And in Manovra a building amnesty appeared, among the thousands of amendments presented.
This year there are almost 6,000 proposed amendments and 1,600 amendments have been signed by the majority.
In the amendment on the building amnesty
The centre-right aims to reopen the 2003 building amnesty, with the proposal of two senators from the Brothers of Italy: the Venetian Matteo Gelmetti and the Campanian Domenico Matera.
According to the promoters, it would not be a new amnesty, but the reopening of the terms of the old amnesty, to allow those who had already paid to re-enter the procedures but remain outside. And the Campania Region has something to do with the measure.
This is what the FdI press office in the Senate points out:
No new amnesties. This is an amnesty, which consists in reopening the terms of an old regulation to settle old debts of people who, even if they paid to access the amnesty, were excluded from it.
The amendment is theoretically valid for all of Italy, but the political motivations and declarations of the proponents clearly place it at the center of the Campania scene. And just a few days before the regional elections in Campania: in 2003, in fact, the Region then led by Antonio Bassolino decided not to adhere to the national legislation, leaving thousands of building amnesty procedures pending.
Fratelli d’Italia claims that many families, despite having paid the fees, were excluded due to administrative errors. Hence the promise: to save thousands of houses from demolition, as long as they are not in red zones, i.e. areas at volcanic or hydrogeological risk or subjected to stringent landscape restrictions.
The party clarifies that the final decision will still be up to the Regions, as twenty years ago, reiterating the absence of a national obligation. The legislation is national, but critics see a clear implication in it that concerns Campania: the national government gives the green light, so if the Campania region is administered by the centre-right, the amnesty will take place, while if the centre-left wins the elections, the amnesty could remain a dead letter.
What does the amendment on building amnesty provide?
The proposal follows the one already deposited in the Chamber by FdI deputy Imma Vieri. The possibility of remedying illegal works carried out by 31 March 2003 is extended, provided that:
- were compliant with the urban planning instruments in force on that date;
- do not fall under environmental, seismic, hydrogeological or landscape constraints;
- they were not properties that did not comply with anti-seismic regulations;
- were not already the subject of previous amnesties;
- did not concern buildings with serious criminal convictions.
In practice, a selective reopening of the third building amnesty, excluding sensitive areas and high-risk cases.
Opposition against the amnesty
The left speaks openly of a “swap vote”, asking if the Prime Minister was aware of the initiative. For Francesco Boccia it is “an electoral campaign promise”. On the same line Avs. The M5S through Senator Luigi Nave goes further and speaks of an “wicked” choice.
Another battleground over the maneuver between the left and the government
But the criticism of the maneuver is not over: the CGIL, the main left-wing trade union, attacks the Government, claiming that it deliberately aims to impoverish millions of Italians by cutting the severance pay of public employees.
