Rifles and was selected as the VLT candidate in the seat. Through the course of the campaign his position as a retired high-ranking Rifleman was central to his campaign, which was successful. He won the seat with only 32.6% of the vote, with Liga in second on 32.4% of the vote.
Provincial Council (2000–2011)
Meller entered the council following his election victory. During his first year in office he strongly advocated for the expansion of cultural education within the province, and argued for increased independence of the Trentin curriculum from the national curriculum. He was comfortably re-elected in the 2001 election, in part due to widespread tactical voting in opposition to the Internationale Party.
In the 2006 provincial election the VLT gained its largest ever share of the seats in the Provincial Council, gaining a large number of seats from the League, following its collapse in the 2005 national election. However, the Internationale Party dominated in urban areas, and managed to attain a near majority foothold over the council. With Internationale forming a minority leadership backed by Labour, Meller was consigned to the back benches.
Between 2005 and 2009, Meller represented the VLT in areas of Transport and Emergency Management. He proposed a substantial overhaul to transport in the Trentin region. The nationalisation of the railways by the incoming Kindle I ministry, he argued, should provide the provinces with more direct control over their own transport, rather than increased centralisation and in his words "top-down autocracy".
In 2011, simultaneous elections were held for the provincial and national councils. Whilst the VLT matched its record success in the provincial election, it failed to attain any seats in the National Council, underperforming compared to their expectations. Ploner resigned as leader the day after the election and an emergency conference was held for the ensuing leadership election. Meller announced his intention to run on 7 May, two days after the election. On 23 September, Meller was elected unopposed, under new executive rules there was no requirement for a vote of affirmation in the case of unopposed elections.
Leadership (2011–present)
Extraparliamentary opposition (2011–2023)
Between 2011 and 2017, Meller focused on the single issue of regionalism, and elevated many members of the Cerneu Society to leadership positions within the party. Meller overtly disavowed the goal of independence and established a platform for the 2016 provincial election focused entirely on the issue of devolution, and more powers at the provincial level. The Ozidenta Affair saw the collapse of support for Internationale and VLT saw substantial gains in more industrial rural areas where Internationale had previously performed well. Many hardline pro-independence party members objected to committing the party to a devolution settlement, which they viewed as damaging the overall cause of independence.
The 2017 national election proved disappointing for Meller. He failed to win Comezadurå & Plia Auc, despite the VLT having won the largest voteshare in the area during the provincial elections a year earlier. In the aftermath he recounted in 2024 that he had heavily considered resigning as leader, and was ultimately convinced to stay on by his wife Linda Mayer. Labour had ultimately gained most of Internationale's vote share in the national elections.
In the aftermath of the 2017 national election, which delivered a surprise majority to the third Kindle ministry, Meller's strong third place in Comezadurå & Plia Auc attracted national media attention to the VLT. He was strongly critical of the Labour government throughout the period, citing its failure to deliver a number of key transport links in the course of their government, including the Veres Line which had been in the Labour manifesto in the 2005 election.
Over the course of the third Kindle ministry, the popularity of the Labour Party in Trentin declined, and the threat of the Greens on the left forced the Labour Party in Trentin to choose between appeasing former Internationale voters and the centrist voters they risked losing, particularly in rural areas.
The 2021 provincial election saw the Greens take the largest number of seats in the provincial council. With support from Labour, the Greens formed an administration and the VLT took up the position of the main opposition within the council. Meller won his own seat of Plia with 41.27% of the vote, down substantially from the 2016 election, due to a surge in support for the Greens, who offered a left-wing pro-autonomy platform in Trentin. Despite this, the VLT matched their huge success in 2016, due in large part to a collapse in Labour support in the region.
2023 national election
The 2023 legislative election saw the largest campaign in history by the VLT. Meller led a campaign within the retired Rifle community for greater recognition and pension rights for veterans of the force, which were cut in the 2018 budget. Parades from former Rifles formed a staple within the VLT campaign, and Meller's status as a veteran cemented the support from this group. Meanwhile, the League's decision not to participate in the Trentin election debate was widely seen as a blunder and contributed to the failure of the League to recoup their losses in the rural areas of Trentin that had historically voted for the League. Polling in the province suggested that the VLT were likely to gain a number of seats, entitling them to a place in several key debates, including both provincial and leaders' debates.
