“Our attempt has allowed us to take up the banner of autonomism and to keep it within the Constitution, sheltered from various populisms. If we manage to do a good job in negotiating with the Government, which quickly translates into a bill in Parliament, this banner cannot be ignored by either the future Government or the future Parliament, whatever the majority will be". The president of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Stefano Bonaccini, finally hit the spot. Instead of branding the Northern question and the autonomist demands of the richest regions as a populist and reactionary nuisance, he embraced this battle before the referendums in Lombardy and Veneto and governed it with the art of common sense and politics, of democracy and mediation. It seems like a slow journey, but the Emilian governor is one who travels fast, so much so that the governor of Lombardy, Roberto Maroni, had to ask him to slow down a bit, to keep up. Now Bonaccini is also waiting for the Venetian Luca Zaia and in this interview with FIRSTonline he talks about the journey he has made so far and the possibilities of success that he sees on the horizon.
President Bonaccini, in order to redesign the relations between the State and the Region, Emilia-Romagna has chosen a different path with respect to the referenda: what exactly does your soft federalism consist of? What do you ask of the Government and what do you offer in return?
“We started from the belief that greater autonomy would guarantee us the possibility of further growth and, if we grow, the country will grow better and more, given that we are one of its driving forces. And that the time has come in which the Regions that prove to be virtuous and with their accounts in order can be rewarded. To do this we have taken the constitutional path through article 116 and have identified the four macro-areas within which we will ask for numerous skills to be managed: work and training, business, research and development, territory and environment, health. But be careful: unlike what some reckless Northern League exponent has said, the skills we will ask to manage will not be four. I repeat, there are four thematic macro-areas, the skills that we will ask to be managed directly and with certain resources will be many more, over a dozen. We ask the Government what the Constitution provides: the possibility, provided for in article 116, paragraph III, of attributing to the Regions with ordinary statute further 'forms and particular conditions of autonomy', through a State law approved by an absolute majority, on the basis of an agreement between the Government and the Region concerned. In return, we offer a possible way, which can also be followed by other Regions, to make the territories grow and with them the country".
The Governor of Veneto, Luca Zaia, was trenchant: "Emilia-Romagna - he said - is not a model, because Emilia hasn't accomplished anything: it hasn't signed an agreement, as required by law , but only a declaration of intent”. Are we in the electoral campaign or is there some truth?
“I tell you more. After I signed the document with the Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, which initiated the negotiations on Emilia-Romagna's request for differentiated autonomy, some important Northern League exponent said that it had no value, comparing it to paper hygienic. A document so useless that, a few days ago, we were asked to stop, to get the Government to convene a single discussion table which will include Lombardy, as requested by President Maroni, and we will see if there will also be the Veneto, unless it insists on the request for a Special Statute, not even contained in the referendum question, because it is unconstitutional. So, let's stop a process that we were the first to activate, but we do it without any problems, because when Roberto Maroni phoned me to ask me if I was willing to wait a few weeks to leave all together in confrontation with the Government, I immediately said to Yes. I'm interested in facts and not words, I'm interested in centering the final result. This demonstrates how effective our decision to ask for more autonomy by applying Article 116 of the Constitution has been. As for the rest, the chatter, I repeat: I am interested in facts, not words".
You have started negotiations with the Government, but do you think it will be concluded before the end of the legislature? And after any agreement on the application of article 116 of the Constitution, a law approved by the majority of Parliament will be needed: are you sure you can obtain it in the few months remaining to the current legislature?
“Our attempt has allowed us to challenge the banner of autonomism by keeping it within the Constitution and sheltered from various populisms. If we manage to do a good job in negotiating with the Government, which translates into a bill in Parliament in the short term, I am convinced that this banner cannot be ignored by either the future Government or the future Parliament, whatever the majority will be". .
Wasn't your initiative a bit late, if you really wanted to bring home a result?
“Late? I repeat, we can ensure that the next Parliament cannot ignore such an important issue. As for Emilia-Romagna, let me make an observation: we went so fast that now they're asking us to stop and wait for them. Which we do more than willingly because I don't care who arrives first, but that we arrive".
The central issue of relations between the State and the Regions is the fiscal one: withholding a part of the tax revenue in the territories where it is produced, doesn't it risk undermining solidarity with the poorest Regions and fueling new injustices?
“We no longer ask the state for money. To cover the skills required, we propose sharing the revenue from the tax revenues generated in Emilia-Romagna, a share that we will define in the negotiations with the Government, which is why I have never given figures: it is too easy, in fact, to shoot tens of billions, whole budgets of a Region, without however saying that, if this were the case, then it would not be greater autonomy, but fiscal secession. In a sustainable mechanism, in the context of maintaining the national system, there is the guarantee of not generating injustices towards other Regions. Moreover, having greater autonomy and the resources to be able to exercise it would mean having positive effects on growth, with an increase in GDP in future years and further positive effects on general taxation”.
Minister Martina of the Democratic Party was clear on the tax issue when, following the referendums, she declared: "tax money is not negotiable". How do you think?
“Martina's statement referred to the fact that Lombardy and Veneto assumed that they would withhold all taxes paid in their territories, which, I repeat, would be fiscal secession. And in that case I would agree perfectly with the minister. I am convinced that, like me, the majority of Italians think so, who do not want to hear about secession".
After the December 4 referendum on the constitutional reform, it is useful to discuss new forms of decentralization, but beyond virtuous cases like yours, there is no evidence that from 1970 to today the Regions have known how to do better than the State, so transferring new powers to the periphery doesn't run the risk of worsening services for citizens? Or – as is already the case in the case of energy – to put localism before national interest?
“Emilia-Romagna is the region that for three years has been first in terms of growth in the country, first in terms of activity rate, per capita export quota and at the end of the year unemployment will stand at 6% from the 9% it reached only three years ago . Yes, we are a virtuous region, thanks to the networking that we have experienced with the Job Pact which, as a Region, we have signed with trade unions, businesses, economic categories, universities, local authorities, Third sector associations, to share policies and channel resources on a priority: to create development and good employment. A job done together with the regional society that we want to strengthen, asking for greater autonomy. Rewarding virtuous Regions means this. Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Veneto have already moved and many others have declared their intention to do the same, even in the South, it seems, where the data show that the territories are growing and it is not true that everything is at a standstill. The solution is not to create new weaknesses, as the League has proposed in our region, where it would demand a referendum to divide Emilia and Romagna, but to put the territories in a position to compete with the most advanced areas in Europe and in the world. And this is a responsibility that a responsible political class can no longer shirk".
