In South Tyrol, crisis revives old demons
Italy leaders pro-partition South Tyrol refuse to commemorate the unification of the country
RICH and well, the small province germanophone South Tyrol, northern Italy, had stopped to talk to her for chandeliers, drawing the benefits of exceptional prosperity and economic a booming tourism industry. But now that the 150th anniversary of l’«unità», l’unification de l’Italie en 1861, une nouvelle bouffée d’irrédentisme agite la petite vallée alpine sise entre le col du Brenner et le défilé du Salurner, qui fut jusqu’en 1918 partie intégrante de l’empire austro-hongrois avant d’être rattachée à la République d’Italie. Le 7 février, l’inamovible gouverneur, Luis Durnwalder, (photo ci-dessous) en place depuis 1989, a affirmé depuis son fief de Bolzano (Bozen, en allemand) que le Sud-Tyrol ne participerait pas aux festivités prévues le 17 mars à Turin.
Propos impertinent
"We are a minority Austrian ," protested Durnwalder, Conservative leader of South Tyrol (SVP), which holds the reins of South Tyrol almost without interruption since 1948. "The 150 years of Italy mean to us separation from the mother country (Austria), the annexation by Italy, fascism and postwar documentation of denial of self . The Deputy Governor, Christian Tommasini, leader of the Partito Democratico, immediately denounced the remarks " displaced" and accused Durnwalder want " reverse the course of history . The new governor of Bolzano impertinence towards Rome conceals very prosaic considerations. While the South Tyrol shows insolent prosperity, the rest of Italy has collected the full brunt of the economic crisis. In 2008, GDP per capita was 30% higher than the rest of the peninsula, while unemployment was capped at 2.9%, a situation of full employment. So far, Rome had left the South Tyrolese quiet, protected since 1972 by a system of fiscal autonomy extremely favorable, guaranteeing them quasi-fiscal autarchy. This relative impunity is about to go away: Rome puts increasing financial pressure on Bolzano, who have contributed in 2010 to 500 million euros to finance federal, or 10% of the provincial budget. By altering the deal, the Berlusconi government led to the radicalization of the SVP, which deprives longer require obtaining dual nationality for its Italian and Austrian 500 000 congeners. Since the beginning of circulating a petition seeking the holding of a referendum for self-determination. Its authors have support of the FPÖ, the main Austrian far-right party, which never misses an opportunity to claim a "Anschluss " to reunify North Tyrol and South Tyrol. Side of Vienna, we are not rushing to support irredentist ambitions of Bolzano. If Austrian citizenship should be granted, even if only symbolically, to the inhabitants of South Tyrol, then we should consider initiating a long and complex process of revising the Constitution, at the cost of inevitable deterioration Relations with Rome. Fortunately, this does not stir the younger strata of the population: March 17, in South Tyrol as in the rest of Italy, children stay home: a holiday is always good to take.
