Prime Minister Mario Draghi launches the mini-extension, until March 31, 2022, of the state of emergency and repairs the hole contained in the super green pass. Today the green light should arrive from the Council of Ministers.
However, the ascent to Colle from the father of the tenant of Palazzo Chigi is complicated, who will hardly be able to give up the leadership of the government with the state of emergency still in force.
The extension of the “exceptional regime” was a necessary step. Otherwise, from 1 January 2022, the enhanced green pass would no longer have been valid. The decree, which introduces the obligation of vaccination certification to access bars, restaurants and local public transport, contains a sensational “flaw”.
The obligation started last December 6th and will remain in force until January 15th. There was a gap that had to be filled: the state of emergency, the legal umbrella necessary to introduce the obligation of a green pass to access public places, expired on 31 December 2021. green pass would have been without legal coverage.
The Draghi government had not calculated the offset between the end of the state of emergency (December 31) and that of the mandatory vaccination certification (January 15). The only certainty at the moment: green light to the extension to remedy the error. We are now thinking about the duration after March 31st. The extension until March 31, decided by Palazzo Chigi, rests on a legal basis. The law provides that the state of emergency can remain in force for a maximum period of 24 months: 1 year renewable for another year. The deadline is January 31, 2022 when the 24 months have expired. With an administrative act, the government can extend the duration beyond two years for a maximum of two months. Hence the decision of Prime Minister Draghi to provide for a 60-day mine-extension until March 31, 2022. We cannot go further with the current regulatory instruments. To bypass March 31, the deadline for keeping an exceptional regime alive, we need a law approved by Parliament which should increase the maximum duration of the emergency period to 3 years. But here the parties come into play. Politics. Such a decision (to extend the period for the state of emergency to three years) would have a very severe impact on personal freedoms and constitutional guarantees. Who can take responsibility for a choice of this magnitude? The parties. And therefore the prime minister wants to bring together the control room with one goal: to call the political forces to their responsibilities. If you want to keep the exceptional state alive, you have to pass a law in Parliament. Otherwise, the extension cannot go beyond March 31st.
Then there is the whole political question: the state of emergency would keep Draghi glued to Palazzo Chigi, cutting him out of the race for the Quirinale. Sergio Mattarella’s mandate expires on February 3. In the event of a move to the Colle, Draghi should give up the leadership of the executive 45/50 days before the end of the emergency. A slippery terrain where various obstacles cross. Closing the emergency on March 31 brings with it a series of knots to unravel. The first: the commissioner structure led by General Figliuolo. The hypothesis of transferring the powers to the Civil Protection is making its way. But even in this case there would be legislative limits.
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