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Veneto Council again postpones vote on independence referendum

Referendum bill sent back to commission so that it is further analysed · Parties opposing the vote did not want to decide on the issue today · Veneto Council member who has introduced the bill: "No rule in the world can deny" the people the right "to express an opinion"

Veneto Regional Council has decided to again postpone the decision on the calling of a consultative referendum on Veneto independence from Italy. The People of Freedom (PdL) has proposed that the referendum bill was sent back to a commission so that it can be further analysed before it can be put to vote again. Parties opposing the referendum argue that a popular vote on this issue would be illegal, even if it was a non binding one. Venetian League-Northern League wanted to decide on the issue today, but the party is in minority in the Council.

While introducing the referendum bill today, Veneto Council member Stefano Valdegamberi (Popular Future party) has said that "no rule in the world could deny [the right] to express an opinion, to express the own ideas". Valdegamberi has added that the vote is about "the principle of freedom, which is protected by international law". He has also recalled that "there exists the principle of the right of self-determination, which is also a part of the international law" and, for this reason, is also part of Italian law. The proposal is an expression of "high democracy", he has said. "We want to give the people a voice".

Valdegamberi has argued that an independent Veneto is a more logical reality in a united Europe. This, because according to him, the continent is now directed towards a common government but made up of smaller territories than the classic nation-states (as for example Italy).

The proposal had been tabled by Valdegamberi in April. It should have been voted in July, but the vote was then postponed.

Veneto Council President Luca Zaia (Venetian League-Northern League) has pointed out that, according to him, the "centralist management" of the Italian Constitution is the main mistake that has led Venetians to vote on the calling of a referendum. Zaia has also quoted the experiences in Catalonia, Scotland, Czechoslovakia and Kosovo as a precedent for Veneto.

Both Zaia and Valdegamberi have insisted that today's vote was not about independence, but about giving the Venetians the right to have a say.

PD and PdL against calling a referendum

Lucio Tiozzo (Democratic Party, PD) has replied that independence is not a relevant issue for the Venetian society. According to him, there are other social problems (such as jobs or housing) that are more important. Tiozzo has added that, if Zaia wants more powers for Veneto, he should deal with the Italian government and within the framework of the Italian Constitution. PD regional leader has also said the procedure that was being voted is "illegitimate": "All legal experts had told us that we were on the wrong way" if the referendum was passed.

On behalf of the People of Freedom (PdL), Carlo Alberto Tesserin has acknowledged that Veneto lacks some degree of self-government, but that voting on independence would lead the country towards "a cliff".

Gennaro Marotta (Italy of Values) has reproached Zaia for not having said that he intended to make Veneto independent during the last election campaign. Marotta has insisted on the links between the Venetians and other Italians since Roman times. He has even assured that Veneto has "never" been independent, but under the rule of the city of Venice. He has added, on the other hand, that law experts have said that a referendum on Veneto independence is illegal and that a right to secession does not exist in international law.

Marotta has offered Zaia to join efforts in order to achieve a larger self-government within the Italian Republic. And, in any case, that Zaia should agree the calling of the referendum with Rome just as Scotland has agreed with London.

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