Autonomy: "The opposition will be silent"there is a storm over Calderoli’s words

The law on differentiated autonomy has not been undermined at all, on the contrary “it holds and will hold”. Moreover, “a hundred exceptions were presented on 43 paragraphs and seven were accepted. So on unknown terrain we found the way to a perfect coincidence with the Constitution”. To claim it is Roberto Calderoli who, together with the governor of Lombardy Attilio Fontanadefends the structure of the reform and, indeed, maintains that, after the pronouncement of the Consulta, the abrogation referendums should not be held.

But the Northern League minister goes further and assures that he will “treasure the directions of the sentence” of the Constitutional Court and, at that point, “the opposition will be silent and I hope they will be silent forever”. Words that trigger a harsh reaction from minority forces, “oppositions are silenced in dictatorships”, the Pd, M5s and Avs rise up. The dem secretary is clear: “Calderoli’s statements are extremely serious and demonstrate little respect for democracy. Instead of taking responsibility for having presented an unconstitutional measure to the Chambers, he continues to insist with arrogance and today hopes that the opposition will remain silent forever”.

So, Elly Schleinmakes it clear “to this government and to all its ministers, once again: it is not the majority that decides what the opposition can or must say. We will always continue to make ourselves heard with greater force, this is the role that falls to the opposition in a democracy”. For the dem leader “this climate of constant repression of dissent must end, it is not acceptable in a constitutional democracy”.

The president of the Democratic Party instead resorts to irony Stefano Bonaccini who, on social media, comments: “I must say that Calderoli is reacting calmly to the Court’s findings”. Instead of “silent, reflect, evaluate, they compete to see who can say the loudest”, observes the Avs group leader Luana Zanella. “It’s incredible how much Calderoli never ceases to amaze. “Hoping that the opposition can remain silent forever is the most anti-democratic thing that can come out of the mouth of a minister of the Republic”, urges the vice-president of the M5s senators Alessandra Maiorino.

“Nervousness is spreading in the League”, says the head of Territorial Cohesion of the Democratic Party Marco Sarracinowho – mimicking the minister – comments: “For now the only one who is silent is President Meloni”. But the controversy over Calderoli is not the only one to involve government officials. For the Keeper of the Seals Carlo Nordiosince the Court “intervened heavily in some sectors which are typical of referendums”, this “should eliminate the possibility of a referendum at least for now”.

But “with what power does the minister give orders to judges?”, urges Green Angelo Bonelli. “Nordio respects the independence of magistrates”, states the secretary of Più Europa Riccardo Magi. And Schlein guarantees: “We will certainly move forward”, while it is the government that “must stop”. Meanwhile, Forza Italia, which has been asking for more time and caution on the application of the reform from the beginning, has convened the party observatory for next Friday. The parliamentary initiatives to be undertaken following the ruling of the Consulta will be evaluated. The objective, FI parliamentary sources point out, remains to supervise the process responsibly.