«Reintroducing them with real powers and money»- Corriere.it

“I am increasingly convinced that the reintroduction of real provinces, directly elected by the citizens, with powers, money and competences can be useful”. This was stated by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, answering a question on the total reopening of the provincial road 562 in the municipality of Camerota (Sa). “It is a provincial road so I can only report here what the other entities have told me – he added – if the road is a state road, like that of Maratea where there was a landslide, Anas intervenes in I answer and by 15 July the road is reopened. Here I can only stimulate and facilitate».

The Delrio law

Despite having fallen into oblivion, the provinces in Italy are still standing, albeit with very limited powers and without the direct election of leaders. The current structure is the result of law 56 of 2014, the so-called Delrio law in the name of what was then the competent minister. The rule was created to regulate and on a transitional basis the effects of the Renzi-Boschi constitutional reform which provided for the abolition of the provinces in favor of the metropolitan cities which should have been the only large area entities present in the country. But, following the negative outcome of the 2016 constitutional referendum, the reform never entered into force.

The provinces today

The provinces have been transformed into second-level entities, for which direct elections are no longer envisaged, but they have never been abolished. The president of the province is elected by the mayors and municipal councilors of the province, remains in office for 4 years and must be a mayor whose mandate expires no earlier than 18 months from the date of the elections. The Provincial Council is also composed and elected by mayors and municipal councilors from the municipalities of the province, but remains in office for only two years. A similar system has been followed for the council in the metropolitan cities, with the difference that the metropolitan mayor coincides with the mayor of the capital municipality. In recent years Parliament has been discussing how to correct the Delrio law and most of the parties have presented proposals aimed at restoring the direct election of provincial leaders. The progressive cut of the resources of this institution, on the other hand, began well before the Delrio law. In a note filed with the Senate, the Court of Auditors highlighted that the cuts in resources “had a negative impact on services to citizens” and urged a review of “the local government structure” as a whole. The curious fact is that, after having been considered a duplication of municipalities and regions for years, the provinces are making a comeback, as Salvini’s words demonstrate