The news came from just a few days ago. The contents of press release number 62 relating to the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 19 December 2023 were stated, and were even received, in a rather clear manner precisely in consideration of their substantial content: "... under the presidency of Vice President Antonio Tajani... the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomy Roberto Calderoli, examined thirty-six laws of the regions and autonomous provinces and therefore decided to challenge: 1. the law of the Sardinia Region n. 9 of 23/10/2023, containing 'Provisions of an institutional, regulatory and financial nature on various subjects' as certain provisions, exceeding the statutory competences and being in conflict with state legislation on the environment and landscape, civil law, of public order and safety, of production, transport and distribution of energy, of protection of health, of coordination of public finance, of territorial governance and territorial planning, violate articles 9 and 117, first and second paragraphs, letter. h), l) and s), 117, third paragraph and 133, second paragraph, of the Constitution".
It is, therefore, in this case, that specific news for which the Meloni Government, promoter and supporter of the so-called ideology of differentiated autonomism carried out precisely through the Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomies Roberto Calderoli, in force among the row of Matteo Salvini's League, and having a political color similar to that of the current Sardinian regional administration, would have decided, in fact, to challenge the Sardinia Regional Law of 23 October 2023, n. 9 (containing provisions of an institutional, regulatory and financial nature on various matters), i.e. the so-called connected to the regional finance, before the Constitutional Court pursuant to and for the purposes of article 127 of the Constitution due to conflict of powers.
There is no question on a purely formal level: the action falls to all intents and purposes within the government's scope of competence. In fact, doubts would seem to have been raised, among other things, by the unprecedented (probably overabundant) territorial structure of the provinces and metropolitan cities: especially that relating to the Province of Sassari, while Cagliari would be destined to retain its current extension. Likewise, all the new "formations" seem destined to disappear (we will have to wait for the text of the appeal to have a precise understanding). Furthermore, certain urban planning regulations, as well as others of a health and environmental nature, are also being examined to be considered potentially violative of the constitutional provisions.
Let's be clear, just so as not to create any misunderstandings: on the "Provinces" issue, the Sardinians have already expressed their opinion with their own referendum vote (an authentic expression of democracy and autonomy) years ago (the orientation, to date, may not have changed) and the polls at the time gave a rather clear response that should still be respected and shared, concerning, precisely, a question pertaining to the government and physical management of the island territory. The "yes", to put it more clearly, to the abolition of intermediate bodies following the outcome of the 2012 referendum was very clear. Without prejudice, then, that the so-called regionalism should be supportive and not competitive, and that it should primarily be respectful of the unitary and indivisible nature of the Italian Republic, the critical point, however, in the specific question, would rather appear to be of an exquisitely politics.
Saying differently, and trying to translate the concept, if Minister Calderoli's Differentiated Autonomy Project provides that some Regions can reasonably request a higher margin of autonomy together with greater related powers compared to others, at the very least, it should (and the conditional is d obligation), then, to provide for greater caution with respect to Sardinian statutory regionalism and its expressions. This perhaps seems not to be the case, and the conditional, pending more specific clarifications, appears necessary. It is true, in fact, that every regional and provincial law can well be examined by the Government of the Republic, which, according to the letter of the reference regulatory provision, article 127 of the Constitution, has sixty days from the date of publication of the law in the regional bulletin to promote the question of constitutional legitimacy before the Deputy Court, following a resolution of the Council of Ministers, or, in the case of the statutes of the ordinary regions and the laws that determine the form of government of the special statute regions and autonomous provinces, of thirty days .
Certainly, the issues under consideration are complex and, certainly, not readily resolved. Even more so when every reflection on the "administrative geography" of Italian administrations is necessarily inserted into the much broader and more complex debate inherent to the sometimes intermittent relationships between the public administration and the territory of reference in the context of the entire European perimeter. , within which the territorial levels of reference would still be included in a quadruple: the municipal, the provincial, the regional and the state. There have been many attempts at reform over the years. Many problems have been addressed from time to time, but, nevertheless, the delimitation of administrative districts always seems to appear too complex to be able to be managed in the context of pure and simple interventions to reform the local autonomies system conceived by individual governments on the basis of respective political color. If we had to define such a trend, we should probably resign ourselves to considering it a static constant in the history of the Republic. The Provinces, following the reformist interventions of the Monti government, have transformed into second-level bodies, with the consequent transfer of the functions carried out by the Provinces themselves to the Municipalities or the Region. Before intervening in any way, it would probably be necessary to undertake a detailed and objective examination of the pros and cons of the intervening concentration of attributions. Coherence and rationality should guide every action of both a regional and central nature based on the implementation of the principle of solidarity.
Giuseppina Di Salvatore
(Lawyer – Nuoro)
