Federalism and new political models

Globalization and the support of the subsidiarity principle by EU and the local bodies’ increasing participation to the European policies, has strengthened those bodies’ autonomy and their demand for a larger decentralization.

Because of the importance of local bodies, since the 90’s, big city Mayors and region Governors have taken active part to the national political debates, to the mass communication activities and to the international relationships.

The issues of the political debate, were not reproducing the traditional cleavage left/right wings, but proposing a new pattern of local based representation and democracy. Facing with the matter of fact that the national political system is no longer able to cope with the challenges coming from the changed international scenario, a wider demand for autonomy and federalism, based on the possibility for the citizens to participate to the decision making processes and deliberate, and above all the political turn over, –which, according to Lega, is easier on a local level, rather than national.

Besides the birth of new collective identities - like the “Padania” for Lega Nord – with all the related behavioral models and founding myths, a demand for new participative models and political legitimacy is increasing. They try through a wide range of models of governance - participative balances, citizens juries and deliberative polls - to put the basis for a “participative and deliberative democracy”. All these instruments are supposed to limit the crisis of political representativeness, and grant the political institutions of responsiveness to the citizens’ expectations.