Former president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi on Friday weighed into the debate over plans to overhaul Italy's 1948 Constitution, saying he would vote against the reforms in an upcoming public referendum.
The 85-year-old life senator told reporters: "I don't have any problems in saying I will vote in the referendum and my vote will be no because I am convinced of the validity of our Constitution's balance and constitutional framework". Although Ciampi's stance was no surprise, it was his first political declaration since his seven-year presidential mandate expired last month.
It drew praise from the new centre-left government but protests from the Silvio Berlusconi-led opposition which one-sidedly approved the constitutional and devolutionary reforms while in government in November 2005. Since the amendments did not gain the two-thirds support
in parliament needed for legislation affecting the Constitution, they cannot be implemented unless Italians uphold them in the referendum on June
25-26.
The outcome will be valid no matter how low the turnout since quorums are not applicable in constitutional referenda. The reforms in question devolve greater powers to Italy's 20 regions in the areas of health, education and local policing. They also increase the powers of the premier
while trimming those of the president; transform the Senate into a federal rather than a national legislative body, and reshape the Constitutional Court so regional interests are represented.
The devolutionary amendments were the key condition set by the small federalist Northern League for maintaining its support for Berlusconi's government.
The League fiercely criticised Ciampi on Friday. League heavyweight and former reform minister Roberto Calderoli said it was "sad" to see Ciampi "exploiting his celebrity and popularity, which stemmed from a time when people still believed he was a president who represented everyone".
Another former League minister Roberto Maroni said: "It would have been more elegant for Ciampi to abstain from the debate... I hope his views will not be influential". Berlusconi's Forza Italia party said Ciampi had "thrown down his mask", revealing his "true centre-left colours". Members of the rightist National Alliance (AN), Berlusconi's biggest coalition ally, also blasted Ciampi.
AN bigwig and former communications minister Maurizio Gasparri said that "the forces of conservatism and immobilism inevitably draw in those who either because of their roles or their history are closed to change". But the Democratic Left, the largest party in the governing alliance led by Premier Romano Prodi, thanked Ciampi for "clearly stating his intention to vote 'no', confirming once again the importance of defending the
principles and values of the Italian Constitution".
Democratic Left chief Piero Fassino said that once the referendum was over, the two coalitions should open talks aimed at reaching consensus on the required reforms. Prodi and his nine-party alliance have repeatedly said that reforms to the Constitution require cross-party consensus and should not be pushed through by one side. They are staunchly opposed to the overhaul approved by the centre right, arguing that Italy's underdeveloped southern regions will be penalised by the devolution part and that the other measures will create a too-powerful premiership, weaken parliament and lengthen legislative procedures.
But the centre right argues that the reforms will benefit Italy's regions while making them more accountable. It says the bill as a whole will modernise and streamline the country's institutions and give it greater government stability by introducing a stronger premiership. Under the reforms, the premier would be directly elected by voters and given the powers to hire and fire ministers, propose that parliament be dissolved and call elections. With the present system, only parliament can dismiss a minister via a no-confidence vote, while it is up to the president to dissolve parliament and call elections.
In its 'yes' campaign, the centre right is spotlighting an amendment which would substantially reduce the number of MPs. However, this reform would only be introduced in 2016. The 'no' side was given another boost on Friday when some 200 top constitutional experts including 17 past and present Constitutional Court chiefs appealed to Italians to reject the reforms. The experts said the centre right's bill was a "terrible counter-reform" which would "damage national unity" through its devolutionary measures and "give the premier powers which will create authoritarian-style imbalances in the form of government, isolating it from liberal-democratic states".
The text of the Italian Constitution has been amended 13 times and three parliamentary commissions have been convened (in 1983-1985, 1992-1994 and 1997-1998) with the aim of preparing major revisions. They all fell through in the end because the necessary political consensus was missing. In October 2001, Italy held its first constitutional referendum when voters upheld a last-minute pro-devolutionary reform rammed through by the centre left, which governed from 1996 until May 2001 and then lost to Berlusconi.
The amendment overhauled the entire part of the Constitution covering Italy's regions, provinces and municipalities, giving regions all powers of government apart from those expressly laid out as the domain of the state. The state retained powers over foreign policy, defence, immigration, religious matters, currency, public services, welfare, state electoral laws, law and order, justice and the general lines of education policy, but all the rest went to the regions including fiscal federalism.
The Northern League attacked the amendment for not going far enough, denouncing it as "false federalism". Although it was approved in the referendum with 64.2% of voters in favour, the turnout was only 34%.
