Facts
On 15 February 1993, a request for a generic popular initiative was filed with the State Chancellery of the Canton of Ticino, asking the Government for a reduction of 150 million Swiss francs in the expenses of the cantonal administration. After verifying that the initiative had collected the necessary number of signatures, the Grand Council of the Canton of Ticino adopted a bill to concretize the initiative.
The Lega dei Ticinesi and Giuliano Bignasca, one of the promoters of the initiative, filed a public law appeal with the Federal Tribunal, requesting the annulment of the decision of the Grand Council.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considered that the Grand Council, in concretizing the generic initiative, had exceeded the margin of maneuver at its disposal. In fact, the measures adopted to achieve the savings envisaged by the initiative, such as the abolition of certain social benefits, constitute a "dismantling of social welfare" contrary to the aims of the initiative.
Therefore, the Federal Tribunal upheld the appeal and fully annulled the…