Italy’s regions will gain more autonomy from the central government after parliament approved a bill on Wednesday that allows regions to request the transfer of responsibilities to the state to manage certain areas themselves.
The controversial law, proposed by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, cleared the last legal hurdle in the Chamber of Deputies.
Five of the country’s twenty regions already have partial autonomy: the three regions of Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Valle d’Aosta in the north, as well as the large islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Under the new arrangement they will be given even broader powers.
The northern regions of Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna are also in favor of the new law.
However, the less prosperous regions in the south fear that the state could withdraw from important portfolios such as health and education and that this could disadvantage the population in the economically underdeveloped part of the country.
There are major concerns that they will receive less money from central government in the future and that the wealth gap between northern and southern Italy will widen further.
The opposition, meanwhile, is concerned that the law will lead to the ‘disintegration of Italy’.
During a debate on the measure last week, there were chaotic scenes in the room. An MP from the opposition Five Star Movement party was pressured by ruling party lawmakers in a heated dispute and fell to the ground.
