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Nuclear power on the nose in Italy

‘We are against nuclear power and today in Rome most of the regions stood for this idea’.

Political risk for Italian nuclear  World Nuclear News 3 Feb 2010 Italy’s inter-regional body rejected the nuclear energy policy proposed by Silvio Berlusconi’s government during a late January session. Meanwhile, regional elections are approaching, giving rise to fears for Italy’s nuclear renaissance.

The Conferenza Stato-Regioni consultation body exists for the discussion of issues where competence is shared between central and regional governments. While the regions of Lombardia, Friuli-Venezia and Veneto supported central pro-nuclear policies, all the rest as well as two autonomous provinces were in opposition, resulting in a vote of 18 to three rejecting the re-introduction of nuclear power.
The opinion of this body is not binding under the Italian constitution, but it represents a clear political message to the central government, especially given that center-right governors were voting against their own party line. ………..

The Italian cabinet will have to decide on a course of action after listening to the opinion of the Conferenza Unificata, the local authorities, the central government and the industry commissions of the parliament. However, the opinion of the Conferenza Unificata will likely be similar to that of the Conferenza Stato-Regioni as pointed out by the mayor of Turin, Sergio Chiamparino, who warned of protests against the nuclear policy.

The president of the Basilicata region, Vito De Filippo, said at the end of the session, ‘We are against nuclear power and today in Rome most of the regions stood for this idea’. He added that ‘it is not a coincidence’ that 11 of 20 regions ‘have already challenged the law before the Constitutional Court, which will decide on 22 June’.

Recently nominated Sicilian Energy Counsellor Pier Carmelo Russo added that ‘Sicily has no longer environmental tolerance for nuclear power plants’,…….
Regional elections on 28 March look likely to complicate the picture further, with the possibility that Berlusconi will drop pro-nuclear ideals to win at the polls.

Political risk for Italian nuclear

February 4, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Italy, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, reactor, reactors