Keeping the devil and holy water together has always been an Emilia-Romagna specialty and consists in the ability to take the good things from one side to the other, making apparently irreconcilable worlds talk to each other. From the synthesis of this dialectic comes a different way of governing; not everyone agrees Peppone and Don Camillo, business and work, as local governments have often been able to do in recent decades. This time the bet is to reconcile federalism and centralism, subtracting arguments from the League, relaunching the role of the Regions thanks to greater autonomy, including fiscal, by exploiting the existing rules, without disrespecting the central government.
The basic idea is that Emilia-Romagna, as a virtuous region, can independently manage four substantial subjects: "work and training"; “companies, research and development”; health and welfare”; “environment and territory”. The financial coverage should come from taxes which, instead of all ending up in Rome, would remain partly on site. In the language of a document approved by the Regional Council, this item is explained as follows: “In the negotiation with the Government, the resources necessary to cover the required functions will be defined. The Region proposes its own participation in the revenue of the state taxes referable to its territory".
A not so soft revolution that passes through paragraph 3 of article 116 of the Constitution, the outlet is the so-called "differentiated regionalism", until today a dead letter. The idea is not new, but since there is nothing newer than old news, especially if it is put into practice by a series of Pd administrators, who grew up in a land that has often been a political laboratory, the question must be taken very seriously. The Gentiloni government seems to have done so and the negotiating table should open in mid-October, to arrive at a government bill to be approved by an absolute majority in both chambers.
The process is impervious, but when it comes to money, autonomy and the Constitution, Italy is no joke. The sworn enemy of this path is time, because the expiry of the legislature is looming, so we proceed as quickly as possible. Before moving to Rome, the Regional Council, which has already approved the policy document with the request for greater autonomy, must also obtain the green light from the Assembly in the meetings of 25-26 September. If the obstacle course ends well, it could burn, in terms of time and content, the Northern League referendums of Lombardy and Veneto, partially depriving them of their political weight. It would be a nice overtaking on the left for the Emilian president Stefano Bonaccini, who branded the two consultations as "money thrown away". The stone of the Emilian proposal was thrown for the first time, precisely by the Governor in mid-July.
The seat chosen to move the waters of the pond was Confindustria Emilia-Romagna. And since the devil and holy water have to be kept together, Bonaccini explained: “We don't want to undermine national unity or talk about impossible figures, as other Regions do. We want to do something balanced. I think it's the right path, prudent, but putting your feet on the plate ". Before launching a few figures, a journey was completed, in the awareness that Emilia-Romagna is a territory which, thanks to its performance, "can ask and demand tools provided for by the Constitution that make us grow even more, because here we know how to make the best use of resources".
It didn't take long for the ingenious Governor to gather support: first from his party, then from the mayors and administrators, then from the social partners. Even my colleague Luca Zaia, president of the Northern League of Veneto, strengthened by the support of the local Democratic Party in the consultative referendum in his region, sent his best wishes to Bonaccini, however, seasoning them with an ironic smile: "Now, at the end of the term, we want to open a negotiation to show that we can speak of autonomy, but since article 116 of the Constitution has existed, no Region has ever achieved anything”. However “I'm rooting for Emilia-Romagna to have all 116, because the day after the referendum we ask for more. Their result becomes the basis of the contract”.
The president of Lombardy, Roberto Maroni, is more pungent: “The Government can be left to decide whether to give autonomy or not, this has never happened in the past. At most, the Government can give you a few more skills, with a few resources. But I don't want anything. I want to go to the Government with the Lombard people behind me".
However, Bonaccini does not give up and if politics is the art of mediation, even Referendums could play in his favor. Even the cities are with him. For the mayor of Modena, Giancarlo Muzzarelli: "We deserve trust and forms of fiscal autonomy are conceivable that allow us to decide directly how to use part of the revenue to ensure equity and growth". The capital is raring to go: "Bologna has many things to say about it - claims the councilor for the economy Matteo Lepore - representing for the Region a platform of relations, infrastructures, production and scientific facilities among the most important in Italy". In short, in the Democratic Party of virtuous areas there is a desire to make more and better use of what is produced in the area. With one eye on the elections, but also looking beyond.
