Mattarella proclaims ‘Paper Day’ but warns: ‘The number of national days has risen dramatically; I urge that they be kept to a minimum’

The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, has promulgated the law establishing the ‘National Paper Recycling Day’, attaching a letter to the Speakers of the Houses in which – in the preamble – explains that he has acted on the request “as there are no grounds for unconstitutionality”, whilst noting, however, “that the number of laws establishing days to highlight values, events, intentions, emotions or aspects of life is rising at a dizzying rate, without any consistent criteria having emerged in this regard”. “Over the last three parliamentary terms, thirty-six such laws have been passed — establishing the relevant days — twenty of which during this parliamentary term,” emphasises the Head of State, warning that this is making the tasks required of, for example, schools, “increasingly difficult, even implausible”. “In addition to national holidays,” he explains, “the number of such days now stands at fifty-one: most of them — following a standardised format — involve the promotion of initiatives by public offices and bodies, particularly schools, and sometimes even universities, requiring them to carry out educational or awareness-raising activities on the subject of the specific law”.

“The bill, approved by both Houses, establishing a national day for paper recycling, was submitted to me today for promulgation,” reads the letter sent to Fontana and La Russa: “As there are no obvious grounds for unconstitutionality, I have proceeded to promulgate it, just as I did a few days ago with the law establishing the National Day of Wonder. I wish, however, to point out – the Head of State emphasises – that the number of laws establishing days to highlight values, events, intentions, emotions or aspects of life is rising at a dizzying rate, without any consistent criteria having emerged in this regard: over the last three parliamentary terms, thirty-six such laws have been passed — establishing the relevant days — twenty of which during this parliamentary term”. “In addition to national holidays,” explains Mattarella, “the number of these days now stands at fifty-one: most of them — following a standardised format — provide for the promotion of initiatives by public offices and bodies, particularly schools, and sometimes even universities, requiring them to carry out educational or awareness-raising activities on the theme of the individual law. Among this large number of dedicated days, there are some that fulfil a significant role in remembrance or in conveying values, but not all appear to be of the same calibre.” “It is also becoming increasingly difficult, indeed implausible,” he points out, “to expect schools to fulfil all the tasks entrusted to them by these numerous and diverse legal provisions, unless one is prepared to cut back on the time actually allocated to teaching the school curriculum. I therefore feel the need to urge that the tendency to increase the number of designated days be kept within reasonable limits; indeed, the sheer number of such days now makes it virtually impossible in practice for their intended objectives to be genuinely effective, objectives which could be adequately pursued through means other than legislation.”