The Calabrian MAYORS are preparing to take to the streets again against differentiated autonomy. At the head of the mobilization is the president of Anci Calabria, Rosaria Succurro, a Forzista, but who has already overcome all prudence of belonging for some time – thanks, moreover, also to the positions of the governor – by joining the ranks of those who see the Calderoli reform risks for the South. «We Calabrian mayors are very worried about the rapid approval of differentiated autonomy, which in its current form can compromise the future of our territories – says Succurro – As president of Anci Calabria, I had intercepted in advance the perplexities and reservations of the Calabrian mayors on text on differentiated autonomy. Therefore, all together we had asked, through the prefects of the five provinces of Calabria, that the article contain the definition of the Lep and the financing methods, which unfortunately are missing in the approved text. In the final text of the differentiated autonomy there are no certainties – underlines President Succurro – on the definition and financing of the Leps and not even for the Regions that do not want to propose forms of autonomy or that want to propose them on matters outside the Leps. Furthermore, the cornerstone of equalization was not taken into account, there was no mature debate on the bill nor the necessary in-depth analysis on the impact of the reform for the southern regions”. The Calabrian mayors will then return to the prefects again, “carrying out a battle that does not and cannot have political colours”.
DIFFERENTIATED AUTONOMY, MAYORS AND MOODS IN FORZA ITALIA
Meanwhile, all eyes remain on governor Occhiuto: his critical position is still the news of the day in the political debate. And a source of discontent in the centre-right, with allies who perhaps were thinking only of the Calabrian governor’s warnings on the text of the law (with that “no money, no party” which even in a more institutional form already resonated a year ago, in the State-State Conference Regions) would have turned into open dissent. In Forza Italia, to dampen the controversy, Tajani’s men continue to reiterate that the law was improved by the Azzurri, first in the Senate with the changes to the text, then in the Chamber, with the milder instrument of the agenda. Maurizio Gasparri, without ever naming the governor, was keen to remind us in the last few hours that his brother, Mario Occhiuto, had declared his vote in favor of the law at Palazzo Madama. And yet the words of the regional president – differentiated autonomy as an electoral boomerang for the entire centre-right – have made inroads with other blues, outside of Calabria. «The votes for Forza Italia in the European elections are a blank bill of exchange that must be honored with facts. We cannot be wrong about autonomy because we would not be forgiven” says Sicilian MP Giorgio Mulè in an interview with Repubblica.
Mulè himself, it must be said, is more realistic about the agendas presented by Forza Italia than those – the Italian spokesperson Nevi – who had defined them as “binding”. They could be politically so (but it will depend on the government), but they are not legally so. Mulè explains it well. «Some parliamentarians define them (the agendas, ed.) as toilet paper – he always says to Repubblica – But the seriousness and reliability of the government will be measured in transforming these agendas into rules». Mulè is confident, because the Italian secretary and deputy prime minister Tajani “said that there is a real commitment from the government to making them executive”. At that point “the concerns of the Calabrian governor Occhiuto and the other Forza Italia exponents of the South will dissolve”.
OPPOSITION TO THE OFFICE
Meanwhile, the centre-left continues to urge (or provoke, depending on your point of view) Occhiuto to take part in the battle to cancel the recently approved law. Battle that goes down two roads. The first is that of the abrogation referendum, which can be requested by 500 thousand voters or by five regional councils. However, there is an obstacle on this path: the possibility, feared by some jurists, that the Constitutional Court judges the referendum inadmissible, because the Calderoli law is connected to the budget maneuver (and the budget laws cannot be subject to a referendum ). This is why the centre-left – and the Regions it governs, led by Campania – are also considering the possibility of challenging the law before the Council.
The regional councilors of Calabria Lo Schiavo and Mammoliti encourage Occhiuto in this direction (complete with a question already lodged at Palazzo Campanella). Amalia Bruni, dem councilor, also insists on this point: «The EU has also rejected Autonomy, Occhiuto should be president of all for once and challenge the law». Then there is the governor of Campania Vincenzo De Luca who calls Occhiuto to the ‘battle’. «I have to say to my friend Roberto Occhiuto, a respectable person and good administrator, that perhaps we could have mobilized a little earlier – he says in his usual live broadcast – I heard it on the eve of our demonstration in Rome on 16 February in Rome. Roberto told me that he had some problems in relation to the national situation, and I was telling him: “but what do you care about the national situation, you are the governor of Calabria, let’s think about our communities”. However, better late than never.”
BLUE COUNTERMOVING?
In the meantime, however, there is another rumor that is starting to make its way in political circles (Republic and HuffPost reported on it in the last few hours. To reconcile the party among the Azzurri, a countermove would be outlined: bringing Francesco Cannizzaro to the Mef, as undersecretary with responsibility for the Lep. Today the seat belongs to the Italian Sandra Savino, who could however fly to Strasbourg if Tosi renounces the seat in the north-east?
