The most controversial issue is that of the granting of citizenship, which has also been discussed recently following the proposals put forward by the Minister for Integration. It is controversial not only in public debate, but also in the views of those surveyed. There are two options on which Italians are broadly divided. On the one hand, there is a slight majority in favour of conditional citizenship (45.6 per cent). Under this approach, the right to citizenship must be granted upon the explicit request of the applicant and subject to certain conditions (legal residence for a number of years, knowledge of history and the language, and so on). Those who favour this option most strongly are the middle age groups (25–34-year-olds: 53.6 per cent), people in employment (entrepreneurs: 64.1 per cent; manual workers: 56.6 per cent; the unemployed: 55.0 per cent), residents of the North-East (54.9 per cent), those with upper secondary or higher education qualifications (53.2 per cent), and those who are opposed (56.5 per cent) or ambivalent (67.2 per cent) towards migrants. According to this view, citizenship for migrants is not a right plain and simple, but this is a subjective choice and depends on certain rules. A similar, though slightly lower, proportion (42.1 per cent) supports the ius soli: Italian citizenship should be granted to everyone born in our country, regardless of their parents’ citizenship. Support is highest amongst the youngest and oldest age groups (under 24: 62.1 per cent; over 65: 65.4 per cent), those not in employment (pensioners: 53.8 per cent; housewives: 80.8 per cent; students: 53.5%), those with a low level of education (63.1%), and those who hold a favourable (53.2%) and welcoming (58.0%) attitude towards migrants. Between these two positions lies, to a marginal extent, the view that citizenship should be granted according to the ius sanguinis. Only 12.3 per cent believe that it should be granted to all those born in Italy, provided their parents already hold Italian citizenship.
These findings demonstrate once again that there is a significant difference between what is discussed in the political arena and the views of the general public, which are more positive than is apparent from the public debate. Nevertheless, they also reveal the existence of conflicting, if not divergent, views on how citizenship rights should be granted. The issue of migration is also complex and difficult, and the processes of integration between different cultures and ways of life are problematic. However, we cannot continue to ignore the issue of citizenship and the participation of a substantial section of the population in the national community. Not least because, sooner or later, these questions will come to the fore: a quarter of legally resident foreign nationals (23.4 per cent) are under 18 (compared with 17.7 per cent of Italians). Their future is here. And they, too, are our future. Integration must be defined and managed in a pragmatic, rather than ideological, manner. By establishing shared rules and looking at where we stand today and, even more so, to the future. In an informed manner.
