Other than premierships and separation of careers. It is at the first flag of the “government contract”, planted by the League with the definitive approval of the Differentiated Autonomy, that the majority already risks getting wrapped up. And not only for the rebellion of an important part of Forza Italia, the one led by the deputy secretary and very heavy (in terms of consensus) Calabrian governor Roberto Occhiuto, but also for the upheavals that are shaking the Northern League. Or at least the “southern” wing of the party – the one with the Alberto da Giussano pin in its buttonhole and Bermuda shorts ready for a dip in the sea of Tropea – suddenly become aware of the potential rip-off for the South of an Autonomy without even defined Lep .
And so, the first Calabrian Northern League member to wake up from his autonomist torpor is Filippo Mancuso. Not exactly just anyone: president of the regional council and heavyweight of preferences. «In reference to the jubilant scenes of Calabrians in Parliament, I reiterate my perplexity at the approval of a law which is only a plume for some and which, as it is, does not protect our territory», is the bomb dropped by Mancuso a few hours after the approval of the measure signed by party colleague Roberto Calderoli. In the centre-right, already affected by the disturbances caused by Occhiuto’s “dissociation”, panic breaks out. Also because Northern League member Mancuso doesn’t seem to have any intention of backing down. Indeed, heard by Repubblica, he takes matters further: «There are many foolish servants», says the president of the Regional Council, referring to the fellow parliamentarians who waved the Calabrian flags in the Chamber, as a sign of exultation for the approval of the reform.
For Matteo Salvini, who a few hours earlier had replied piquedly to his ally Occhiuto, it is a cold shower. Now Autonomy risks splitting its own party, which was born in the Po Valley and perhaps too quickly became national. The “former captain” mobilizes his men to rally around the official line and within an afternoon the official note arrives from the “League for Salvini Prime Minister Calabria”: “The entire Group”, reads the statement, “believes that the Region has all the potential to become increasingly modern and efficient. And above all it believes that it – already today – can rightfully have the pride of not feeling inferior to anyone”, write the Calabrian Northern League members. Who then insist: «The League is united and has clear ideas: Calabria is not inferior even to the rest of the Italian regions, given that the symbolic work desired by the current government (the Bridge over the Strait) will give prestige to our country in the world and will enhance our land. We are firmly convinced that regional autonomy represents an extraordinary opportunity and not a problem.”
Autonomy will not be a problem for Calabria, as Salvini’s loyalists claim, but apparently it remains a huge problem for the Calabrian Carroccio, which is losing big players. In the short term, in fact, in the southernmost region of the country there could be an exodus of (former) Northern League members towards Forza Italia, the party which in Calabria had no fear of denying the Tajani line in the name of local interests. A stampede that could also save Salvini the “effort” of having to proceed with the purges.
The rebels, moreover, thanks to their electoral weight, would have no major problems in re-establishing themselves among the Azzurri, who would be happy to welcome names capable of consolidating a consensus already well above the national average in Calabria. With the 18 percent obtained at the European elections, in fact, the Forzisti led by Roberto Occhiuto feel quite free to distance themselves from the government on Autonomy. «We are not against this provision a priori, we simply freely contested the approval method, which has undergone an acceleration in recent weeks and which has not given us deputies the opportunity to make improvements, as happened in the Senate , although it wasn’t enough”, says Francesco Cannizzaro, vice-president of the blue deputies and coordinator of FI in Calabria, without fear of contradiction. It is a declaration of (political) autonomy that could prove fatal in the event of a repeal referendum.