The VLT attracted particular support from landowners in Trentin, who arranged for Herz Jesu fires in the shape of the wheatsheaf on several nights throughout the campaign. Meller wore exclusively a traditional Trentin overcoat throughout this campaign, including in the major debates. With a decline in popularity of the Labour Party and a lack of enthusiasm for the League, Meller and other third party leaders saw substantial success in the election debates. A Suraviënza leadership approval poll conducted on 3–6 April 2023 placed Meller as the most popular politician in Provinzia Trentin, with the most senior Labour politician in Trentin Tresl Pesko ranked third.
On 4 May 2023, Meller made a speech in Brésem calling Labour's position in Trentin "untenable" and the Greens "unserious". The holding of this speech in Brésem attracted substantial media attention as it was over 20 on the target list for the VLT and suggested they anticipated a huge change in the political landscape within Trentin. The VLT went on to win the seat by just 120 votes in the 9th round of counting, the narrowest margin of victory anywhere in Trentin.
The VLT had a major electoral breakthrough in the election, gaining a total of 23 of 75 seats including the vast majority of rural seats. Meller won his own seat Comezadurå & Plia Auc with over 60% of the vote in the final round against incumbent Labour CDT Barbulina Vuleta. They secured the second-most seats of any party after the Greens, who won over 30. The two main national parties collapsed with Labour winning only 15 seats and the League losing all bar two seats. As the leader of the party, Meller automatically became leader of the VLT Group in the National Council. Shortly after he resigned as a Provincial Councillor for Plia.
The election resulted in a hung parliament, with the League winning most seats, but still short 47 seats of a majority. The entrance of the VLT to the National Council rendered them crucial to coalition negotiations, and both Labour and the League presented offers to the VLT. Meller initially chose to negotiate with only the League, arguing there was a clear mandate for a change in government. He argued he had always maintained that the party with the most seats and the most votes should have the right to seek to govern.
Coalition negotiations took over a week to finalise a deal which needed to include the Alliance Party, the VLT and the League in order to reach an overall majority in the National Council. Initial proposals by Pescosta that granted the VLT only two cabinet positions and not including Secretary of State for the Provinces were rejected by Meller, but after he purportedly threatened to support a fourth Kindle term, Pescosta conceded a third cabinet position and Meller as Secretary of State for the Provinces. Some of the concessions the VLT demanded included a convention on the constitutional status of the Trentin, including options for meaningful devolution and feasibility studies on the reopening of several railway lines within Trentin, and the construction of the Veres Line. On 14 May, Meller, Fòuro and Pescosta reached a final agreement and Ulrike Kindle resigned as Premier of Tirol. After a successful vote of confidence in the National Council, Meller was formally appointed as the Secretary of State for the Provinces. Meller became the first senior secretary of state with no formal parliamentary experience.
Provinces Secretary (2023–present)
Becoming a secretary of state on 14 May, Meller became a member of the Security Council. As Provinces Secretary, Meller overseas the running of provincial elections, he also holds the ability to override many decisions taken by Provincial Councils and lower tiers of local government. In his official communications he has styled the office as Secretary of State for Trentin and the Provinces, although this has no formal basis.
Although officially bound by collective responsibility, Meller has at times been critical of Pescosta as Premier, accusing him of "deliberately impeding the progress of the constitutional reforms Trentin needs". Meller called for the holding of the Trentin constitutional convention within the first two years of the coalition ministry, saying he would reconsider the position of the VLT in the coalition if this did not occur.
Meller is alleged to have argued extensively with Jachen Mutschlechner, the Transport Secretary, due to the slow pace of feasibility studies for transport projects in the Trentin region. In January 2024, Mutschlechner withdrew the rural transport plan put in place by the third Kindle ministry. Meller initially supported this move, having previously described the plan as "woefully inadequate", however he has criticised the failure of Mutschlechner to put in place a replacement plan.
Personal life
Meller first met Linda Mayer in 1972, during his service in Trënt, who worked in a local art studio. They became engaged in 1978 and married the following year in Fraína Palace. The couple have three children, a son and two daughters. His son is named Bërtold after his father, per Trentin tradition. All three are being educated in Trënt Independent School.
