74% Italians ask to vote again for Provincial President, survey

74% of Italian citizens are in favor of the return of the direct election of the president and the provincial council; the same percentage knows the current election method, which involves the appointment of provincial administrators by other administrators rather than citizens: a mechanism rejected by 7 out of 10 Italians.

This is attested by research carried out by the Piepoli Institute for the Union of Italian Provinces, which collected the opinions of the population and mayors on the role of the Provinces, their activities and the methods of electing provincial bodies.

Returning to directly electing provincial bodies, therefore, is a request fully shared by well beyond the majority of Italians, because, according to 50% of survey participants, citizens ask to be protagonists in the democratic process. But also because, 69% of the sample said, this would lead to greater democratic representation and greater responsibility of elected officials.

The figure becomes almost unanimous if the mayors respond: over 90% declare themselves in favor of the direct election of the President and the Provincial Council by the citizens, because this would guarantee greater democratic legitimacy and increase the administrative effectiveness of the Provinces.

The research confirms the strong bond between citizens and the Province and between the Province and the Municipality: 56% of citizens consider the Province to be a useful body, 62% of Italians feel a strong bond with this institution and 39% declare they have trust in the Province. A very high figure if we consider that Law 56/14 has in fact significantly reduced citizens' possibilities of coming into direct contact with the Provinces, excluding them from voting for over 10 years.

If we move on to the mayors, almost all of the interviewees - 97% of the sample - believe the Province is useful for its territory, as an institution that represents the interests of its Municipality and for this very reason, according to 65%, the competences assigned to the Provinces should be more. For 9 out of 10 mayors, guaranteeing greater economic resources to the Provinces is a priority.

The mayors therefore recognize that the Provinces have a value of political representation, not only administrative, support and coordination.