Senators brawl over citizenship bill


Aleida Lima and Paolo Barros

While the Italian senate debated a new citizenship bill on Thursday, a photograph appears to say it all.

The debate on a bill granting citizenship to children born in Italy of foreign parents degenerated into an unseemly brawl when Senators from the anti-immigration Lega Nord (Northern League) hurled insults at the government and brandished signs reading “NO IUS SOLI”, "Italians first" and "Stop the invasion". Education Minister Valeria Fedeli had to visit the infirmary with an injured elbow after being shoved by right-wing senators protesting the government's bill.


Speaker Pietro Grasso briefly expelled Raffaele Volpi after he told him to "f*** off" and the Lega advanced on the government benches in protest against a decision to bring forward the 'ius soli' debate. The League and Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (FI) claim that if the estimated 800,000 eligible children were granted citizenship it would amount to “ethnic substitution” and encourage terrorism.

The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) has said it will abstain in the vote. At the beginning of the week the M5S mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, called for a moratorium on new migrants being housed in Rome, despite the fact that the capital currently houses less than its quota.

102701172-01de526f-6c5b-4ae6-81d1-6d2b39aa713dThe scenes outside the chamber were similarly unedifying. Members of the  far-right CasaPound movement fought with police when they tried to break through a cordon and reach the Senate. They were eventually forced back by water cannon. The neo-fascist group New Force (FN) also staged a sit-in outside the Senate, raising their arms in Fascist salutes.

It is now unclear when a final vote on the Ius Soli bill will be held. It is already twenty months since the House of Deputies approved the new bill. Supporters fear that it may be delayed indefinitely if early elections are called in September.

In Italy, citizenship is currently based on ius sanguinis (right of blood) the principle that children’s nationality is the same as that of their parents, irrespective of where they were born. In America, citizenship is based on ius soli (right of soil) and most European states operate a combination of the two. But Italy has one of the most restrictive regimes in Europe, with applicants having to embark on a complex application process  between their 18th and 19th birthdays and prove that they have been continuously resident in Italy their whole lives. Even a brief visit to family in another country can mean the application fails. Aleida Lima, the young woman in the photograph, told HuffPost that she was embarrassed by the superficiality of the debate. "The question of Ius soli completely ignores the cultural aspect of the debate, which is fundamental for the integration of all the children who arrive here in Italy, which is why we'd prefer the term ius culturae."









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2 commenti

  • The big fuss over the granting citizenship to the immigrants stems also from a practically destroyed national identity. For decades in the post-war years, the National flag, stripped of the Savoy emblem was not flown. Not even on national holidays. The flags were stored in dusty cabinet rooms in schools and city halls, lest flowing the "Tricolore" might remid of the sordid "ventennio" regime. Even more than one party symbol was covering the Italian flag on its logo, the people's identity had to be oscured. The Italians had found a new National identity to look to: Europe. (No one knew at the time what a froad Europe was going to be.) We have found out now. But it is too late. What has Italy to offer to its native born? What can ever possibly offer to the hopeful immigrants? I would say that it would be more honest to say to the new comers: buddy, you are welcome, If you want to call yourself Italian, get your citizenship, don't expect much. Roll up your sleeves. We are in this together. We "have" to make Italy great again. Good luck, Italy!

  • This useless debate is basically grounded on a horrendously wicked pact among Salvini, Berlusconi, Meloni, with their respective political coalitions (Northern League, FI, Fd'I, as well as far-right groups, and M5S on occasion), and elements of allegedly religious extremists - religious fanaticism being an excuse of course, these are criminally insane - cementing a covenant of the parties involved that works like this: in order to keep their constituencies hysteric about "invasion", human trafficking big big bosses contact our white-lilies' emissaries secretly travelling to extremism infested countries under the guise of so called "missions" (when publicized) - in reality loaded with taxpayers' money to negotiate never-ending landings - so as to hypocritically denounce fear of terrorists supposed to be hiding among this desperate humanity fleeing from hunger, war, and sure death when in Italy afterwards, and submitting bills of concern to Parliament in order to shift political vox populi to center-right and even to extreme-right; a bit like when Berlusconi and his lackeys more than 20 years ago were instilling into the population the fright of "Communists" through his media empire to manipulate "animal spirits" to his own criminal ends. If any person regardless of the color of his or her skin is born, grows up, is being schooled in Italy; speaks, eats, loves in Italian, what's the point of not granting citizenship? Sounds more than logical to me; these are Italians through and through. Unfortunately the question mark remains; and the answer is because of all the above.