Rome – Sit-ins throughout Italy and a torchlight procession in front of Montecitorio, complete with distribution of 10,000 postcards (to be sent to Palazzo Chigi) printed on it is the promise made in November by Romano Prodi himself. And now the prime minister seems unwilling to keep it. Italian gays have decided to speak out on the never-ending issue of de facto couples. "A government we consider friendly has actually shown very little openness to our requests," Giorgio Morelli of DìGayProject said in the dedicated press conference. "We now want to take them to the streets to give the executive a wake-up call. And we are ready to organize a national demonstration for March 10». While from Padua Alessandro Zan, the Democratic Party city councilor from Arcigay, has already said that the government is "bowing to Ruini's diktats." But the gay and lesbian community may not be alone this time, given that since yesterday the Communist Refoundation Party has also joined them. Represented not only by Luxuria, but also by her colleague in the Chamber of Deputies. Tweety De Simone which says it is ready for "a very tough battle, to open a conflict within the majority if a more dignified proposal than the Bindi-Pollastrini decree is not reached.".
Assuming the decree exists. Because in reality yesterday ‘The Union was not even able to agree on a joint motion to present to the Chamber.. The specially convened meeting of the center-left group leaders ended in nothing. ‘'UDEUR has refused to withdraw its motion calling for the government not to take a position on the matter., and he did the same then the Rose in the Fist which instead demands the introduction of PACS in Italy too. The Greens, the Pdci, and the PRC group leader would have appeared a little more accommodating, willing to discuss the text presented by Franceschini of the Margherita party. A few sentences, for commit the government to present "by February 15th a bill on the legal recognition of rights, prerogatives, and faculties of persons who are part of de facto unions"«. Or rather, a carbon copy of the famous seven lines of the electoral platform. The only good news of the day was the postponement of the vote, which will now take place only next Tuesday. Hopefully, by then, the fateful bill on common-law couples will emerge from Palazzo Chigi. It is Udeur, on whose motion the entire House of Freedoms could converge, declares La Russa of An.
So the experts from the ministries of Equal Opportunities and Family have rolled up their sleeves. The goal is to finally finalize the text and secure everyone's agreement by Tuesday, that is, in time if not for the Council of Ministers at least for the pre-council meeting. The sticking point, however, remains the same. Because even yesterday... Rosi Bindi, in interviews and during question time at the Chamber, has reiterated that there should be no creation for de facto couples of "a public registry that would be a sort of parallel instrument to the marriage registry." In its place, Bindi insists, instead there should only be a registry certificate.
In reality, rather than the dispute over the name of the instrument that should establish who is and who is not part of a de facto couple, we should pay attention to the substance. That is, what rights will be recognized for the little recognized new families?. The proposal, released before Christmas by the Ministry of Equal Opportunities, addressed not only healthcare, pension reversibility, job rankings, and rental agreements, but also inheritance rights. This was precisely the point that, once included in the budget, had caused a stir in the Senate in mid-December.