Italy • • • 🌿 Progressive

Administradores locales en una sala institucional miran en pantalla grande el videomensaje de una dirigente.
Asamblea de administradores locales siguiendo un videomensaje en pantalla, imagen alusiva a la 39ª Asamblea de las provincias italianas. · Imagen generada para EPM

Meloni urges review of Italy's provinces and local reform

Giorgia Meloni sent a message to the 39th Assembly of the Union of the Italian Provinces in Imperia, addressed to President Lattuca.

--- The context --- Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sent a message to the 39th General Assembly of the Union of the Italian Provinces, meeting in Imperia, addressed to President Lattuca. She regretted being unable to attend in person and wanted to send her contribution to a gathering that this year coincides with the eightieth anniversary of the birth of the Republic. --- The facts --- According to the message, the provinces are strongholds of territorial cohesion and perform an indispensable linking function for the development of the territories, with a decisive role under the principles of autonomy and subsidiarity recognised by the Constitution. Meloni recalled that she herself, as a provincial councillor, appreciated their importance in strategic coordination and in supporting inland areas and smaller municipalities. The message credits the provinces with maintaining essential functions despite staff shortages and rigid budget limits, from maintenance of the road network to management of upper secondary school buildings. It also says they honoured the commitments of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, spending the resources in full within the established deadlines. --- The positions --- Meloni said the provinces carry the legacy of Law No. 56 of 2014, which left them in a limbo that recognises neither their history nor their constitutional function. She asked Parliament to assess, without partisan prejudice, the effects of that law and the electoral model, including in metropolitan areas, where citizens are governed by the mayor of the main city without being able to elect that mayor. --- What remains unknown --- The message does not spell out which changes Parliament might adopt on the electoral model, nor does it set deadlines for that assessment. It also does not specify which resources would accompany the new framework, or how responsibilities between levels of government will be settled while the reform of local authorities moves forward. --- Unanswered questions --- What changes will Parliament propose for the electoral model of the provinces? How will representation be guaranteed for citizens in metropolitan areas? What resources will accompany the new framework so that essential functions can be sustained? --- EPM analysis --- More than twenty-five years have passed since the consolidated act on the organisation of local authorities entered into force, and updating the overall architecture is urgent. The reform of that act is about to reach the Council of Ministers and will then go to Parliament with a threefold objective: a coherent framework, certain boundaries under the principle of who does what, and restored dignity for territorial authorities, with the provinces as a hinge between municipalities and regions. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the message puts the provinces at the centre of a pending discussion about representation and capable nearby government, because it links the defence of their essential functions with the demand for clear rules on who does what. Its real scope will depend on whether the announced reform defines responsibilities, resources and electoral mechanisms without new ambiguities, and on whether the parliamentary debate turns that threefold objective into verifiable decisions for municipalities, provinces and regions across the whole Italian territory.
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