Differentiated autonomy, Occhiuto sceptical: “It could be a trap for Calabria without financing the Lep”

John

By John

«The path that Calderoli proposes for differentiated autonomy is not the one we had agreed upon».
He made it clear Roberto Occhiuto, president of the Calabria Region, in an interview with “La Stampa”. «The Northern League minister would like to first approve the law on Autonomy, then guarantee the resources to finance the Lep, but it is the wrong approach. The two things must travel together, otherwise – says the blue governor – Autonomy risks becoming a trap for the South. I fear that the first carriage of the train, the one with the Autonomy law, will arrive at the station on time while the other carriages, which contain the Lep financing and the equalization mechanism, will end up on a siding.
Without the financing of the Lep and without the equalization fund (intended for territories with lower per capita fiscal capacity, ed.), the advantages for the South would be few. The final effect, in other words, would be to have an increase in the gap between South and North. Exactly the opposite of what we could achieve. Autonomy can be a great opportunity for the South, but only if those carriages we were talking about arrive at the station at the same time. It would be an opportunity for Calabria to have autonomy over the management of energy or ports. I therefore have no prejudice, as long as the initial agreements are respected. Now the law can also be approved in the Senate, but before the final approval the Lep must be financed. I trust in the balance and wisdom of Giorgia Meloni.” Calderoli claims that the guarantee of the financing of the Lep is already in the Constitution. «It’s true, yet resources have never been guaranteed for the few LEPs established so far, despite the constitutional obligation. Autonomy, however, is envisaged by the Constitution only as a ‘possibility’, not as an obligation. I therefore find it absurd that for the possibility of Autonomy we are in a hurry and there is frantic attention, while there is no rush to comply with two constitutional obligations. Even the idea of ​​allowing pre-agreements is a leap forward, if the Leps are not financed. This way of proceeding isn’t good for me and I don’t think it’s good for Forza Italia either.”