FILE – In this Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017 filer, Lombardy Region President Roberto Maroni meets the journalists during a press conference to present the Referendum for autonomy in Lombardy in Milan, Italy. It is greater autonomy, not independence, that two
FILE – In this Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017 filer, Lombardy Region President Roberto Maroni meets the journalists during a press conference to present the Referendum for autonomy in Lombardy in Milan, Italy. It is greater autonomy, not independence, that two of Italy’s wealthiest regions are seeking in a pair of referendums Sunday, yet Catalonia’s secessionist ambitions loom over the debate. The president of Lombardy, Roberto Maroni and Veneto, Luca Zaia, are campaigning on the economic benefits of loosening Rome’s grip. But identity politics also is playing a role, particularly in Veneto, where a political fringe has never given up on the secession course long abandoned by the governing Northern League. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
