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Aug 5,2007-Aug 12,2007 |
Changing Italy's Constitution?
The coming referendum: reasons for and against a radical reform
By Alan Patarga
Originally Published: 2006-06-18
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Claudio Lizzola: “Yes”, Gino Bucchino: “Not”
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The 'Canadian model' vs. 'the risk of an Italy with first- and second-class citizens'. The positions regarding the coming referendum on a constitutional reform that - should it pass - would turn Italy into a federal State, could not be further from each other.
Voting 'Yes' means approving the reform, strongly supported by the centre-right coalition and largely inspired by the Northern League's brand of federalism. Voting 'No' means declaring in favour of keeping the 1948 Constitution (as amended in 2001 with a smaller federalist reform passed by Giuliano Amato's centre-left cabinet).
More than 15 years after its entry in Italian political lexicon, 'federalism' is still a loaded word. While the centre-right presents its reform, presented in the late 2005, as a whiff of modernity for the country's rusty institutions, the Unione coalition minces no words in pointing out "risks for the national unity" and "imbalances between North and South." For the centre-left coalition, it may be spelled 'federalism', but it reads 'secession', 'egotism', 'every man for himself'.
With such diametrically opposed positions, the committees in favour and against the referendum, in Italy as much as abroad, could only follow party lines.
Why "YES"
In Canada, the committee in favour of the so-called 'devolution' includes the local leaders of centre-right parties: Claudio Lizzola, Vice President of Azzurri nel mondo, the Forza Italia organization for Italians abroad; Carlo Consiglio, for AN-Comitato Tricolore; Vittorio Coco for UDC; and Guido Renzi for the Northern League.
"The Italian federal system passed last year by the centre-right government," explained Lizzola, "in several ways mirrors what we can see every day here in Canada. Better than those who live in Italy, where people who have never tried federalism can imagine every sort of things, we who live in Canada can verify the benefits of this model. The principle that should make a federal State better than a centralized one is that, in a federal organization, the administration of services is as close as possible to those who use them. In short, citizens would have an easier time getting their voices heard at the regional level than they had before when everything was decided in Rome. The centre-left coalition says that this reform will hurt the rights of Italians, but this is an unjustified criticism, like many others. For instance, it isn't true, as Unione claims, that under the new system it will only be possible to get healthcare in one's own region. Everybody will be free to receive treatment anywhere: the right to health is the same for all. It's also not true that the 'devolution' will divide Italy: creating a federation of regions will change very little in everyday life, local governments will simply enjoy greater autonomy.
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