Perhaps the most fundamental reason for securing greater autonomy from the center boils down to money. The president of Veneto, Luca Zaia, and his counterpart in Lombardy, Roberto Maroni, have both claimed that they felt forced to host a referendum after dialogue with lawmakers in Italy’s capital broke down.
Both regional leaders reportedly said they each send over 50 billion euros ($59 billion) more of their taxes to Rome than they get back.
While Five Star Movement, the insurgent populist party, has thrown its support behind each campaign, the governing Democratic party has called on citizens in both areas to abstain Sunday.
A non-binding victory for greater autonomy in both Lombardy and Veneto is widely expected.
