Assemblea Regionale Siciliana
| Regional assembly logo | Palazzo dei Normanni (Palermo) |
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| Basic data | |
| Seat: |
Palazzo dei Normanni , Palermo |
| Legislative period : | 5 years |
| First session: | May 25, 1947 |
| MPs: | 70 |
| Current legislative period | |
| Last choice: | 5th November 2017 |
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| Distribution of seats: |
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| Website | |
| ars.sicilia.it | |
The Assemblea Regionale Siciliana (ARS) is the parliament of the Autonomous Region of Sicily . It meets in the Norman Palace in the Sicilian capital Palermo .
history
The Sicilian Regional Assembly, which has existed since 1947, succeeds the Sicilian Parliament, which was first convened in 1097 by Roger I in Mazara del Vallo . It then met in various places in Sicily, such as the Norman Palace in Palermo, the Palazzo Corvaia in Taormina and the Castello Ursino in Catania .
In 1282 the Sicilian Parliament played an important role in the Sicilian Vespers . The official flag of Sicily , which dates back to Vespers, is now kept by the Sicilian Regional Assembly.
Up until the 18th century, the Sicilian Parliament was an assembly of estates . It consisted of feudal lords , bishops , abbots and other high clergymen, as well as representatives from 42 Sicilian cities. These three groups usually met separately.
After Napoleon Bonaparte had occupied the Kingdom of Naples , the Neapolitan Bourbons withdrew to Sicily, over which they had previously ruled in personal union. There a constitution was passed by the Sicilian parliament in 1812, mainly under British pressure, which abolished feudalism and also profoundly reformed the parliament. A two-chamber system was created : in the upper house , the Camera dei Pari , sat nobles, clergymen and military men who were appointed by the king for life; the lower house , the Camera dei Comuni , was directly elected on the basis of a census suffrage . In the course of the Restoration , the creation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the loss of Sicilian autonomy , the constitution of 1812 and thus the Sicilian Parliament was abolished in 1815. During the uprisings against the Restoration in 1820 attempts were made to revive parliament, but it failed because of the Neapolitan intervention under General Florestano Pepe .
During the March Revolution of 1848 , the Sicilian Parliament was convened again on March 25th in the Dominican Church of San Domenico in Palermo , but it was only able to last about 15 months and then it was definitely lost. The parliament of 1848 enacted a new constitution that abolished the upper house of parliament and proposed the crown of Sicily to Ferdinand Maria von Savoyen-Carignan , who refused because of the war of independence in northern Italy. The government remained in the hands of the revolutionary leader Ruggero Settimo , who opened parliament in the church of San Domenico.
After the unification of Italy in 1861, a centralized unitary state was built for various reasons , which further denied Sicily its traditional autonomy. The neglect of the island, the consideration of the interests of small groups, the often only superficial fight against the mafia , the fascist dictatorship , the invasion of Sicily favored by the mafia , the defeat of Italy in the Second World War and the related economic hardship fanned the Sometimes violent Sicilian separatism was so strong that the Kingdom of Italy was forced between 1944 and 1946 to grant Sicily extensive political autonomy.
After a civil high commission for Sicily had been set up in March 1944, an advisory body was convened in February 1945 with the Consulta regional siciliana , which was supposed to draw up a regional statute , a regional constitution. The Consulta consisted of 36 personalities appointed by the Italian Prime Minister on the proposal of the High Commissioner . These personalities came mainly from anti-fascist movements, but historians, lawyers, and employee and employer representatives were also represented. Under the chairmanship of the High Commissioner, on December 23, 1945, they passed the draft constitution for the region of Sicily, which was adopted by the Consulta nazionale in Rome on May 7, 1946 and accepted on May 15, 1946 by Umberto II , the last king of Italy Regional statute of Sicily was promulgated .
