Despite hundreds of protests, some violent, in piazzas
across the country, Italy’s president Giorgio Napolitano signed the
much-contested university reform law in December, after its final approval in
the Senate. Napolitano did so despite ‘strong reservations,’ as he wrote in a
letter to prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. The president said he hoped there
would be further parliamentary debate on its most ‘critical’ aspects, including
its impact on student scholarships and grants and the new tenure-track system
for aspiring professors. Education minister Mariastella Gelmini said the
government would ‘take into account’ Napolitano’s concerns.
