“All the parties rejoice at the great electoral result achieved, comparing the results with the previous elections, but no one talks about the sad percentage of Sicilians who did not express any preference at the polls, but said clearly that, between politics and citizens, there is a split that includes over 50% of the Sicilian people.” This is what Maria Francesca Briganti, coordinator for the Sicilian Region of the Le Partite VAT Italia association, said.
“Closed in buildings or on leave to seek votes, the politicians elected to the Sicilian Regional Assembly do not take any legislative initiative, among other things in exclusive matters, so thousands of citizens have been without water for weeks and agriculture and animal husbandry must deal with the arrival of the heat”.
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“Typical election campaign ads promise money left and right, but in all this time at least one decisive measure has not been adopted. The real result of the European elections is that Sicilians feel abandoned by the institutions because the political debate has not addressed the real issues of the electoral campaign, including the new stability pact which does not promise anything good”, continues Briganti.
The real plebiscite is that southern Italy and the islands do not feel represented by any party, especially now that, strengthened by this victory, they will proceed quickly towards differentiated autonomy. Politics must reflect on the fact that it has been left orphaned by the popular consensus of those who abstained because their voice is not heard, instead of celebrating a consensus that does not represent a small percentage of those entitled to vote.
The Sicilians desert the vote
Sicilians deserted the vote to elect new community representatives through the 2024 European elections. The island ranked nineteenth in Italy in terms of turnout (around 37%), behind only Sardinia. A fact that placed the “Islands constituency” in last place in this special ranking of Italian macro-areas. Numbers that there is nothing to be proud of given that voting is a right but above all a civic duty. The 37 municipalities that are about to elect new mayors have thought of giving some substance to the Sicilian turnout. Where there was also voting for local elections, the statistics showed a notable increase in voters in percentage terms compared to the rest of the island.
