Italy regions vote on autonomy bid
Voters in the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto were voting yesterday in referendums on autonomy, against the backdrop of Catalonia's push for independence from Spain.
The consultative votes are only the beginning of a process which could over time lead to powers being devolved from Rome.
Secessionist sentiment in the two wealthy regions is restricted to fringe groups with little following.
Nonetheless, with both regions expected to vote in favour of the principle of greater autonomy, analysts see the referendums as reflecting the pressures that resulted in Scotland's narrowly-defeated independence vote, Britain's decision to leave the EU and the Catalan crisis.
The participation rate has to pass 50 percent in Veneto for the result to be considered valid. There is no threshold in Lombardy but a low turnout would weaken the region's hand in any subsequent negotiations with the central government.
Lombardy, which includes Milan, and Veneto, which houses Venice, are home to around a quarter of Italy's population and account for 30 percent of its overall economic output.
The referendums could have a domino effect -- a similar autonomy vote is being debated in Liguria, the region that includes the Riviera coastline, and Emilia Romagna, another wealthy industrial part of the country, is already trying to negotiate more devolved powers.
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