Question: What do you think of Fini proposal?
Answer: Apart from the real reason that are miving Fini, the result of his proposal is to have explicitly re-opened an issue which seemed to be put into archives because of the actual political situation, because of the government majority. The day a law allowing migrant citizens to admistrative vote seems to be soon to come. I’d say that taking into consideration this proposal is anyway important.
Q: The debate quickened times, especially referring to the other proposals which others in the past presented.
A: In fact other left wing parties proposals have been lying at Parliament and at regional administrations. For istance in Veneto the green party presented a proposal on this matter. Fini proposal is being strongly discussed and the same AN will present a decree and also Udc declared that they will vote for it. In case the majority at Parliament and the opposition agree on the matter, a civility change may occur. Migrants living in our territories will then become an active part of our society and everyone will have to face this. Migrant citizens would hold rights, they would have the chance of being heard, this would change the actual situation: new housing politics, health care, education. The chance of voting would make migrant citizens protagonists in the city they live in.
Q: Venice, together with other cities and territories, has strongly moved towards municipalism. The right to administrative vote follows this path.
A: In a way it is municipalism quitessence. Municipalism in fact alludes to the fact that communities do exist and communities are made of the people living in the territory and not only by the ones who were there born. The municipal dimension is the one allowing to get together on basis of a real project, a project concerning life in a determined place. Migrants rapresent the most this kind of situation, they need to set their future in a place, which doesn’t need to be the place where to forever live. However all of as need to to feel part of the place they live in, any time in life, and municipality is m,ainly this.
This can be only if all the community members hold full citizenship rights and if a strong and increasing in number part of our communities doesn’t hold full citizenship rights municipality won’t be able to fully work. The two things go together. Venice, which has longly worked in municipalism, has also tried to build conditions and avoid obstacles in order to have migrant citizens vote. Since the issue is now nationwide open, we chose to ask law experts to study how to immediately have the right to vote introduced eventually anticipating what national law will be like.
Q: A small town in Sicily has already voted in order to change statute. The greens have already presented a similar to this proposal at Venito region council.
A: Yes, it is right. Our proposal asks the region to rule and to anticipate national times. All regions have the right to produce rules and laws, they therefore have the chance to give clear instructions in suche matter at least in the administrative dimension. We really hope that Veneto region will follow this direction.