"We have changed the course of history: today Parliament has expressed its will to recognize the rights of the islands. From this moment on, Sardinia and all the islands of Italy have the same rights, recognized by the state, and the possibility of starting that change necessary to overcome the handicaps that have hindered its development up to now ". These are the words of Michele Cossa , president of the Special Commission for Insularity and of the Promoting Committee for Insularity in the Constitution after the go-ahead from the Chamber which recognizes the principle and inserts it into the fundamental Charter of the Republic. "A great job awaits us now - he adds - so that the principle of insularity in the Constitution is declined in the best possible way and leads to a real benefit for Sardinia. Now it will be up to us to assert against the State and, in the chain of the European Union, the opportunities offered by the affirmation of this principle ".
Senator Gianni Marilotti (Pd) reiterated his satisfaction with this result, which "is even greater because despite the political upheavals that caused the fall of the government, we have finally established the overcoming of inequalities and inconveniences due to the territorial separation between islands and the rest of the country ".
"The approval of the popular law proposal, for which as many as 200 thousand signatures have been collected, aimed at amending article 119 of the Constitution is the result of a long, serious and transversal teamwork that has allowed us to take note of an age-old disadvantage which affects millions of Italians and that this law will help to heal definitively. Unfortunately - continues Marilotti - one of the effects of the recognition of insularity would have been the recognition of the state of emergency of Portovesme srl, dramatically affected by energy costs and by the lack of a LNG network in Sardinia. A serious situation that, after the disastrous government crisis irresponsibly caused by Lega, FI and M5S, can hardly be remedied by the infrastructure decree for the early dissolution of the Chambers ".
Dario Giagoni (Lega) also speaks of a historical battle: "For years Sardinia, as well as Sicily, has been asking to overcome the difficulties and diseconomies it has to deal with, for years it has been asking to have the same growth and development prospects of any other territory by concretely intervening on transport, infrastructure and energy. A wait that has finally come to an end which, especially as a member of the special council commission for the recognition of insularity, makes me proud. With the reform, article 119 of the Constitution inserts an element which, recognizing the peculiarities and peculiarities deriving from the geographical condition, aims to guarantee a real principle of equality between the regions ”.
Then the thanks to the exponents of his party at the national level "who have married, supported and made this battle their own, clamoring for the definitive approval of this recognition to take place immediately before the end of the work of this legislature". And “a special thanks to dear Roberto Frongia, president of the Sardinian Reformers who passed away in December 2020, who with passion and awareness brought forward a cross-cutting proposal aimed at ensuring that our island could benefit from the same opportunities as any other in Italy. Last but not least, thanks to all the citizens who, with their signature, have allowed us to carry out the proposed law of popular initiative which has allowed us today to make a fundamental change to our Constitution. Each of them today, with that signature, has written history or, better said, has contributed to changing the future history of a land, Sardinia, which deserves so much ".
“We voted: yes to the recognition of the principle of insularity in the constitution. The government crisis, the dissolution of the chambers and the political elections on September 25th have not distracted our attention from urgent priorities and problems - says Paola Deiana , deputy of Together for the Future -. With an eye to the future, we approved a proposal for a constitutional law of popular initiative that will allow Sardinia and Sicily to overcome the difficulties and disadvantages associated with being islands. a historic vow that unites us. A battle that after many years finally sees the right conclusion ”.
"The battle of the Sardinian, Sicilian and other islands peoples was fundamental, with Sardinia as the protagonist, who helped to collect signatures by crossing popular sentiment with parliamentary availability, which was central", Romina Mura said in the Aula ( Pd), president of the Labor commission, in his speech shared by Sardinian colleagues Gavino Manca and Andrea Frailis.
The current formulation of article 119, for the parliamentarian "represents the recognition of a peculiar geographical, social and economic situation and inserts insularity into the political debate, which becomes the basic parameter for identifying the essential levels of performance, to equalize and define the standard needs of the territories and allocate the necessary resources ".
Underlining "the inequalities that are tremendous in insular Italy", Mura explained that "through the principle of insularity it is possible to relaunch the pact mechanism that underlies the relationship between the State and the special regions", specifying that "the role of Special autonomies that must be reviewed and expanded ".
"Insularity is a result that comes from below, a result of all the Sardinian people and all citizens". So Alessandra Todde , deputy minister of Mise and vice president of the M5s. "Precisely for this reason, given that we are entering the electoral campaign - he concludes - it is important to underline how much the issue of insularity is not only expendable by some".
Giuseppe Luigi Cucca , vice president of Italia Viva in the Senate, issued a note in which he writes: "Today's approval in the Chamber of the constitutional amendment that provides for the recognition of the condition of insularity for Sardinia constitutes a historic turning point for the development of Island. Both from an economic and social point of view, it will bring about a real change in the lives of citizens because the disadvantage situations caused by the nature of the island will be recognized and compensated for. A battle that I have fought for years together with many colleagues and that today, finally , we can say won ".
"We want to be European citizens and have equal opportunities. This freedom for us means the possibility of choosing to set up a house in Sardinia, to have a family in Sardinia, to have our own job, which gives us the opportunity to live in a dignified and to make our contribution to society. We want to be free to also choose to live in inland areas, with adequate guarantees in terms of health protection, job protection ". These are the words of the Forza Italia deputy, Ugo Cappellacci , who added: "We want to be free to send our kids to study where they want, because we really have a lot of intelligences that have formed and have made a journey as citizens of the world, but then we would like them to be free to return to Sardinia to make their contribution. For this to happen there must be some basic conditions. Insularity is the knot that penalizes us and that creates a series of structural disadvantages, which are trivial to understand. If we think of territorial continuity, we had obtained an extraordinarily important result because the Sardinian, the residents, our emigrant brothers but also other Italians and also other citizens of the world could come to Sardinia, at the same price and with the same conditions, because we had a single rate. Today, due to a restrictive interpretation, not a change in the regulatory framework of Europe, this right has been denied us. We do not ask for assistance - mind you -, we are not here to pity ourselves, to offer our hand and say: 'please help us' We say to you: 'please, give us the opportunity to make our contribution'; you will see that it will be a constructive and precious contribution to moving the whole country forward in a moment of great difficulty ".
"The harmony between the parliamentarians of Sardinia and Sicily made it possible to complete a complex process in a short time, avoiding that the early dissolution of the Chambers would nullify the great work carried out in this legislature. concrete, the disadvantage compared to the "continent" that still afflicts the populations of our islands. Italia Viva is there and will do its part ", reiterated the deputy Nardo Marino .
During the press conference of the Commission, in which the commitment of Marie Antoinette Mongiu was underlined, among others, "who gave a high profile to the battle", the rapporteur Roberta Alaimo (M5s) spoke briefly. the path to achieving today's result is defined as "complicated" "between pandemics and changes of government", but "it is nice - he commented - that the senators, deputies, and all groups have been united. Despite the dissolution of the Houses, everyone agreed to get this constitutional change approved. The commitment will already be in the next budget law to ensure that the funds are allocated to ensure that all islanders are considered equal. The government, whatever is to come, must be ready to continue on this path ”.
At the press meeting, among the many interventions, that of Massimo Fantola: "If we take an example from what we have done today, we can reach many goals, from start to finish".
(Unioneonline / ss)