At the end of a nocturnal marathon in the Chamber, the final approval of the bill on differentiated autonomy arrives. The measure obtained 172 votes in favour, 99 against and one abstention. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is satisfied and defines the law as “A step forward to build a stronger and fairer Italy, overcome the differences that exist today between the different territories of the nation and guarantee the same qualitative and quantitative levels of performance across the entire territory . Carry on like this, respecting the commitments made to the citizens.” According to Meloni there will be “More autonomy, more cohesion, more subsidiarity”.
The opposition reacted by announcing, the Democratic Party, “Together with the other oppositions, movements and civil society, we are ready to immediately collect signatures for a referendum” which “will certainly reject the ‘split Italy'”.
The president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiuto, stated in a note that “the method used to vote in forced stages – rejecting possible further improvements – is difficult to understand for this provision: in doing so the bill seemed like a flag of a single political force , in a climate that has represented this rule as divisive in Parliament and in the country. I don’t know if the minimal electoral advantages that the centre-right will have in the North, where presumably the citizens before autonomy would have preferred to have fewer taxes and less bureaucracy, will compensate for the opposition and concerns that the centre-right voters have in the South. This rule was more in-depth and the discussion had to take place in a calm manner: we would thus have had the opportunity to explain it better in the southern regions”.
“I was tempted to display the tricolor flag in mourning from the balcony of Palazzo De Nobili. I didn’t do it only because I have great respect for the institution I represent and because I don’t want to be accused of political exploitation.” The mayor of Catanzaro, Nicola Fiorita, says it in a post on Facebook. For Fiorita “there remains a day of mourning for Calabria, mortified and condemned to a sad fate by a differentiated autonomy built for the benefit of the rich of the North. Our battle will continue. It was a great pain to see the flags of the Northern Secession waving in the Parliament hall. The South will react and get back on its feet.” Differentiated autonomy provides for the possibility of retaining part of the tax revenue generated in the territory for the financing of the services and functions whose transfer is requested.
