Politics of Tuscany
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| This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Tuscany |
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The Politics of Tuscany, Italy, takes place in the framework of a semi-presidential representative democracy, whereby the President of the Region is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in the Regional Council of Tuscany, while executive power is exercised by the Regional Government led by the President, who is directly elected by the people. The current Statute, which regulates the functioning of the regional institutions, has been in force since 2005.
Prior to the rise of Fascism, most of the deputies elected in Tuscany were part of the liberal establishment, which governed Italy for decades. The eastern and northern provinces of the region were anyway an early stronghold of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). At the 1924 general election, which opened the way to the Fascist authoritarian rule, Tuscany was one of the few regions which did not return an absolute majority to the National Fascist Party (PNF). After World War II, Tuscany became a stronghold of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), which was especially strong in rural areas.
Traditionally, Tuscany returns big majorities to the left during elections. The PCI and its successors won all the regional and general elections. The region is now a stronghold of the centre-left coalition led by the Democratic Party, which is by far the largest party. The coalition has governed the region since 1995. The current President, Enrico Rossi, has been President since 2010.
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Legislative branch[edit]
The Regional Council of Tuscany is composed of 55 members. 34 councillors are elected in provincial constituencies by proportional representation using the largest remainder method with a Droop quota and open lists, while 20 councillors (elected in a general ticket) come from a "regional list", including the President-elect. One seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second.
The Council is elected for a five-year term, but, if the President suffers a vote of no confidence, resigns or dies, under the simul sta, simul cadent prevision introduced in 1999 (literally they will stand together or they will fall together), also the Council is dissolved and a snap election is called.
2010–2015 composition[edit]
| Distribution of Seats in the Regional Council | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Political Group | Leader | 2010 | Now |
| Democratic Party | Vittorio Bugli | 24 | 24 |
| People of Freedom | Alberto Magnolfi | 17 | 16 |
| Italy of Values | Marta Gazzarri | 5 | 5 |
| Federation of the Left – Greens | Monica Sgherri | 3 | 3 |
| Lega Nord Toscana | Antonio Gambetta Vianna | 3 | 2 |
| Union of the Centre | Giuseppe Del Carlo | 2 | 2 |
| Mixed Group | Dario Locci | 1 | 3 |
Source: Regional Council of Tuscany
Executive branch[edit]
The Regional Cabinet (Giunta Regionale) is presided by the President of the Region (Presidente della Regione), who is elected for a five-year term, and is currently composed by 10 members: the President and 9 regional assessors (Assessori, literally "aldermen"), including a Vice President (Vice Presidente), while under-secretaries (Sottosegretari) help the President but have not right of vote when the cabinet meets.[1]
2010–2015 composition[edit]
| Party | Members |
|---|---|
| Democratic Party | President and a 5 assessors |
| Italy of Values | 2 assessors |
| Italian Socialist Party | 1 assessor |
| Federation of the Left | 1 assessor |
| Independent | 1 assessor |
List of Presidents[edit]
| Presidents of Tuscany | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Party | Term | Legislature |
| Lelio Lagorio | PSI | 1970–1975 | I Legislature |
| Lelio Lagorio | PSI | 1975–1978 | II Legislature |
| Mario Leone | PSI | 1978–1980 | II Legislature |
| Mario Leone | PSI | 1980–1983 | III Legislature |
| Gianfranco Bartolini | PCI | 1983–1985 | III Legislature |
| Gianfranco Bartolini | PCI | 1985–1990 | IV Legislature |
| Marco Marcucci | PCI/PDS | 1990–1992 | V Legislature |
| Vannino Chiti | PDS | 1992–1995 | V Legislature |
| Vannino Chiti | PDS/DS | 1995–2000 | VI Legislature |
| Claudio Martini | DS | 2000–2005 | VII Legislature |
| Claudio Martini | DS/PD | 2005–2010 | VIII Legislature |
| Enrico Rossi | PD | since 2010 | IX Legislature |
The current President of Tuscany is Enrico Rossi, who is serving his first term after winning the 2010 regional election.
Local government[edit]
Provinces[edit]
Tuscany is divided in ten provinces, which are a traditional form of local administration in the region.
Socialist and communist ideas had an early diffusion in quite all the provinces around World War I. After the Fascist parenthesis, left-wing parties found their strongholds in eastern rural provinces, especially Siena and Arezzo, while Christian Democracy used to be strong in the north-western part of the Region.
The city of Florence is now one of major national strongholds of Democratic Party. The Province of Siena is also called the "red province of Italy", because the Italian Communist Party has always governed it with the 60% of the votes since 1945 to its dissolution in 1991.
| Province | Inhabitants | established | President | Party | Election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arezzo | 348,327 | 1826 | Roberto Vasai | Democratic Party | 2009 | |
| Florence | 991,862 | 1848 | Andrea Barducci | Democratic Party | 2009 | |
| Grosseto | 227,063 | 1766 | Leonardo Marras | Democratic Party | 2009 | |
| Livorno | 341,453 | 1861 | Giorgio Kutufà | Democratic Party | 2009 | |
| Lucca | 392,182 | 1849 | Stefano Baccelli | Democratic Party | 2011 | |
| Massa | 203,642 | 1859 | Osvaldo Angeli | Democratic Party | 2008 | |
| Pisa | 414,154 | 1849 | Andrea Pieroni | Democratic Party | 2009 | |
| Pistoia | 292,108 | 1927 | Federica Fratoni | Democratic Party | 2009 | |
| Prato | 248,174 | 1992 | Lambarto Nazzareno Gestri | Democratic Party | 2009 | |
| Siena | 270,333 | 1849 | Simone Bezzini | Democratic Party | 2009 | |
Municipalities[edit]
Tuscany is also divided in 287 comuni (municipalities), which have even more history, having been established in the Middle Ages when they were the main places of government. 13 comuni have more than 50,000 inhabitants, most of which are ruled by the centre-left.
| Municipality | Inhabitants | Mayor | Party | Election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florence | 370,702 | Matteo Renzi | Democratic Party | 2009 | |
| Prato | 187,994 | Roberto Cenni | The People of Freedom | 2009 | |
| Livorno | 161,084 | Alessandro Cosimi | Democratic Party | 2009 | |
| Arezzo | 100,140 | Giuseppe Fanfani | Democratic Party | 2011 | |
| Pistoia | 90,226 | Samuele Bertinelli | Democratic Party | 2012 | |
| Pisa | 88,332 | Marco Filippeschi | Democratic Party | 2008 | |
| Lucca | 84,928 | Alessandro Tambellini | Democratic Party | 2012 | |
| Grosseto | 82,284 | Emilio Bonifazi | Democratic Party | 2011 | |
| Massa | 71,006 | Roberto Pucci | Communist Refoundation Party | 2008 | |
| Carrara | 65,612 | Angelo Zubbani | Italian Socialist Party | 2012 | |
| Viareggio | 64,564 | Luca Lunardini | The People of Freedom | 2008 | |
| Siena | 54,561 | Enrico Laudanna | Commissioner | 2012 | |
| Scandicci | 50,304 | Simone Gheri | Democratic Party | 2009 | |
Parties and elections[edit]
Last regional election[edit]
In the last regional election, which took place on 28–29 March 2010, Enrico Rossi the Democratic Party defeated by a landslide his centre-right opponent Monica Faenzi. The Democrats were by far the largest party, albeit losing ground from previous elections.
References[edit]
External links[edit]
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