The approval of differentiated autonomy hinges on the season of reforms of the Meloni government, after the first passage of the premiership to the Senate and the green light in the Council of Ministers of the separation of the careers of magistrates. All three are held, representing the constituency of the majority parties. Autonomy, in particular, fulfills the founding mission of the League and closes a circle. Is it a good reform? What impact will it have on the cohesion of the country, in sensitive matters such as health and education? Beyond the political brawls, the answer must be factual: it depends on whether the essential services will be financed in all the Regions (it is not a small commitment, given the condition of the public finances) and what shock absorbers will be provided for the most disadvantaged territories . Ultimately, it depends on how and to what extent it will be implemented. There is one issue, in particular, that the government is called upon to address. Because differentiated autonomy is by no means zero-balance for Rome, given that it involves the transfer of functions, offices, personnel and funds from the center to the periphery. If we must hope that Salvini’s project improves the efficiency of the State, as is explained to us, we cannot ignore that we are faced with an inevitable process of impoverishment of the Capital of that same State. A path that starts from afar, from the dismantling of large public companies with often unfortunate outcomes (think of the troubles of Alitalia and Telecom) to the move to Northern Italy of the financial hubs, which had also found fertile ground for development in Rome. This phenomenon was preceded by another decentralization, in favor of the European institutions. And, again, we cannot overlook the effects on the attractiveness of the Rome system of choices with a strong strategic value, such as the salary cap in the Public Administration, destined to create a clear imbalance between private and public. The danger, in some ways the reality, is a drain of wallets, brains and skills.
The diversion of resources from Rome to other areas of the country, mainly the North, requires a compensation tool at this point, to prevent impoverishment and depopulation from transforming this city into a pure testimony of itself. We mean financial compensation, the only one capable of restoring means and dignity to the Capital, recognizing its role and functions that go beyond those of an ordinary metropolis. The mere attribution of a special statute, and ultimately of powers equivalent to those of a Region, which in the government’s intentions should soon materialize in a bill, will not be enough to rebalance the effects of decentralization, to give back to Caesar what is Caesar. Or it should be. Or it was. The flow of capital and the economic fabric must be restored, a vision must be supported that cannot remain forever anchored to the vestiges of the City, creating the ideal environment for innovation and research. We need to stimulate public investments in the name of modernization. It is not a question of the bell tower, if anything it should represent a national emergency, because Italy’s growth cannot ignore that of the capital. As the great classicist of the 19th century, Theodor Mommsen, shouted: “…but what do you intend to do in Rome? This worries us all, in Rome one cannot exist without having cosmopolitan intentions”. Two centuries later, no cosmopolitan purpose, it goes without saying, seems compatible with the drying up of the wealth produced. Despite clichés, starting with the most trite of all (the thieving Rome of the first Northern League), differentiated autonomy is a gesture of generosity that demands one of responsibility.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
