Europes north south divide is tearing another country apart (The other one is Belgium) *** (By: Marco Giannangeli) goo.gl/jb71AU On Friday 25 Caribinieri military police officers broke up an interview with Russian TV in front of the Doge’s Palace in Venice and arrested independence organizers for flying the flag of St Mark. A 1997 ordinance made it illegal to display the Lion, symbol of the ancient Venetian republic, in St Mark’s Square. Over the next five days up to four million Venetians will be given the chance to go to the polls and vote on whether Veneto, one of Italy’s three wealthiest regions, should secede from Italy and become an “independent and sovereign federal republic”. The “plebiscito” will also ask voters to tick “si” or “no” to EU membership, and to vote for delegates to lead the new republic out of a list of 30 candidates ..... At stake for angry Venetians is the £17billion in taxes separatists claim are “stolen” from Veneto’s coffers every year by Rome to prop up a failing Italian economy. The region which, apart from Venice, includes the cities of Verona, Padua, Vicenza and Treviso, has a working population of 3.8million and a healthy annual GDP of around £120billion. Half, however, leaves the region in national taxes, contributing around 10 per cent of Italy’s GDP. While Rome ploughs £40bn back to its cities and infrastructure, Veneto remains a member of the tiny club of regions, including, Lombardy, Emilgli Romagna and Piedmont, who are net contributors to the Italian treasury. The other sixteen regions rely on state contributions to stay afloat. “Put simply, hard working venetians have had their fill of propping up a failing state,” said Gianluca Busato, one of the fathers behind of the present bid for independence. “The citizens of Veneto have proven themselves to be the most loyal to Italy by paying the highest taxes. “And yet our hospitals, once famous for their quality, are failing because they are being starved of investment. We are wealthy but out roads aren’t paved with gold. “We have more in common with our northern European neighbours than we do Southern Italians. Austria and Switzerland are very near to us, and in those countries you see everything works. No one is forced to work 16 hours a day for tiny wage to prop up a bloated bureaucracy. “We need to keep our taxes, to free our economy from this Italian prison and secure our future. It is rational, not emotional. “ A poll last month showed 64 per cent of Venetians in favour of independence, and support crosses political boundaries. ..... “We know we have overwhelming support, but it will all depend on the turnout,” said Mr Busato, a softly spoken former engineer who now stands as a candidate to lead the new republic. “People ask how we can abandon the poorer regions for the south, but we see this as a stabilizing measure on an Italian bureaucracy that is out of control,” he said. “What Italy needs is real rationalization, but this will never happen as long as regions like Veneto are bailing it out. “Carrying on would be no different than giving heroine to a drug addict who doesn’t want to end his addiction.” ***
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:43:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015