Ius scholae, Forza Italia prepares its proposal: citizens after 10 years of compulsory schooling

It has not yet been born and it is already dividing, especially the centre-right. It is the ius scholae that, for Antonio Tajani, is not a government priority but "programmes can be enriched". It is not a summer fad - he continues - because "Berlusconi already wanted it" and "it is what Italy, which has changed, needs". The Forza Italia secretary is pushing for a new citizenship law. The status can be granted to foreign minors who will do 'a complete course of study', is the outline of a bill on which Fi will discuss in September.

And Raffaele Nevi, the party's spokesman, specifies that Forza Italia's current idea on ius scholae 'is not at all the same as that of the Pd and M5s' (for whom a five-year school cycle is enough to obtain citizenship), because it envisages the completion of a full 10-year school cycle, i.e. compulsory schooling. And on that idea Silvio Berlusconi's last statement, dated 4 July 2022, is on record: 'We are in favour of rules that allow young immigrants who attend a full school cycle to obtain citizenship'. Moreover, the leader of Forza Italia himself, Antonio Tajani, in a recent statement to Repubblica, declared that 'a full course of studies will be needed' to obtain Italian citizenship

In short, the proposal that Forza Italia is preparing to crystallise in a law text appears to be more restrictive than the one presented in the last legislature by Renata Polverini, an Italian national, according to which 'A foreign child born on Italian territory can become a citizen if he or she has resided there legally without interruption until the completion of primary school'.

Forza Italia therefore accelerates and looks to the PDD, with whom there are many convergences on the point, but the leader of the League Matteo Salvini pulls the brake to less: "It is not a priority, it is not on the government agenda" and speaks of "FI's legitimate idea and it will remain so". While Fdi, which has had openings on the subject in recent years, is in no hurry or interest at the moment in reopening the issue. Forza Italia's bill should be presented in Parliament between September and October, but it should not be scheduled before January or February. The majority's priorities are others: the budget law, justice reform and the premierate. After all, it was Tajani himself, in relaunching the ius scholae, who sent a message of 'peace' to Fratelli d'Italia and Lega. "The priorities are the economy and the prison emergency," he reiterated.

The centre-left could also split on the issue. In fact, the opposition will have to decide whether to 'settle' for the ius scholae of Forza Italia or insist on the proposal of the M5s and PD (the latter is also in favour of ius soli, which Forza Italia has unequivocally rejected) according to which a five-year school cycle is sufficient to obtain Italian citizenship. The path is all to be verified. What is certain is that if the intention is to move towards the proposal presented at the end of July by the Dem Paolo Ciani, which also opens citizenship to those who arrive for reunification after the age of 12 and have completed a school cycle, it is even more difficult for Forza Italia to adhere.