All last administrative elections practically one voter out of two went to vote, 54,69% of those entitled (and it went even worse in the big cities). The low turnout in the vote has deep roots and is part of a persistent climate of low trust in parties. But there is something more that affects the electoral numbers. The majority of issues that change, and in some cases distort, the lives of citizen-voters are less and less the object of contention than participatory democracy. Economic, health, environmental and industrial policies, the great changes on the labor market, are all topics that pass over the national and local political dimension. Covid has exacerbated this progressive sense of frustration with the rules and mechanisms of political representation. Alberto Baban, former president of the small industry of Confindustria Veneto, now head of VeNetWork Spa, an accelerator that "networks" more than 60 companies, has always been a careful observer of what moves in the space that connects the fabric productive to the Venetian society.
Even in the North, in what is defined as the productive locomotive of the country, there is a low turnout in the vote.
«They were still local elections, voters feel called into question when they feel a sort of urgency to vote. Mario Draghi is in government, a strong leader, who gives security, most likely large sections of the population are disinterested in what happens in politics ».
Wouldn't there be a need for greater participation especially in this economic restart phase?
«We live in complex times, economic and social events change people's lives very quickly and violently. Dynamics are underway that will upset our economies: access to raw materials, their increasingly high cost, the new balances that are being created in global manufacturing. Politics don't talk about it."
Voters suffer only the consequences of this continuous turbulence.
«Politics has no interest in making long-term, visionary proposals, because they are not rewarding in terms of consensus. Political liking is created only on the things that are needed today. The risk, as can be seen from the electoral turnout, is an incurable gap between the generations».
However, populisms in their various meanings have deflated.
«In the recent past, in some moments, we have been the least credible country in the euro area. The response to the crisis came with populism and sovereignty, phenomena that are not identical, but superimposable. The no-euros, the anti-Europeans who are in government today and pretend to be European facades, one is worth one, have gotten us nowhere. Perhaps the voters have understood it too ».
From the Veneto, hearing the various positions taken by the intermediate bodies, especially those of industry, a climate of trust in the pragmatism embodied by Mario Draghi shines through.
«Because Veneto feels the economic recovery strongly. He trusts Mario Draghi's credibility, his being apolitical and non-partisan but at the same time much more than a "technician". The Venetians recognize themselves in his traits, precisely his pragmatism, seriousness, attention to work, low and almost silent profile. Then Draghi has said on several occasions that he will not impose new taxes and will devote himself to spending the resources of the Pnnr well ».
Strategic issues such as Pnnr, or ecological transition policies, are decided at a higher level. Isn't disenchantment among voters created here too?
«Perhaps it is easier to distinguish the "non-voters" based on age. The older ones suffer from a lack of representation, of credible parties that challenge each other on concrete issues. The disaffection of young people is more serious, I am very concerned that they do not feel the urgency of directly appropriating their future".
