The ‘merit’ of the referendum will be up for a vote the result appears foregone. If it passes the Zaia administration will have to call a referendum.
Referendum around the corner. A question of days, and the Regional Council must vote on the ‘merit’ of the request presented by the committee for the division of the city. After months of waiting the subject is now on the agenda for the assembly, convening on Tuesday the 24th of January at Palazzo Ferro Fini.
They must vote on the question and then ask the Regional government of Luca Zaia to call the referendum. This is an obligation under the law and no longer discretionary. And the result of the vote appears foregone: within the Commission all the political forces have declared in favor, except for the PD (which is abstaining). The subject was added to the agenda by Councilor Jacopo Berti of the Moviemento Cinque Stelle, who used the rule for the region that allows the opposition to propose up to five subjects for discussion.
“We thank Jacopo Berti and also the president of the Regional Council Ciambette and the president of the commission Marino Finozzi,” commented the happy spokesman for the movement, Venice attorney Marco Sitran, “finally the word passes to the citizens and the city can be called to freely express their vote, in the hope to be able to offer a future to the city and capital of the region.” The referendum should be held in the spring, all with the other referendum on the independence of the Veneto region.
This is an outcome that the metropolitan mayor Luigi Brugnaro does not like. “I am against it,” he repeated. And recall that the mayor has said that it is not possible to modify the territory under regional law. According to the mayor the vote will be “illegitimate” and against the new Delrio Law on metropolitan cities. A “no” that has raised controversy in the Lega, which in the electoral campaign was openly in favor of separation. “The mayor has betrayed the agreements”; so goes the accusation of some of the councilors of Carroccio and the former candidate for mayor of the Lega, GianAngelo Bellati. But now the resistance of the Administration shows some cracks.
There are some possibilities among exponents from the PD and the left that historically were leaning towards a “no” on separation. “Certainly there is no way to get rid of the elected mayor,” said Davide Zoggia, of the national office of the PD, “Brugnaro can be fought in other ways. But we cannot pretend to not see that today the city of water has needs that are not being met for it specialties. Separation can help, naturally it will have to be remade in the context of a new metropolitan city.”
Source: La Nuova Venezia, Jan. 22-2017
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