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Reform of the role of the Regions: autonomous statutes and subsidiarity at the center of the debate

The government is aiming for a constitutional reform that guarantees local authorities statutory and organizational freedom, but the opposition is already divided and a long and complex debate is expected

Valeriano Giunio exposig his reform of the regions to the press

February 5652

ROMULA - The Giunio government has officially opened the debate in Congress on the reform of regional autonomies, proceeding with the project to review the role, competences and responsibilities of the regions according to the principle of subsidiarity.

The heart of the reform is the possibility for each region to equip itself with its own autonomous statute, with which to establish exclusive and concurrent competences based on what the reform of the matter will state, as well as freely decide the methods and times of elections as well as the forms of its representative bodies. An ambitious plan, which according to Giunio aims to overcome the rigidity of current centralism, promoting a polycentric and flexible governance model, respectful of the different territorial realities of the country within the unity of the nation.

This is not yet a structured bill, since to change the regional system, the government will necessarily have to obtain broad parliamentary consensus, going beyond its own majority. It is therefore the start of a process of discussion that, in order to result in a change to the Constitution, will necessarily have to follow the path foreseen for constitutional reforms, with the 3/4 qualified majority and thus broad involvement of all parliamentary forces. To facilitate this discussion, the forces in the Congress supporting the executive have proposed the creation of a special parliamentary commission, charged with conducting a preliminary discussion, collecting contributions and outlining a shared proposal that can be formalized in a constitutional text.

However, the path is expected to be uphill, given that several political forces have already expressed strong doubts about the proposal. Among the most critical, the Alliance of Autonomies, dominated by Alarian nationalists, which accused the government of wanting to disintegrate the unity of the island of Alaria by devolving competences directly to the regions.

The spokesperson of the Alliance, Gian Paolo Terzi, declared to the press:

It is a decoy to avoid granting the only real political recognition that Alaria has been asking for decades: a unitary autonomous statute for the entire island.

The position of the New Communists is no less harsh, but for opposite reasons, which denounce the risk of an increase in territorial inequalities, favoring the richest regions and leaving behind the economically more fragile ones.

This is the opinion of Rossella Moscardini, Secretary of the PNC:

This reform will only lead to an increase in territorial gaps. The most developed regions will have more tools, while the others will be left behind, offering fewer services and fewer tools to respond to the needs of citizens.

Reactions within the Democratic Socialists and the Greens are more hesitant, with positions both in favor and against the reform. Some components are interested in greater management autonomy for the territories, while others fear a weakening of the social and environmental guarantees guaranteed at the central level.

Giunio is indeed counting on these two parties to build a larger majority and give the reform transversal and suprapartisan legitimacy. According to sources close to the Minister Secretary of State, informal contacts are already underway to identify points of convergence, in particular on the definition of essential levels of performance to be guaranteed throughout the national territory, as a counterpart to greater regional freedom.

The inspiring principle of the reform remains that of subsidiarity: the State and the Regions will divide tasks and responsibilities on a large number of matters, with the state being able to intervene where the Region does not want or cannot. A vision that translates, in the government's intentions, into an important transformation of the territorial structure of the Imperial State, in favor of a more flexible, differentiated and responsible governance.

But it will be a long, technical and politically delicate process. The reform of autonomies touches deep chords of national identity and institutional balance, and the parliamentary debate promises to be one of the most complex of the legislature.