Referendum, Conte: “They want a gag for prosecutors, ‘No’ would send a huge signal to the government”

Milan, Mar. 19 (LaPresse) – “The reform is of no use to citizens at all” but is only “the first step of a broader plan,” namely “to weaken the independence of the judiciary by putting it under the control of the government in power, to protect politicians in office and the circle of powerful people around them from investigations.” This is what the leader of the Five Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte, said in an interview with Avvenire on the Justice reform and the referendum. “Through a series of seemingly technical amendments, the reform empties the principles of autonomy and independence of the judiciary and places it under strong political control,” Conte adds, specifying that “the new composition of the High Disciplinary Court and its functioning make it a gag applied by politics to judges deemed inconvenient by the government in power.” For the Five Star leader, moreover, “this is inevitably a political referendum,” because “Italians are called to decide whether or not to confirm the only reform this government has in hand after four years.” In case of rejection, “it would be a huge signal that Palazzo Chigi could not ignore.”