How to lose a mayor: The case of Bologna

Journal of Modern Italian Studies

Volumn 5, Issue 1, 2000, Pages 22-35

  Campus, Donatella ^a   Pasquino, Gianfranco ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA   (Italy)

Author keywords

Bologna; Elections; Italian; Mayoral; Politics

Indexed keywords

EID: 1642333661     PISSN: 1354571X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/135457100362607     Document Type: Review

References (11)

1. The merits of Bologna as the anticipatory capital of the Olive Tree coalition (Democratic Party of the Left, Popolari, Greens, Social Christians, Labourites) that won the 1996 national elections are perhaps overestimated by W. Dondi, Bologna Italia. L'esperienza emiliana e il governo dell'Ulivo (Rome: Donzelli, 1998).
2. The reference is, of course, to R. Michels's famous analysis of the German Social Democratic Party originally published in 1911. The English translation, Political Parties (Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press, 1966), has an excellent introduction by S. M. Lipset. The Italian translation La sociologia del partito politico (Bologna: Il Mulino, 1966) has an extremely dense (pp. vii-cxix), stimulating and outstanding introduction by Juan Linz. The reason why we stress this point is because Michels was dealing with the corruption of democratic practices inevitably produced within a left-wing party by the career imperatives of party functionaries.
3. For a defence of Vitali and many other relevant points, see the highly informative pamphlet by the deputy mayor, a well-known Catholic and one of the founders of the association and the publishing house Il Mulino, Luigi Pedrazzi, L'Ulivocultore bolognese (Bologna: Il Mulino/Alfa Tape, 1998).
4. Compare Bartolini's, Ramazza's and Guazzaloca's declarations in La Repubblica of 21 March 1999. Bartolini: 'Guazzaloca has already reached his maximum. I can gain on the Left'; Ramazza: 'If undecided voters are Leftist, I do not see any danger'; Guazzaloca 'The race is on. If 45 per cent are still undecided, it is a nonsense to think of being in the lead now'.
5. According to the Cattaneo survey (20 March 1999), personal security was seen as the primary problem to be solved: 88 per cent described it as serious or very serious. By disaggregating the data by ideological affiliation, one observes that this worry is most predominant among the Centre (96 per cent) the Centre-Right (89 per cent) and the Right (95 percent); however, the Centre-Left (86 percent) and the Left (78 percent) are also worried. The problem has been of increasing concern to the Bolognese public in the last few years: in 1995, it was ranked ninth among Bologna's main problems (survey SWG).
6. The letters sent to the mayor bear witness to the emerging and already deep concern, often almost outrage, mainly created by the neglected issue of crime and immigration. See Egregio Signor Sindaco. Lettere dei cittadini e risposta dell'istituzione sui problemi della sicurezza, ed. M. Barbagli, with an afterword by the former mayor Walter Vitali (Bologna: Il Mulino, 1999).
7. According to the afore-mentioned Cattaneo survey, Bartolini was preferred by 28 per cent of men and 21 per cent of women. Young people (aged 18-29) in this pre-electoral poll showed a clear preference for Guazzaloca (22 per cent vs. 16 per cent). A BPA post-electoral poll confirmed this trend: 77 per cent of young people actually voted for Guazzaloca.
8. In addition to Pedrazzi, L'Ulivocultore bolognese, and for lack of up-to-date analyses, we are happily obliged to refer to G. Pasquino, 'Democrazia e istituzioni a Bologna (1945-1985)', in Storia illustrata di Bologna (Milan: Nuova Editorial Aiep, 1990), Vol. V, pp. 1-20, for data and interpretations.
9. According to a poll performed by the BPA between the two ballots, 40 per cent of the Popolari and 35 per cent of the Democrats for Prodi voters said they were undecided and were thinking of abstaining. This could have meant a loss of more than about 10,000 votes for Bartolini.
10. M. Barbagli and M. Pisati, Rapporto sulla situazione sociale a Bologna (Bologna: Il Mulino, 1995).
11. Guazzaloca's reference was somewhat audacious because Dozza had a strong party at his disposal and proved to be a highly innovative mayor. However, he wanted essentially to highlight the distance between the beloved giant of the city administration and those pygmies, his left-wing successors.