Politics Autonomy law gives Italy's regions more independence

Italy's regions are gaining more autonomy.

The controversial autonomy law passed by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni cleared the final hurdle on Wednesday: The Chamber of Deputies in Rome approved a bill that would give the regions more powers.

The law provides for all regions to be able to request the transfer of responsibilities from the state in future in order to manage certain areas themselves, i.e. autonomously.

Five of the 20 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. They now have even more autonomy from Rome. The northern regions of Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna also view the law positively.

The less affluent regions in the south, however, fear that the state could withdraw from important areas such as health and education and that the population in the economically underdeveloped part of the country could experience disadvantages as a result. There is great concern that less money will reach them from the central government in future and that the wealth gap between northern and southern Italy will widen further.

The opposition criticizes the law and fears a "disintegration of Italy". During a debate on the law last week, there were chaotic scenes in the chamber. A member of parliament from the opposition Five Star Movement was pushed by MPs from the governing parties in a heated dispute and fell to the floor.

SDA