Veneto approves the end-of-life bill: a victory for Zaia, centre-right in disarray

Veneto breaks the taboo: the law on end-of-life care, strongly championed by Luca Zaia over recent years, has been passed. This move has put him at odds with part of the majority coalition – which, in fact, split during the vote – in order to ensure local legislation that safeguards the rights of terminally ill patients and guarantees access to palliative care. It is the first region led by the centre-right to reach this milestone, joining Tuscany, Sardinia and Emilia-Romagna. 32 votes in favour, 14 against, 5 abstentions. It is a victory and a moment of redemption for the ‘Doge’, who, as President of the Regional Council, has managed to achieve what he failed to do two years ago as regional governor: at that time, a similar bill was rejected by a single vote – that of PD councillor Anna Maria Bigon. This goes to show that the issue transcends the usual party politics.

Bigon, who stood for re-election and was re-elected within the Democratic Party ranks – amen – voted in favour this time. And with her, the rest of the centre-left, united as one. The only dissenting votes from the opposition benches came from the two councillors from Resistere Veneto, led by the anti-establishment doctor Riccardo Szumski. However, it was among the governing parties that the greatest unpredictability was witnessed. The Lega largely voted in favour, particularly the Zaia faction, though not all of them: group leader Riccardo Barbisan – despite describing it as a ‘good law’ – and his deputy Filippo Rigo voted against. The new regional commissioner, Andrea Tomaello, abstained. In favour, however, was President Stefani, who has always been close to Salvini, and who explained on this occasion that he was “voting to approve a law that strengthens palliative care, establishes a regional bioethics committee and does not introduce medically assisted suicide: something already outlined in a number of recent rulings by the Constitutional Court”.

Opposition came mainly from the Fratelli d’Italia benches, who were annoyed by the outcome of the vote – which, on the face of it, has thrown the entire centre-right into disarray. Two Forza Italia councillors abstained: the third, the young Jacopo Maltauro, voted in favour instead. Following the entire affair – which involved two days of lengthy discussions – at Palazzo Ferro Fini in Venice was Marco Cappato, treasurer of the Luca Coscioni Association and a long-standing champion of civil rights. Public opinion in Veneto had been particularly struck by the case of Stefano Gheller, who had suffered from muscular dystrophy all his life: after years of gruelling battles, he obtained the go-ahead for medically assisted suicide, but died before he could make use of it due to Covid-related complications in 2024. “The hope is that regional councillors, as individuals, will choose to listen to the suffering of those who are ill,” said Cappato before the vote. “And to prioritise that, rather than party directives, coalition agreements or disciplinary rules.”

In the end, the white smoke appeared, but not without a host of amendments: of the 38 tabled, around half were passed. Sources within Fratelli d’Italia claim that ‘the law as approved has been completely overhauled’ compared to the original text, but they have every interest in downplaying the result. For the Zaia camp, mindful of the deadlock in the previous parliamentary term, the path of formal compromise was the only one capable of securing a majority at the ballot box. Thus, the Doge exults: “Today, the Venetian Parliament has chosen not to look the other way and to provide a concrete response to people living in conditions of extreme suffering”. Cappato himself confirms that the substantive content of the bill has remained largely intact: “Amendments have been approved that guarantee reasonable timeframes for the entire procedure, safeguarding human dignity and in line with the most recent constitutional rulings on the laws of the regions of Tuscany and Sardinia. The approval of the law in Veneto confirms that ‘Liberi Subito’ is a proposal that does not belong to any party or political camp, precisely because it is founded on the Constitution.” At the same time, without Zaia’s commitment, it would never have seen the light of day. And that is a political fact.