The Valdostan Union (UV) fears that Aosta Valley's special autonomy could be abolished during the current process of institutional reform that the Italian Republic is undergoing. The main Valdostan pro-autonomy and federalist party believes political parties should unite to defend self-government. This is in short the conclusion of the Congress that the party held last weekend, in which UV President Ennio Pastoret's (left image, picture by UV) speech stood out: he asked "how much longer will Valdostans bow their heads" as the Italian state "throws our very inclusion and existence into doubt."

The reform of the Title V of the Italian Constitution -which specifies the distribution of powers between the central government and the regions- is the background to those warnings. Two different kinds of self-government can be found in Italian regions: ordinary regions enjoy limited responsibilities, while special autonomies -Aosta Valley among them- retain larger powers. The Italian government wants to re-centralize some powers, and special autonomous territories fear this could cut their autonomy.

In addition, several voices are now calling for a cut in the number of Italian regions -similarly to the process that has taken place in France. Such a reform could possibly threaten the very existence of Valdostan institutions. Democratic Party (PD) MP Emanuele Lodolini proposes to "move from 21 to 12 regions," each one having "at least 2 million inhabitants." With roughly 130,000 inhabitants, the Aosta Valley would not meet that standard.

Regional Council of Lombardy President Raffaele Cattaneo (New Centre-Right) believes the number of regions should be even lower: only 9. The existence of special autonomies "can be discussed," he argues, because their "specificity" is now "less motivated" than it used to be. According to Cattaneo's proposal, the Aosta Valley would be subsumed into a western macro-region together with Piedmont and Liguria.

"Autonomy does not amount to privileges"

Against this view, the UV Congress conclusion suggests that "the founding reasons for our autonomy and our particularism are still to be found in our languages and the historical specificity of our community," and argues that "autonomy does not amout to privileges, but to be responsible for freely exercising one's own functions."

The federalist party warns that "a large number of Italian parties claim they want to abolish the autonomous regions" while a "continued and progressive aggression by the [Italian] state towards autonomies, and especially against the Aosta Valley," is currently ongoing. Faced with this situation, Valdostan parties should "overcome the current political fragmentation in order to ensure broader support for the defense of autonomy."

Four pro-autonomy political parties currently sit in the Council of the Valley (Valdostan Parliament): UV, Stella Alpina, Progressive Valdostan Union (UVP) and Autonomy Liberty Participation Ecology (ALPE).

In a particularly poignant speech, UV President Ennio Pastoret blamed the Italian state for "questioning the regions," "financially strangling them," and putting them "in the spotlight." Pastoret said it is high time to "wake up" in defense of a federal system, "or rather disappear." Pastoret insisted the UV does not champion Aosta Valley secession from Italy, but he also warned: "For us, independence and self-determination are not taboo words." He also welcomed the self-determination processes in Scotland and Catalonia.