ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Polit. Sci.
Sec. Elections and Representation
This article is part of the Research TopicAre You Experienced? Thirty Years of Roman Vote(r)s (1993-2023)View all 3 articles
Mayors and votes in Rome in the 'Second Republic': an in-depth analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy
- 2Universita degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy
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Word count: 229 The year 1993 marks the transi1on from the First to the Second Italian Republic—a moment of profound poli1cal, economic, and social transforma1on that clearly divides the 1990s into a "before" and an "aDer." At the center of this shiD is Law No. 81, which introduced the direct elec1on of mayors and became a cornerstone of a paradigma1c change in local governance. Thirty years later, this ar1cle seeks to take stock of the transforma1ons that have occurred over 1me, offering a longitudinal analysis of electoral behavior and poli1cal par1cipa1on in the city of Rome. The study focuses on the nature of electoral compe11on and the evolving poli1cal supply that has characterized successive electoral rounds. Par1cular aNen1on is given to the succession of mayors, the dynamics of their popular support, and how the figure of the mayor has been redefined and diminished, to the point of reshaping the very role of the office. The analysis also considers changes in the poli1cal class, the composi1on of the municipal council and execu1ve bodies, and how today's "Roman poli1cian" differs from that of the 1990s—most notably in terms of gender representa1on. Finally, the ar1cle reflects on the structure and legacy of Law No. 81, acknowledging its role in reshaping local government while also ques1oning whether its founding pact—between ci1zens and their mayor—may now be in a state of irreversible decline.
Keywords: Elec1ons and Poli1cal Par1cipa1on, Direct Elec1on of the Mayor, Local Government, Municipal Poli1cal Class, Law No. 81
Received: 30 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fava. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Terenzio Fava, terenzio.fava@uniurb.it
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