{"id":4733,"date":"2017-04-02T15:18:41","date_gmt":"2017-04-02T15:18:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.communitymediaresearch.it\/?p=4733"},"modified":"2026-01-19T18:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T17:48:13","slug":"peso-economico-vs-peso-politico-delle-regioni-a-nordest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.community.it\/en\/2017\/04\/02\/peso-economico-vs-peso-politico-delle-regioni-a-nordest\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic weight vs. political weight of the regions in the North-East"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent years, the region has taken on increasing importance in public and political debate. And from the second half of the 1990s until just a few years ago, the North-East was certainly the focus of particular attention: it was among the areas most closely scrutinised, analysed and discussed, not only at national level. This was due to a combination of factors. Undoubtedly, this was thanks to its economic performance, but also to its social performance. Thanks to the role of industrial districts, but also to the capacity for social integration following the arrival of migrants. Above all, the North-East anticipated and brought to the national agenda the centrality of the region and its social capital, as well as the principles of subsidiarity and federalism in regional development. Then came the processes of globalisation, which amplified the return to the concept of territory. New technologies connect us to the world; production systems are localised beyond their original borders and extend their networks regardless of frontiers; finance knows no barriers; and migration displaces entire sections of populations: observing such phenomena, it is fair to say that we are becoming a \u2018great global housing block\u2019.<\/p>\n

In the (unconscious) construction of this new \u2018community\u2019, however, a sense of disorientation and a loss of traditional points of reference is also fostered: there is therefore a need, at the same time, to anchor ourselves to our roots and to the social identities of our homeland. More often than not, this is not an either\/or situation: we wish to be open to the world whilst seeking to anchor ourselves to our roots. Politics too \u2013 and not just at a local level \u2013 is rediscovering the importance of the local area, albeit with great difficulty. The transformation of political parties over recent decades has led to a decline in the significance of their local presence: the disappearance and irrelevance of local party branches have been compounded by an entanglement in the internal dynamics of political logic, which has caused them to lose \u2013 as the saying goes \u2013 touch with reality. Hence the call to be amongst the people, to return to the local area \u2013 at least in a visible way \u2013 and to seek new channels of dialogue with various social groups. The business world, too, is discovering the central importance of the local area as a factor in competitiveness. This is not merely a matter of the strong performance of industrial clusters, as also highlighted in the latest report by the Intesa Sanpaolo Research Centre\u2019s Monitor. It is also about the importance the local area plays in showcasing products, and the added value that traditions and the local brand bring to establishing our products on a global scale, as demonstrated by the success of \u2018Made in Italy\u2019. Thus, the local area, in its various meanings, paradoxically becomes central to global dynamics. Just how important it is and what weight it carries is not measured solely in economic terms, but also in terms of the population\u2019s perception of the place where they live. In this regard, the latest survey by Community Media Research explored the importance that the population of the North-East attaches to their own region from two perspectives: economic and political. The result is a map of the three regions that reveals significant differences. Firstly, looking at perceived economic importance, Veneto (89.1 per cent) is the only region in the North-East to make it into the top three, coming second after Lombardy (94.6 per cent) and ahead of Emilia-Romagna (86.8 per cent). Further down the list are Friuli-Venezia Giulia (9th with 17.6 per cent) and Trentino-Alto Adige (12th with 14.3 per cent). Thus, the North-East is moving at different speeds, not only in terms of economic data but also in terms of public perception, with Veneto playing a leading role, whilst the other two regions are following at a slower pace.<\/p>\n

The regional ranking changes when political influence is taken into account. Given that the national average for this is considerably lower (33.2 per cent) than that for economic influence, we see a shift that, as one might expect, affects certain regions in the Centre and North to a greater extent. The top three places are taken by Tuscany (82.4 per cent), followed by Emilia-Romagna (69.4 per cent) and Lazio (68.8 per cent), namely the main regions of origin for ministers in the Gentiloni government (and Renzi\u2019s before that), as well as current leading figures on today\u2019s political scene. The three regions of the North-East rank below the average, but with some significant differences. In 7th place is Friuli-Venezia Giulia (29.4 per cent), with a perceived weight far greater than its economic standing, attributable in large part to the national role played within the PD by Regional President Serracchiani. Veneto is in 9th place (21.7 per cent) and occupies a position that is markedly out of step with its recognised economic role. Trentino-Alto Adige ranks 11th (11.5 per cent), occupying a position of near-marginal political significance on the national stage.<\/p>\n

Such findings therefore highlight that, in the public\u2019s perception, there is no clear overlap between the economic weight attributed to the regions and their political weight, particularly in the case of the most dynamic economic regions such as Veneto. It is as though there were a mismatch between the role of the economy and political representation at national level. On closer inspection, this is not a new issue. The asymmetry between economic stature and political importance at national level has not been bridged since 1992, despite the rare presence of political figures from the north-east amongst ministers. However, this divide also persists within the North-East itself, in its overall representation \u2013 assuming, for the sake of argument, that such a thing is still possible. Scattered, peripheral, marginal are just some of the adjectives recently applied to a North-East which, according to the indicators, has lost the distinctive character it once had. There is, however, a risk: that of confusing the representation (political and organisational) of a region with its dynamics (social and economic). Bearing in mind that the periphery is a place of experimentation, we must therefore observe it closely and carefully, in a nuanced way, in order to describe it realistically and give it its due value. This will also help to bridge the gap between social representation and political representation.<\/p>\n