The security decree is law. In the Senate, strong clash with the opposition: "Authoritarian turn"

The Security Decree is law : the The measure was converted by the Senate, after its approval by the Chamber on 29 May, and the government's decision to raise the question of confidence , confirmed with 109 votes in favour, 69 against and one abstention .

“With the final approval of the Security Decree in the Senate, the Government is taking a decisive step to strengthen the protection of citizens , the most vulnerable groups and our men and women in uniform ”: this is what Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote in a post on X.

"The security decree is law. A strategic measure, strongly desired by this Government, which introduces new and effective tools to strengthen the fight against crime and terrorism, guarantee greater protection of citizens, especially the most vulnerable, and enhance the daily work of our law enforcement agencies" writes the head of the Ministry of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, on X.

The approval of the Security decree pushes Forza Italia MP Tullio Ferrante to emphasize above all the strengthening of " protection of legality and public order to guarantee citizens. A necessary measure to ensure the rule of law, which is based on the protection of everyone's freedoms and respect for the law".

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport then welcomed with satisfaction the entry into force of the law, especially for "the increased penalties for crimes committed in the vicinity of railway stations, subways or on board trains ", which " protect the millions of citizens who travel every day and have the right to feel safe when using public transport".

“Just as it is sacrosanct to prosecute those who block roads or railways: if dissent is legitimate, it is intolerable to impede the right to mobility with conduct that hinders free circulation”. Ferrante concludes by recalling that “Forza Italia and the centre-right are working to provide serious, balanced and urgent answers to the legitimate and sacrosanct demands of citizens”.

The opposition protest in the Senate during the vote of confidence on the security decree, Rome, 4_06_2025 (Ansa)

But today's session at Palazzo Madama was a lively one, after opposition senators, in protest, sat on the floor in front of the government benches, shouting " Shame , shame" and asking to convene the conference of group leaders. The center-left senators were cross-legged, some with signs that read " Report us all " or "Shame": a reference to the punishability - provided for in the provision -, in some cases (such as prison riots), of passive resistance or the crime of blocking a road .

The President of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa , stressed that he would not interrupt the session because there are precedents, but then he suspended it, speaking with one of the opposition group leaders. The conference recorded the opposition's criticism of the text, which spoke in chorus of an "authoritarian turn" with the decree.

A session marked by controversy, brawl and clashes with the opposition : the latter, during the speech of the Lega senator Nicoletta Spelegatti, were accused of creating “a theater of the absurd ” and of “ not listening .” Words underlined by the protests coming, in particular, from the benches of M5s and Pd. “Let's show them how to listen!” said the leader of the Lega, Massimiliano Romeo , at the end of the speech of Senator Spelegatti, when the Democrat Andrea Giorgis took the floor. And, instead of protesting as the opposition had done before, the Lega representatives remained silent throughout the speech of the Pd group leader in the Constitutional Affairs Committee.

Tensions were especially high during the speech by Senator Alberto Balboni of the Brothers of Italy: “ For those who advocate the Salis doctrine and bring to Parliament those who preach illegal occupations - said Balboni -, I understand that you prefer to be on the side of organized crime rather than the poor people”. The representative of the majority was then censured by the president in office Rossomando (“ You cannot equate the opposition with organized crime” , said the Democrat). “ I apologize if anyone was offended by my rhetorical figure”, then said the senator of FdI, continuing his speech. “ Are you on the side of the injured officers – asked Balboni rhetorically – or the protesters? ”. Words that further ignited the conflict. The FdI senator referred, in closing, to the accusations leveled at some members of the opposition of “ going to visit the mafiosi in prison ”.

“ Women who have children in order to steal are not worthy of doing so ”: these are the words pronounced yesterday during the general discussion on the decree by the senator of Fratelli d'Italia Gianni Berrino, who have reignited the clash in Palazzo Madama between the majority and the opposition. In particular, the passage of the senator's speech in which he argued that “ a child is safer in prison than at home , with parents who conceive them to go and commit crime...” is being strongly criticized.

“I have rarely heard crueler words,” wrote Democratic Senator Filippo Sensi on X, hoping “it’s just livid propaganda, and that you don’t really mean it.”

“The words spoken by Senator Berrino are simply unacceptable . To affirm that women who have children in order to steal are not worthy of having them is not only a serious lapse in style: it is the brutal expression of an inhuman vision , which tramples on the rights, dignity and complexity of the real lives of so many women, girls and boys involved” declares Michela Di Biase , group leader of the Democratic Party in the bicameral Commission on Childhood and Adolescence.

"This Security decree makes a mockery of dissent and legitimizes a dangerous slide toward authoritarianism . After hearing the words of Senator Berrino, who declared that it is better for children to be in prison, I have a clear example of this. Unfortunately, we are the last defenders of a Parliament absolutely emptied of its prerogatives," M5S Senator Ada Lopreiato protested last night.

Then Berrino, group leader of Fratelli d'Italia in the Justice Commission, returned to his speech and he specified: “The controversy that arose from my speech last night in the Senate Chamber, during the general discussion on the Security decree, requires me to make some clarifications that I was unable to make in the hemicycle, with the background shouting and shouting of the opposition. The president of the Democratic Party senators, Francesco Boccia, instrumentally attributed to me the statement that children are fine in prison. I did not say this, for me the presence of children in prison must be an extrema ratio . Rather , I said that with the Security decree, the children of those who have to serve a sentence go to prison only after the judgment and evaluation of a magistrate” .

The FdI representative: “Therefore, the Security decree entrusts a representative of the judicial power to evaluate whether a child is safer in prison rather than at home with delinquent parents . Finally, I would like to point out that life is a precious and non-negotiable asset, however I continue to maintain that it is despicable and disrespectful of the gift of life to conceive children in order to steal, avoiding prison as, unfortunately, has happened. With the Security decree, this will no longer happen and this is one of the reasons why this measure is necessary”.