The Risks of Differentiated Autonomy: A Threat to Italy's Unity

Differentiated autonomy "would immediately be disastrous for the fragile areas of the country but, in the medium term, it would also be for Italy as a whole. A selfish and short-sighted law that breaks the Risorgimento unity by shattering it into many small homelands with very serious coordination problems. The gaps will increase and there will be worrying repercussions on tax revenue. We firmly reject this autonomy hypothesis hoping that there is a reconsideration in the parliamentary process because the fate of Italian citizens cannot depend on the postal code." This was stated by Vito Fusco, dem mayor of Castelpoto, during the focus on the topic promoted by the "Centro studi del Sannio"; speaking with him was the secretary of the Lega of Benevento, Alberto Mignone. Fusco represented what he believes are the criticisms of the Calderoli bill "which would lead to a de facto secession of the south from the rest of the country and would end up realizing, with a few decades of delay, the ancient Leghist dream", moreover "in a historical moment that pushes for policies diametrically opposed to those of autonomy". The mayor, regarding the feared further exacerbation of social and economic inequalities, explained: "Already today, the expenditure for social welfare services of the municipalities of the South is equal to 66 euros per inhabitant compared to a national average of 132 and 184 euros in the North East. The Leghist project, data in hand, determines an evident and irreparable fragmentation of matters and strategic sectors such as health, environment, energy, infrastructure, education, and many others."