Drugs and public safety: Italy passes law against illegal raves Netanyahu’s right-wing religious government sworn in parliament

In Italy, it will become illegal to hold rave parties or other music events without permission, subject to long prison terms and fines. On Friday, after a sometimes tumultuous session, parliament approved the law pushed by the right-wing government after the chamber president ended the discussion with a historic action. President Sergio Mattarella signed the law in the evening. Event organizers risk prison sentences of three to ten years and fines of up to 10,000 euros.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government said it intended to use the law to crack down on illegal events involving drug trafficking and endangering public safety. In Italy there are always techno raves in empty buildings, sometimes attracting thousands of people.

Critics protested vehemently that the right-wing majority in the House of Representatives linked the law to measures to tackle Corona, for example. Doctors and medical staff who refuse a Covid vaccination are allowed to return to work by law. Under the previous government, opponents or refusals of vaccination were no longer allowed to work in the medical sector. Meloni had already changed this by decree at the beginning of November; now it is also law.

For the opposition, this sends the wrong signal, especially at a time when heated discussions are being held about the number of corona cases in China and how to deal with passengers from the Asian country.

The opposition parties tried to prevent the law from being passed in a 20-hour session in the House of Representatives – the larger of the parliament’s two chambers. Chamber president Lorenzo Fontana of the right-wing Lega then abruptly stopped the speaking requests and immediately called for a vote. This procedure is called “guillotine” and has only been used once in the history of the republic in the House of Representatives. In the end, 183 MPs voted for the bill and 116 opposed it. (sda/dpa)