Meller is a practicing Catholic, attending church with his family every Sunday. Meller's children regularly attend Sunday School. He has affirmed his commitment to God and his belief in the resurrection as a theme in his politics. He swore his oath to the Free State on a Catholic Bible upon his election to the National Council.
Political positions
Constitutional status of Trentin
For most of his life Meller was a firm advocate for Trentin independence. However, for his first election campaign in 2000, Meller moderated his views, advocating for greater powers for the Trentin provincial council.
Since 2000, Meller has not actively pursued the independence of Trentin, though he has not explicitly spoken against it. He has spoken of his aim as achieving a level of self-governance for the Trentin, particularly in aiming for a parliament with powers over transport and taxation.
He has at times posited that federalism may be a better model for Tirol, although in his manifesto promises he has aimed to achieve devolution rather than federalism.
Domestic issues
Since his election to the National Council in 2023, Meller has generally favoured centre-right views, he has advocated for a level of fiscal responsibility and social conservatism. He is a firm advocate for agrarianism and has sought a "fair settlement for rural Trentin".
He has argued that "liberalism" has gone too far. He has claimed to be ambivalent towards same-sex partnerships but argues that marriage should be between "a man and a woman" and therefore is opposed to same-sex marriage. He has expressed no views on transgenderism.
In regard to the status of provinces besides Trentin, Meller has had limited views, arguing that there was clearly some scope for devolution to the other provinces. He argued, however, that there was a case for greater devolution for the "culturally distinct" Trentin.
Foreign policy
Meller has had limited engagement with foreign policy. He has advocated for more powers for the provinces of Tirol to seek agreements with other states. In particular he has argued in favour of a Trentin-Franconia agreement for mutual cultural support, due to the historic ties shared by the two regions, and their "mutual state as minority cultures in domineering states".
During the Kindle III ministry, he argued that the government was spending far too large a proportion of GDP on foreign aid whilst people in Trënt were "going hungry".
Electoral history
The following table displays Meller's electoral history.
| Year | Office | Type | Party | Main opponent | Party | First preference votes for Meller[note 1] | Result | Swing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | ±% | |||||||||||
| 2000 | Trentin councillor | Local | VLT | Clau Bernard | Liga | 8,141 | 32.61 | 1st | N/A | Won | Gain | |||
| 2001 | Trentin councillor | Local | VLT | Dumeni Lachese | Int | 12,151 | 48.62 | 1st | +16.01 | Won | Hold | |||
| 2006 | Trentin councillor | Local | VLT | Dumeni Lachese | Int | 13,611 | 51.35 | 1st | +2.73 | Won | Hold | |||
| 2011 | Trentin councillor | Local | VLT | Dumeni Lachese | Int | 14,251 | 51.59 | 1st | +0.23 | Won | Hold | |||
| 2011 | Deputy of the National Council | General | VLT | Barbulina Vuleta | Lab | 1,737 | 4.04 | 7th | −1.98 | Lost | Hold | |||
| 2016 | Trentin councillor | Local | VLT | Gian Costa | Int | 17,251 | 52.14 | 1st | N/A | Won | Hold[note 2] | |||
| 2017 | Deputy of the National Council | General | VLT | Barbulina Vuleta | Lab | 7,351 | 16.98 | 3rd | +12.94 | Lost | Hold | |||
| 2021 | Trentin councillor | Local | VLT | Martina Allaro | V | 15,251 | 41.27 | 1st | −10.87 | Won | Hold | |||
| 2023 | Deputy of the National Council | General | VLT | Barbulina Vuleta | Lab | 10,802 | 24.91 | 1st | N/A | Won | Gain[note 3] | |||
Notes
- ↑ National Council elections in Tirol are held via the alternative vote system, and hence winning the most first preference votes does not necessarily result in winning the seat. In provincial elections multi-member plurality is used in which winning the most first preference votes wins the seat.
- ↑ Due to boundary changes there was no incumbent party contesting the seat.
- ↑ Due to boundary changes there was no incumbent party contesting the seat, however, under the notional results based on first preference votes in individual polling districts, Labour would have held the seat at dissolution.