Another referendum: Northern Italy also votes on autonomy

Catalan conditions in Italy? That question has been floating around in the Italian and European press for a while after the tumultuous popular vote in Catalonia on 1 October. Finally, on October 22, also in the northern Italian regions Lombardy en Veneto autonomy referendums. And who knows what threat they might pose to national unity. But that fear did not last long. The text presented to voters in Milan and Venice is much more moderate than that of Barcelona.

Regional autonomy

There is expressly no question of independence, but of greater regional autonomy. Moreover, this is not a binding but an advisory referendum and the Constitutional Court has also given its blessing. In Lombardy, the voter is asked if he wants: 

The Lombardy Region, within the framework of national unity, takes the necessary institutional steps to request the granting of further forms and conditions of autonomy from the State. In Veneto they do it more concisely: 'Do you want the Region of Veneto to be granted further forms and conditions of autonomy?'

So very nice.

Dutch tablets

The vote will also have a Dutch link. The Lombardy Region has spent 23 million euros on the purchase of 24.000 tablets with an electronic voting app, which are supplied by the Dutch company. smartmatic, the world's largest manufacturer of electronic dialing equipment. In an information video, an official proudly explains how the Lombards are the first in Italy to vote electronically.

Lega North

The pacesetter behind the vote is the Lega Nord, which also provides the governor in both regions: Roberto Maroni in Lombardy and Luca Zaia in Veneto. But the Lega has long ceased to be the rabid separatist movement that still wanted to be 'separated from Rome' at the beginning of the 90s. It has participated in several national governments and its current leader Matteo Salvini is trying, so far without much success, to shed regional stigma and transform the Lega into a major nationwide right-wing people's party.

Autonomous Regions

The call for independence has therefore also been diluted to a request for more extensive regional decision-making powers. The model for this are the so-called Regions a Statutory Special, regions that have special powers in areas such as education, tourism, public works and taxation. This concerns five of the twenty regions in Italy:

• Valle d'Aosta
• Trentino-South Tyrol (which in turn is divided into the two autonomous provinces of Trentino and Süd-Tirol)
• Friuli-Venezia Giulia
• Sicily
• Sardinia

The program Statute Special In addition, it offers important tax advantages: these regions can dispose of a larger part of their tax revenue directly, instead of first paying it to the national tax authorities and then (partly) getting it back from Rome.

net payers

That would also suit Veneto and Lombardy, which are net contributors nationally. Veneto wants to keep at least 80% in its own pocket. That has always been an important stimulus for the autonomy movement. So it is also about money and of course nobody can be against that. For that reason, almost all local parties advise voting YES, even the Five Star Movement, which is otherwise against everything it has not proposed itself.

Quorum

The only uncertainty is the turnout. The higher it is, the stronger the regional administrators are in talks with Rome. In Veneto, where regional sentiment is strong and you can be told in street conversations that 'the Venetian Republic has existed for a thousand years and Italy only 150', interest is high.

In Lombardy, where the sense of individuality is less strong - after all, Milan is the economic capital of Italy -, the mood is a bit more laudable. Thus a quorum has been set in Veneto – if the turnout is below 50%, the vote is invalid – but this has been wisely waived in Lombardy.

In any case, the revolution will not break out in Venice and Milan on October 22.

Update October 23, 2017

In the referendums in Lombardy and Veneto, the vast majority of those entitled to vote (more than 90%) voted in favor of more autonomy, as expected. In Veneto, the minimum turnout of 50% has been achieved, making the referendum legally valid.

Image: YouTube