Italy's govt passes contested framework for regional autonomy

Italy's cabinet on Thursday gave a first green light to a contested plan allowing regions to obtain more powers, in a move critics say will benefit the wealthy north and deal a fresh blow to the poorly developed south. The approval came a week before elections in the regions of Lazio and Lombardy, centred on Rome and Milan respectively, which represent the first popularity test for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government since it won power in September.

Italy's cabinet on Thursday gave a first green light to a contested plan allowing regions to obtain more powers, in a move critics say will benefit the wealthy north and deal a fresh blow to the poorly developed south.

The approval came a week before elections in the regions of Lazio and Lombardy, centred on Rome and Milan respectively, which represent the first popularity test for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government since it won power in September. Two northern Italian regions, Lombardy and Veneto, voted overwhelmingly in 2017 for greater autonomy, seeking a bigger say in how their tax revenues are spent and in the management of key public services, such as health and education.

A third northern region, Emilia-Romagna, has also demanded further autonomy, without putting the issue to a referendum. Successive governments have dragged their feet over the issue, but the co-ruling League party, which has traditionally garnered heavy support in the north, has insisted that the measure can no longer be deferred.

Meloni's Brothers of Italy party worries that the reform could hurt its electors in the central and southern areas, but has bowed to pressure from League leader Matteo Salvini to move ahead with the project. The League has seen its popularity plunge in recent elections and is anxious to shore up dwindling support in its traditional strongholds.

"This is a choice of modernity and responsibility, not the secession of the rich as some people call it," said Luca Zaia, the head of the Veneto region and a senior League politician. The reform will need the backing of both houses of parliament and the approval process is likely to take months.

Some politicians believe the proposed changes will exacerbate already existing divides within the country. "It's a propagandistic proposal that splits Italy," said Vincenzo De Luca, the centre-left leader of the southern Campania region.

Political scientists have also questioned the wisdom of handing more resources to the wealthy north at the expense of the struggling southern half of Italy. "Autonomy is good in a country with no infrastructural and economic gaps, but in Italy the south is already suffering from wrong policy choices and poor administration," said Gaetano Vecchione, an economist at Federico II university in Naples.

Five out of Italy's 20 regions already enjoy a certain degree of autonomy for historical or geographical reasons, including the southern islands of Sicily and Sardinia. The richer northern regions say they could offer their citizens better services if they had greater financial independence from Rome.

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