The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella arrives at eleven o’clock in the splendid setting of the VIlla Reale in Monza, shortly before the start of the ceremony where the agreement to institutionalize the Conference of the Regions is signed by all the governors. An official passage that Massimiliano Fedriga, president of the body in question, defines as very important: “After 41 years finally all the Italian regions and autonomous provinces recognize it at a national level”. Moment made even more relevant by the presence of the Head of State, who immediately underlines how autonomy and solidarity “must go hand in hand, as prescribed by the Constitution”. After the interventions of Fedriga and Michele Emiliano, vice president of the Conference of Regions and autonomous provinces, Mattarella specifies how both have had an open attitude on the issue of differentiation of regional responsibilities provided that this takes place “taking into account civil and social rights” in addition to ” an “adequate attention to equalization needs”. The speech of the President of the Republic also focuses heavily on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan which requires “a convergent commitment of the institutions and of all political and social forces. A commitment that we have made in Europe and which must obviously be honoured”. Furthermore, “the massive funding disbursed by the EU Commission is intended precisely to accelerate the country’s infrastructure by bridging the gaps, starting with that between the North and the South”.
And if at least in appearances the divisions on the issue of differentiated autonomy seem outdated, recalling in all official speeches the principle of collaboration between the various institutions and the fact that it can be a way to enhance one’s uniqueness by facing future economic and social challenges , on the sidelines of the event it is the governor of Puglia Emiliano who outlines the two internal currents: “The southern regions ask that the equalization through the essential levels of services (Lep) can be prior to the possible granting of greater autonomy. Personally I still think that the greater autonomy of the regions should go not from article 116 but from 138, that is, be a complete constitutional reform”. The problem is that the process through article 116 “can take place relatively quickly and this is the objective of the northern regions, of the richer regions – adds Emiliano – while we think that 138 gives a greater role to Parliament and therefore guarantees everyone also under the aspect of equality and the overcoming of the southern question”.
The agreement signed today at Villa Reale as part of the Italy of the Regions event counted on a parterre composed, among others, of the minister for regional affairs, Roberto Calderoli, the mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, that of Monza, Paolo Pilotto and by the governors from all over Italy, including the Lombard governor, Attilio Fontana, who did the honors, hosting the first edition of the Festival of the Regions and autonomous provinces: “Differences become opportunities and advantages, if they are well valued, that’s why the desire for autonomy shown by the Regions can and must become an element of ‘good competition’, which stimulates everyone to do better for the citizens”. At the end of the ceremony, the baton was handed over between Fontana and the president of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio, who will host the second edition of the event: “For me it will be an important opportunity because Piedmont is a region that has given so much to Italy and the idea of bringing together all the presidents of the Italian regions in that building that housed the first Senate of Italy, I think it has a symbolic but also a practical value, combining the need to work together between the Regions and the national government ”.».