Developing local identities

DEVELOPMENT: Except for Venice, I had not been on the eastern coast of Italy at all, so I was delighted when, in the course of promoting the Italian translation of 'Acts of Faith' in Italy, I was able to arrange lectures at the University of Lecce. Knowing little about the place, I was surprised at the envy of friends in England who were told my itinerary.

All became clear when I actually got to Lecce, a baroque gem, set within mediaeval walls that still stand, admittedly after restoration over the centuries.

Within the Habsburg fortress was a modern art exhibition, the opera house had a performance of La Boheme after which the prima donna emerged for her bow with a Lecce football scarf, the old cloisters have been converted for use by the university and the town commune.

The museum, in which I was the only visitor on a rainy Monday afternoon, had a fantastic collection of Greek vases, and some wonderful sculpture found in the recently excavated Roman theatre - all this, the custodians proudly told me, came from their region alone.

What struck me then was the tremendous sense of regional pride, accompanied by active developmental programmes rooted in local traditions and culture.

This is in a context in which, over the last couple of decades, there has developed a sense of superiority in the north, expressed most obviously by the Lombard League which seems almost to suggest that the poorer regions of the south should be cut away and left to stew in a poverty that, it is suggested, is their own fault.

This, I suspect, is what made the students in Lecce seem responsive when I spoke about the theme of pluralism in my work, the rejection of a world of binary opposites, which when I wrote in the eighties I thought was our own particular problem.

In those days I thought the west had got over all that, but sadly the last few years, not only the regional rivalries in Italy, but the Huntington view of the clash of civilizations, even the recent controversy over the cartoons of Islam, suggest that such divisiveness will never end.

Clearly there will never be a conclusive answer to all this, but the situation in Lecce suggested the importance of local development based on local initiatives. From a liberal perspective we have of course long advocated the principle of subsidiarity, with more attention to even smaller units than we are now wrangling over.

But given our concern with centralization, it is unlikely that our leaders will ever let go enough to ensure the advance of - not potential rivals, because the units I am talking of are not in the same league - progress that might draw attention to their own deficiencies.

In this regard I continue astonished that there has been no study of the way in which our Provincial Council system in fact functioned. The assumption that it has been a failure, true I believe in general terms, has precluded study of areas in which it did work.

The North Western Provincial Council, for instance, in its early days, was a model of developmental initiatives, apparent most obviously for instance in the appeal of what might be termed the Wayamba branding.

My own view is that much of that was due to the philosophy and the personality of the first Wayamba Chief Minister, Gamini Jayawickrema Perera.

He will not I think mind my saying that I believe JR, in setting up the Councils against his own will, chose as his first Chief Ministers thugs who would ensure victory.

Fortunately for Wayamba, the thug chosen there happened to be a visionary. And he continued there under Premadasa - unfortunately, after Premadasa's death, centralization again became important, and he was recalled to Colombo where he has never been given a role suited to his undoubted talents.

Now I suspect it is too late for him to fulfil his original potential. But it is a pity that no good study of what he achieved has been undertaken, because that might have led to some replication at least in some other provinces.

Certainly, in the North East, a governor of imagination could have introduced some at least of the pride in regional achievements and development that Wayamba alone produced, but which was so evident in Lecce.

Local government, I believe, should be not only about services but should also focus on identity and civic consciousness. This would not be too difficult in the many fantastic regions we have all over the country. Indeed, occasionally one sees such initiatives in particular areas.

But imaginative leadership could make this the rule rather than the exception - if only those at the centre were willing to let go, and those at the periphery could be guided, through study of positive examples, to build on their own imaginations and initiatives.