Italian regionalist parties will find it difficult to import the ‘Scottish model’ in their push for independence

The Scottish independence referendum on 18 September was followed closely by independence movements in other countries across Europe. Lorenzo Piccoli writes on the impact of the referendum result on regionalist parties in Italy, particularly those in the regions of South Tyrol, Veneto and Sardinia. He argues that the different legal context in Italy, combined with the real policy differences between Italian regionalist parties and the SNP, will make it problematic for Scotland to act as a model for such movements in their push for independence.