«Autonomy epochal reform. DeLuca? He agrees»- Corriere.it

Minister Roberto Calderoli says he is waiting for his decalogue on autonomy to close the law. You are ready?

«It is a matter of days – replies the president of the Veneto Region Luca Zaia -. We are in the process of defining a document that I have proposed to my colleagues in the Regions to get down to concrete ground and put aside abstract discussions”.

But what are the main points of this decalogue?

«I suggested a “Manifesto of differentiated autonomy” which contains some principles that must be shared. I indicate some of them: the promotion of autonomy according to article 5 of the Constitution; the principle of the indivisibility of the Republic; the need to determine the Lep (essential performance levels). I have noticed a substantial convergence with my fellow presidents, now we need to close ».

With the minister, a Northern League supporter like her, the understanding is perfect.

«He is an insider, autonomy is in his ropes. And then he knows how to listen and is aware that we have now reached the last stage. Either it is done now or it will never be done. There are no more alibis».

And yet, there is no shortage of resistance, even among his colleagues.

“We need to have the courage to face reality. The country is faced with objective difficulties that require each of us to assume responsibility. This passes from autonomy ».

It is objected that you want to leave the weakest behind even if Prime Minister Meloni has assured that it will not happen.

«This is the figure of mismanagement which is the result of current laws, not of the reform we are proposing. If in certain realities waste is abandoned on the street or the sick are forced to change regions, the fault is certainly not the autonomy. This is the figure of mismanagement which is the result of current laws, not of the reform we are proposing».

How to overcome doubts?

«It is said that the Nobel prize winner in economics Friedman to those who asked him whether those who have or those who have not needed it more, answered that those who had it and no longer have it. I say this to underline that the fear of change is understandable but unfounded. Nobody has an interest in the country going badly. Autonomy is the only lever to reverse the trend».

You keep repeating that you are not subversive.

“And I confirm it. We simply want to implement the Constitution. Autonomy is no longer taboo. Both the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister talk about it calmly. I say that it would be good to recover the spirit with which our fathers wrote the Constitution. We are facing an epochal passage».

There are those who fear that autonomy is being linked to presidentialism.

«They are two different objectives that we share but which have different times. Do ut des are not possible. Autonomy can be achieved with an ordinary law, for presidentialism a constitutional reform is needed. We must work with conviction for both objectives ».

He had a long duet with his colleague Vincenzo De Luca during the Milanese appointment.

“But there aren’t big differences between us. He too agrees that autonomy is essential».

There is much discussion of the famous Leps. Where are we?

«In the meantime, it must be said that this is the first government since the referendum (I have seen 5 pass) that has introduced an article, 143, which provides for the Lep into the manoeuvre. They must be approved by next year and we are careful because I predict surprises. Once they are established, they must be respected. Someone will have problems.”

And with the Pnrr how are you doing?

«We in Veneto are fine but not everyone will be able to meet the deadlines. This is why I propose an overbooking system, i.e. a piggy bank in which to put the resources that are unable to commit on time. Then they will be redistributed to those who are in a position to use them”.

Disparities can be created.

“But they’re already there. Let’s get out of the narrative that we are all the same. And I add, the Pnrr can be re-discussed, as foreseen by article 21 of the same plan. You can’t pretend there wasn’t the pandemic and the war. The world has changed, we have to take that into account.”

His League, as demonstrated by the provincial congresses in Lombardy, is experiencing troubled days.

“Right now we need unity and not divisions. The League is a great party, it is normal that there are different sensitivities. But I remember that Umberto Bossi always said it too: “alone you go faster but together you go much further”».

No fear of splits?

«For me, the League exists and that’s it. When Carducci was asked to write an essay on his mother, he wrote: “my mother is my mother, full stop” ».