On this basis, the first regional elections took place in Sicily on April 20, 1947. The Assemblea Regionale Siciliana first met on May 25, 1947. The entire constitutional process in Sicily was groundbreaking for post-war political developments in Italy. The Consulta regional emerged before the Consulta nazionale in Rome, the autonomy of Sicily was still granted by the Kingdom of Italy and thus became a model for the differentiated regionalism anchored in the constitution of the Italian Republic in 1947 , which was not fully implemented until 1970 under Mariano Rumor could.
Thus, the Assemblea Regionale Siciliana is the oldest existing regional parliament in Italy, which also stands in the tradition of one of the world's oldest parliaments, the establishment of which the Assemblea Regionale celebrated in 1997 in 1097 . Because of its special historical development, it was initially the only regional parliament in Italy that was allowed to call itself the Assemblea Regionale or "Regional Assembly". The constitution provides for the designation Consiglio regional or "regional council" for the representative bodies of all other Italian regions . The special autonomy rights of the Sicilian Regional Assembly are also expressed by the fact that only the members of the National Chamber of Deputies in Rome and those of the Sicilian Regional Assembly in Palermo are called "MPs", while the members of the other regional parliaments are called "Regional Councils". Only the South Tyrolean parliament has comparable special rights in Italy , which, however, is the representative body of an autonomous province .
Despite or because of its special constitutional position, the Sicilian Regional Assembly had to accept a loss of reputation in the course of its existence. Sharp attacks by the public, especially from other Italian regions, occurred because of political corruption and mismanagement, because of connections between individual regional politicians and the Mafia, because of the bloated and overpaid parliamentary administrative apparatus and because of other grievances, which many in a polemical way on the autonomy rights of the Sicilian Bring back regional policy. This public pressure, the euro crisis and rationalization measures at national level and in some other regions have also led the Sicilian Regional Assembly to make cuts. Following a reform of the regional statute, the number of members of the Sicilian Regional Assembly was reduced from 90 to 70 in November 2017. Some of the cuts in the administrative apparatus were criticized as inadequate.
choice
From 1947 to 1996, the 90 members of the Sicilian Regional Assembly were elected on the basis of a pure proportional representation system. During this time, regional policy, as at the national level and in many other regions of Italy, was dominated by the Democrazia Cristiana .
In 1996, 2001 and 2005 proportional representation was modified by introducing a threshold clause (first four, then five percent) and a majority bonus for the election winners, thereby creating a clearer majority and more government stability. Until 2001, the regional government was elected by the regional assembly and could be overthrown at any time with a simple vote of no confidence without any consequences for the regional assembly . As at the national level and in other Italian regions, this regulation led to frequent changes of government. In 2001, an amendment to the Italian constitution made it possible to no longer elect the presidents of the Italian regions by the regional parliaments, but directly by the people. Sicily also made use of this option. If the Sicilian Regional Assembly expresses its mistrust of the president of the region, directly elected by the people, and forces him to resign, this now automatically means the self-dissolution of the regional parliament and new elections.
organs
The Assemblea Regionale Siciliana is presided over by a president who is elected at the beginning of each legislative period. If the required two-thirds majority is not achieved, there is a runoff election . The presidium of the regional assembly consists of the president, two vice-presidents, three quaestors responsible for administration, ceremonial, order and security and three secretaries. Since all political groups have to be represented in the Presidium, the number of members mentioned can also be higher. The Presidium appoints a Secretary General to manage the administration of the Regional Assembly.
Parliamentary work takes place in plenary sessions and in six permanent and, if necessary, special committees. The standing committees are as follows: Constitutional Affairs; Household; Business; Environment and spatial planning; Culture, education and work; Social and health. There is also a committee that deals with matters relating to the European Union, but has no legislative powers. One of the noteworthy special committees (committees of inquiry) that have been set up over time is the Anti-Mafia Committee. There are also three commissions responsible for the rules of procedure , checking the legality of regional elections and the library of the regional assembly.
At least five MPs are required to form a political group; if the appropriate faction formation does not take place, the path to the so-called "mixed faction" is open. The Conference of Group Chairmen, under the leadership of the President of the Regional Assembly, determines in particular the agenda and the calendar of meetings.