Friday, April 08, 2005

Italian Indifference towards European Constitution

On 6 April, Italy ratified the European Constitution after the vote at the Senate. The majority is very clear: 217 senators for the Constitution, 16 against. The opposition reunites the comunist party (Rifondazione Comunista) and the Northern Ligue. Italy, as a result, is the fifth country to ratify the Constitution, after Lithuania (11 November), Hungary (20 December), Slovenia (1 February) and Spain (Referendum on 20 February).

This decision is not a surprise; the approbation by Senate was a mere formality, after the vote at the lower chamber(25 January). But what is really surprising is that this news goes completely unnoticed, while the debate about this text is raging in other countries (read France). Partly this is due to the interest in the Pope's death, and subsequently in his funerals. This, however, could not justify the total lack of awareness for this important event. Who is responsible for this? I think that the responsibility can be shared amongst the government (and the opposition), the media, and the people. The tacit approval of the European Constitution deligitimises those who will criticise the text in the future. Why didn't they say anything at the right moment?

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