Elections, in Lazio and Lombardy the abstention party has really won

The siren that had been sounding for so many years, by dint of screaming in vain and without anyone intervening, broke. Leaving room for silence of the polls in the regional elections. Not the one that precedes the day of the vote but the much more disturbing one that was breathed on Sunday 12 February and Monday 13 in the sections of the Lazio and of Lombardy. Zero queues, semi-deserted schools and no trace of that typical tension, even at the time of cynical disenchantment, of election Sundays. For the first time, with some exceptions such as a regional session in Emilia-Romagna in 2014, a political electoral appointment falls below 50% of the turnout. In the two large regions, which for administrative and economic reasons are the beating heart of the country, the election of presidents and regional councils has essentially passed unnoticed.

The data is official: in Lazio the turnout was 37.2%, in Lombardy it is 41.67%. Very low data. This time, the silent majority stayed at home. Even because did not know: never before has the election of the two regional presidents been ignored as in this case. Very little information on the traditional media, almost no electoral propaganda, very rare comparisons, in a pre-election process squeezed between the budget law commercials on petrol and bills, the war in Ukraine and the Christmas holidays. The icing on the cake, a nice Sanremo hangover to anesthetize the last days of the countryside.

Who is winning the regional elections in Lombardy

Favorites are Attilio Fontana, outgoing president and candidate of the right, and Pierfrancesco Majorino, for the centre-left. Letizia Moratti is also in the running for the third pole and Mara Ghidorzi with Unione Popolare

To the centre-right on the other hand it was convenient in this way, trying to riding the long wave of September’s triumph. As indeed it will happen, with numbers even higher are expected, for example in Lazio, given the strong roots of the Brothers of Italy. The Pd without even a secretary he juggled among good administrators not exactly equipped with disarming charisma, reducing the presence of the symbol to the bone and thinking well of breaking the alliances in Lazio with the 5 Star Movement with which the former president of Lazio Nicola Zingaretti had also governed and in Lombardy with Carlo Calenda who however puts himself to the test, exceeding the quota of policies. The usual mess.

If the comparison with 4 March 2018 is impossible, because five years ago the administrative vote was merged with the political ones, the vertical collapse still makes an impression: 73.11% of those residing in Lombardy and 66.55% of those registered in Lazio had voted in the regional elections. Yet even this way of making comparisons retains an element that explains nothing: the policies are more deeply felt, they involve national leaders and a sweeping campaign throughout the country, so it is difficult not to be at least aware of it. But it is possible that a central election for the life of citizens, that of regional politicians who have both concurrent and residual essential competencies – above all, the healthcare and the local mobility Should it be policy-driven? Even after the two-year period of Covid-19, where differences in the management of the pandemic and in the quality of the services offered have indeed been seen.

Who is winning the regional elections in Lazio

Favorites are Francesco Rocca, candidate for the right-wing coalition, and Alessio D’Amato, candidate for the centre-left and the third pole. Donatella Bianchi of the Movimento 5 Stelle challenges them

However, the data from Lazio and Lombardy also tell us something else. And that is that something interesting and dangerous at the same time is happening in the vision of political representation: it seems that i citizens maintain a minimum of tired will for national appointments, where the more general political tendency or the fascination for this or that leader manifests itself as well as by now residual sentimentality of the area, and for local ones such as municipalities. Where, on the other hand, involvement – especially in smaller towns – is dictated by social networks, friendships, relationships and individual conveniences, by the machine of candidacies and lists.

In the middle of, the regions with ordinary statute – intermediate bodies for which votes have only been taken since 1970 – they risk finding each other again (unfairly, but so be it) suspended, at least in the common perception. In the institutional architecture they are neither close to their daily needs like the mayor, nor charged with governing the country like the deputies and senators in Montecitorio and Palazzo Madama, in their role of expression and support for a parliamentary majority. It doesn’t really look like a picture where you ask anymore autonomy. Not now, at least, though the point will come back on the table. If anything, and above all, more efficiency and more information, to mend a love that is never really overwhelming.