Government, assembly and regional councilmen between continuity and change

During the last years significant institutional reforms interested the Italian regional institutions. The introduction of the direct election of the governors and the extension of their powers changed the executive-assembly relationships. The council redefined its role, moving away from that parliamentary model which in the First Republic determined its institutional centrality and frequently opened the door for the intrusion of its members in governmental activities. In this framework the figure of the regional councilmen represents a symbol of the Italian regional transition, still suspended between elements of continuity and change. For instance the social composition of new assemblies (gender, age, profession), parliamentary turnout and career structures of regional politicians photograph the absence of relevant innovation in such field. At the same time new electoral rules preserve the preference voting for the election of the Mps, assuring them a direct form of popular legitimacy. On the other hand the reforms underlined the distinction between consiglieri and assessori, now nominated directly by the Italian regional presidents often from the outside of the assembly. As the deliberative process is concerned, the councilmen lost some powers on the legislative arena, although they acquire new instrument to define regional statutes. This paper will concentrate attention on a) the new constitutional framework of the Italian regions and the new relationship between government and assembly b) the profile of the regional representatives, in terms of social and political features c) the position - and perspectives - of regional councilmen in the regional political system.