In Italy the regions should be given more autonomy. In doing so, Prime Minister Meloni is fulfilling a matter close to her coalition partner Salvini's heart. The opposition warns of a “disintegration of Italy”.

vLuca Zaia, President of the Veneto region in northeastern Italy, spoke on a “historic day for Italy”. Attilio Fontana, Zaia's counterpart from the neighboring region of Lombardy, welcomed the adoption of the draft law on “differentiated autonomy” for Italy's regions as a “fundamental step” for the country. Zaia and Fontana are politicians from the right-wing national party Lega, whose chairman has been Matteo Salvini for a good ten years. The deputy head of government and transport minister in Giorgia Meloni's cabinet assured before the vote on Tuesday in the Senate that after a long political struggle, a promise had finally been kept.

Regional Minister Roberto Calderoli presented the draft law just over a year ago. The cabinet passed it at the beginning of February 2023. After controversial debates in the responsible committees of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies and various changes, following the vote in the Senate, nothing now stands in the way of final adoption with the clear government majority in the larger chamber of parliament. Regional Minister Calderoli also belongs to the Lega. Like party leader Salvini, Calderoli comes from Lombardy.