Austria does still see itself as the protecting power of the German-speaking population of this region. For example, South Tyroleans are granted certain privileges regarding access to Austrian universities. Many young South Tyroleans as a result choose to study in universities such as Innsbruck or Vienna. In the academic year 2005/2006, 5251 South Tyroleans were studying at an Austrian, 6064 at an Italian University. The latter number includes 1956 students of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano[4].
Currently there is an ongoing discussion in the Parliament of Austria to make its role as a protecting power official by including it into the preamble of a planned reformed constitution.
In May 2006, former Italian president Francesco Cossiga, and senator for life in the Italian Senate, brought in a bill that would allow the region to hold a referendum, where voters could decide whether to stay with Italy, return to Austria, or become fully independent.[5] The proposed bill was immediately rejected in the Italian parliament. The South Tyrolean People’s Party (SVP) rejected the proposal as well, maintaining the initiative would revive ethnic tensions.
Schlagworte: Austria, Cossiga, Independence, Tyrol
