THE Northern League leader, Mr Umberto Bossi, yesterday climaxed his three day "independence march" along the River Po by declaring the independence of the self styled "Federal Republic of Padania".
Speaking to thousands of Northern League supporters in Venice, and using a text that owed much to the 1776 American Declaration of Independence, Mr Bossi said, "We, the people of Padania, do solemnly proclaim Padania is a federal, independent and sovereign republic, and to support this declaration we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honour.
Mr Bossi may have remained true to his word, but even as he was speaking in Venice, political commentators and opponents alike were branding his independence weekend" a flop. The Prime Minister, Mr Romano Prodi, called it "not serious". The Foreign Minister, Mr Lamberto Dini, branded it a "farce".
In a lighter vein, the popular singer and television personality, Renzo Arbore, publicly thanked Mr Bossi for having brought together so many Italians in pro unity counter demonstrations that united the country in a manner usually achieved only by the Italian soccer team.
That remark was a reference to the many pro unity meetings held all over Italy, attended by hundreds of thousands, apparently far more than the disappointing turnout for the Northern League's quasi religious march along the banks of the Po.
The River Po is central to the invented Northern League iconography since the name "Padania" is taken from the Padano plain through which the Po flows on its 650 km journey from the Alps to the Adriatic.
Although Mr Bossi accused media organisations of "lying" it appears that the "independence march" attracted a total far short of the one million plus predicted by the Northern League.
Last week, Mr Bossi's right hand man, Mr Roberto Maroni had told foreign correspondents confidently that there would be a minimum of "one million, perhaps two million, perhaps more on the banks of the Po.
However, when Mr Maroni himself addressed a meeting near Turin on Friday evening, fewer than 300 followers turned out to hear him. In contrast, an estimated 150,000 people turned out for a pro unity meeting organised by a neo Fascist, Mr Alleanza Nazionale, in Milan, in the very heart of Padania".
Although ill defined geographically, "Padania" includes Italy's industrially richest regions of Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy and Veneto, while also laying claim to parts of Tuscany and Umbria.
If the "independence weekend" may prove to have a negative political fallout for the Northern League's secessionist aspirations, it could also have serious legal consequences. Mr Bossi on Saturday indicated that the Northern League might consider forming its own Padanian militia", saying, "If force is needed, and it is possible that it will be needed, from Monday (today) the provisional government (of Padania) will take care of that with the voluntary recruitment of a national guard."
The Italian State President, Mr Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, responded by saying that while the state was willing to guarantee freedom of expression, it could not tolerate "incitement to illegal acts".
President Scalfaro's remarks came one day after Turin magistrates had said they had opened an inquiry into Mr Bossi's secessionist plans and the questionable role of his "green shirt" security service cum militia.