by Maurizio Turco and Massimo Lensi

The first stage of the collection of signatures on the 9 referendums and on the parliamentary bill against party power is coming to an end.

The objective of this referendum package in its different articulations is that of opposing the power of the parties and the decay of the institutions, partially or totally suppressing the activity of some of the chief symbols of party power in Italy, such as the Southern Italy Development Fund, the Local Health Units and the Ministry of State participations, or modifying the electoral law for the Senate and for the town councils in an Anglo-Saxon sense. This is the first step toward a total reform of the current proportional system.

In a few days' time, the radicals operating in Italy will hand in the forms containing the signatures to the Central office of the Court of Cassation, which will check on the legality and the authenticity of the signatures collected. Subsequently, the Constitutional Court will carry out a further inspection on the constitutional legitimacy of the questions; in other words, it will verify whether the questions proposed by the promoting committees are in contrast with constitutional regulations. In the past, the Constitutional Court has often rejected referendum questions with dubious sentences, giving show of scarce juridical sensitivity and a major partyist participation in the judgment.

Once every step of this long process is successfully overcome, the President of the Italian Republic will call a vote in June 1993 on the referendums.

All 9 referendums were on the radical tables, whereas the other promoting committes, the CO.RI.D., committee for democratic reform and the CO.RE.L., committee for the electoral reform (with the participation of the radicals together with other political forces) collected referendums only for the referendums which they were promoting: the CO.RI.D. on the three referendums against the occupation of the State on the part of the parties and the CO.RE.L. on the three referendums for the reform of the electoral system. The total amount of signatures collected for the radical referendums borders 600.000, whereas over 1.200.000 signatures were collected for the three referendums of the CORID and the CORID.

The Radical Party has given a major contribution for these 6 referendums both in terms of signatures collected and in terms of financial organization of the mechanism which has featured the active commitment of many Italian radical members in the tables in the streets this winter. The Radical Party alone has contributed by collecting directing on its tables at least 400.000 signatures for the CORID and COREL referendums.

The Radical Party will hand in the signatures collected in a public demonstration to be held on the first day of the 4th Italian Congress.

Following is the list of subjects

------------------------------------------------------------------

SUBJECTS TOTAL SIGNATURES TOTAL SIGNATURES

COLLECTED COLLECTED BY THE RP

------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Abolition of public

funding of parties

(at the initiative of

the Radical Party)

708 230 470 8

2. Abolition of the drug law

which punishes consumers

instead of traffickers

(at the initiative of the RP and the CORA)

726 200 426 100

3. Abolition of environmental controls

on the part of Local Health Units

(at the initiative of the Radical Party)

650 300 350 0

4. Abolition of appointments on the part

of the parties in the bank sector

(at the initiative of the CORID)

1.100 300 350 450

5. Suppression of the Southern Italy

Development Fund, that is, of the

welfare policy of the State in

Southern Italy

(at the initiative of the CORID)

1.100 300 350 450

6. Suppression of State participation

in the industrial sector

(at the initiative of the CORID)

1.100 300 350 450

7. Modification in an Anglo-Saxon

sense of the electoral system

of the Senate

(at the initiative of the COREL)

1.200 300 350 450

8. Modification in an Anglo-Saxon

sense of the electoral system of

the Senate

(other question)

(at the initiative of the COREL)

1.200 300 350 450

9. Modification in an Anglo-Saxon

sense of the electoral system of

town councils

(at the initiative of the COREL)

1.200 300 350 450

10. Parliamentary bill on popular

initiative (*) for the extension

of the Anglo-Saxon system to the

Chamber

(at the initiative of the Radical Party)

100 0 100 0

(*) The parliamentary bill on popular initiative calls for the collection of 50.000 signatures.