Deconstructing Italy: (Northern) Italians and their new perception of territoriality

Abstract

The nineties will go down in Italian history as the decade of great political change. By way of emphasising this change, the media and politicians use the expressions `Prima Repubblica' and `Seconda Repubblica' (first and second republics), adopting the terminology used by the French for their `republics'. During the so-called First Republic (1948–1994), the centrist Christian Democrat Party represented the moderate political force in every government. However, the corruption trials of 1992–1993, which involved many of this party's members, led to its collapse at the ballot box. In northern Italy, a consequence of the demise of the Christian Democrats was the resounding success of the Lega Nord at the local government elections of 1993 and the general election of 1994. The Lega Nord based, and continues to base, its success on the use of ethno-nationalist slogans and catchcries. Italy has an ancient tradition – dating at least from the fall of the Roman Empire – of political and linguistic splintering. Given today's situation, this factor may have impacts at the level of the structure of the state: federalism, special statutes for regions and/or provinces, the decentralization of the state, and so on. For the first time for perhaps more than a century, in this new period of uncertain political change, Italians are increasingly viewing territory and its characteristics as politically relevant. Justifications for `national' cohesion are being rediscovered, or invented, at the local level, transforming it into political claims. Italians have begun to talk about relationships with territories and neighbouring groups from a different perspective. At present, traditional political parties and politicians are too slow and insufficiently focused in their response to the rising call for autonomy and decision-making authority at the local level. This factor has provided the time and space for isolationist and culturally self-reliant localist ideologies to propagate. It is impossible to say how long this period of transition will last and what its outcomes will be. The three main choices now facing Italians would be appear to be: