Now Italian regions bid for autonomy

TWO of Italy’s wealthiest regions held referendums yesterday in a bid to claw back more power from Rome.

Just weeks after the Catalonia referendum, voters in Lombardy, which holds financial capital Milan, and Veneto, which includes Venice, were asked if they wanted more autonomy – although not independence.

A ‘yes’ vote would not be legally binding, but could give local leaders more leverage to demand more powers. Between them, Veneto and Lombardy, both in the north, account for around 30 per cent of Italy’s wealth and nearly a quarter of the nation’s electorate. Both areas believe they inject too much money into the central economy and do not receive enough back in return. Voting results are expected today. Lombardy president Roberto Maroni described it as ‘a historic occasion’ but tried to distance the vote from the Spanish debate, saying: ‘ We are not Catalonia. We remain inside the Italian nation with more autonomy while Catalonia wants to become the 29th state of the European Union. We, no. Not for now.’ Both regions are run by the Right-wing Northern League, and some commentators suggest the votes are an attempt to boost the party’s popularity before elections next year.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was re- elected with a resounding victory in a snap election yesterday. He is expected to use his ‘ super-majority’ of two-thirds to bring in sweeping reforms and ‘deal firmly’ with North Korea.