No to differentiated autonomy: oppositions and trade unions prepare referendum

A referendum to repeal the recently approved differentiated autonomy law. This is the objective of the opposition political parties, the CGIL and UIL confederal organisations, and various associations that have just met 'to deal with the necessary formalities to file the abrogative question on the Calderoli law with the Court of Cassation and start the referendum campaign as soon as possible', as stated in a joint note.

"We are working on the constitution of a promotional committee as broad and transversal as possible, to which all the forces, associations and personalities that share the objective of stopping a differentiated autonomy destined to inevitably increase the territorial gaps and the already unbearable inequalities at all latitudes, compromising the prospects for growth and social cohesion of Italy as a whole," the joint note reads. The law on differentiated autonomy, approved by the majority not without some internal rifts, was just published in the Official Gazette on 28 June. Hence the decision to start the procedures for the abrogative referendum.

With the entry into force of the law, the regions concerned will now have to deliberate on the basis of their statutes the requests for the transfer of competences to be sent to the government. The act is sent to the Prime Minister and to the Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomies, who, after obtaining within sixty days the assessment of the ministers responsible for the subject matter and of the Minister of Economy and Finance, also for the purpose of identifying the necessary financial resources for any coverage, starts negotiations with the requesting Region for the approval of the agreement. In particular, the Regions will be able to request the transfer of the first competences for the 9 matters (out of the total 23) that do not have an LEP (Essential Level of Performance) to be guaranteed. For the remaining 14 it will be necessary to first identify the LEPs, i.e. the minimum service standards that must be guaranteed in all regions.

"We have taken the first operational steps to build the widest possible field of associations to engage in the collection of signatures for the abrogative referendum," explained Alessandro Alfieri, reform manager of the PD, referring to the outcome of the meeting of the opposition parties with CGIL, UIL and various associations in view of preparing a referendum on autonomy. "We want to stop a very bad reform," he added, "that will create even more territorial inequalities, and which also puts families and businesses in difficulty by creating 20 different realities with different laws and regulations. That is why the objective is to involve the largest number of associations in this battle'.