Achievements
The Statute of Veneto Region cites the "Venetian people" and UNESCO gives to Venetian language the status of not endangered language, as it is usually spoken in Veneto, part of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, part of Croatia, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina in Brazil, and Chipilo, Puebla in Mexico.
In 1998 the Regional Council of Veneto approved the resolution 42 concerning the "self-determination" of the "Venetian people". The resolution read: "The Venetian people invokes its right to a democratic and direct referendum for the free expression of its right to self-determination". In 2006 the Regional Council officially asked to reform the Constitution of Italy in order to allow Veneto to be an autonomous region like its neighbours Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.
In 2007 Veneto recognized Venetian as official language of the region, alongside Italian, instituted an official website for standard Venetian and proclaimed a yearly "Day of the Venetian People" (Festa del Popolo Veneto) on 25 March, anniversary of the foundation of Venice. In 2011 the Regional Council officially requested to the Parliament of Italy to protect Venetian as a minority language under Italian law.
While support for a federal system, as opposed to a centrally administered state, receives widespread consensus in Veneto, support for independence is less favoured. Recent polls show anyway a rise of independentism. According to an opinion poll made in December 2011, a 50% of Venetians support the indepdendence of Veneto. More strikingly, an opinion poll published on Il Gazzettino in January 2012 put those favoring independence at 53.3% (with foreign-born Venetians at 55.0%).
In the 2010 regional election, Liga Veneta (LV) was by far the largest party in the region with 35.2% of the vote, while its leader Luca Zaia was elected President of Veneto by a landslide 60.2%. The combined result of Venetist parties was 37.6%, the highest ever.
Soon after the 2010 regional election, Daniele Stival (LV), new regional minister for Venetian Identity, appointed a commission of experts which will fix the rules of standard Venetian language and the official Venetian names of all 581 municipalities of Veneto. The commissioners include: Davide Guiotto, president of Raixe Venete; Gianfranco Cavallin, writer and linguist close to Raixe Venete; Sabino Acquaviva, sociologist and avowed Venetist; Rodolfo Delmonte, linguist; Michele Brunelli, linguist; Lodovico Pizzati, economist and secretary of Veneto State (later of Venetian Independence).
In 2012 Venetian Independence (IV) collected more than 20,000 signatures in support for a referendum on independence and presented them to President Zaia. Zaia informed the Regional Council and its President Clodovaldo Ruffato asked an opinion to the legal office, which explained that such a referendum was not legal under the Constitution of Italy. On 6 October IV organized a march in Venice, during which it proposed a resolution for a consultative referendum on independence to be approved by the Regional Council: the text of the resolution was given to Giovanni Furlanetto, regional councillor of LV, who supported the proposition. Another Council member, Mariangelo Foggiato of North-East Union (UNE), officially presented the resolution in the Council. On 17 October a total of 42 regional councillors out of 60 officially asked a discussion on the issue. On 28 November the Council approved the resolution, in which "independence" was replaced by "self-determination", with 29 votes in favour, 2 against and 5 abstentions. Those in favour included Foggiato, the entire group of LV, most councillors of The People of Freedom, Pietrangelo Pettenò of the Communist Refoundation Party, Diego Bottacin of Toward North and independent Sandro Sandri, who had expounded the resolution at the start of the session, while the entire group of the Democratic Party left the floor in protest, but proclaimed their support for a special statute for Veneto.
Read more about this topic: Venetian Nationalism
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