Italy represents an anomaly in the European elections. In fact, in no member state of the European Union, the direct candidacy on the lists for Strasbrugo and Brussels of the party leaders is recorded. As, however, it happens in our country where 5 party secretaries will guide their lists, often in all circumscriptions or almost. The most striking case is that of Premier Giorgia Meloni (a European Unicum the candidacy of the head of head of government in office), which is however in the company of Antonio Tajani (FI), Elly Schlein (Pd), Carlo Calenda (action) and Matteo Renzi (United States of Europe). All of these, with the exception of Renzi, have already clarified that in the event of an election they will not sit on the Brussellese seat.

The Italian anomaly, however, finds an explanation in another anomaly: that of the election system for the European Parliament.

Only Italy among the large EU member states, in fact, provides for a division into constraints of such large dimensions. Apart from the Circumscription Islands (which unites Sardinia and Sicily without logic) which however measures over 6 million, the other four circumscriptions all count more than 10 million inhabitants. North-west 16 million, north-east 11.6 million, center 12 million, south 14 million. Only Italy, among the large countries, provides for the election in so large circumscriptions through preferences.

The leaders candidates by force

Now, what are the politicians who can reasonably convince (in a month of the election campaign) thousands of people write their surname on the card inside an electoral basin that can count on up to 16 million inhabitants? Only national leaders or more known media characters.

It becomes almost natural, in such a combined voting system and in an era of weak parties, that the leaders are pushed to take the field firsthand. Just as it is equally frequent that television characters are candidates known to the general public for reasons foreign to politics, but thanks to their notoriety they can attract hundreds of thousands of votes.

It was the logic that, for example, led the olive tree to nominate and elect Michele Santoro and Lilly Gruber in 2004 or in 2009 the Democratic Party to focus on the late David Sassoli (at the time conductor of Tg1 at 20 and who, unlike the other two colleagues who resigned before the end of the mandate, was able to be appreciated by the point of being elected President of the European Parliament).

Some observers claim that being voted and then remaining in place in Italy is equivalent to a “betrayal” of the electoral mandate. But do you really think that the millions of Italians who write Meloni (or “Giorgia”), Schelin (or “Elly”), Tajani, Calenda or Renzi on the card, expect their leaders to go to Brussels? Those who vote for their party secretary do not ask him to move to Brussels but hope to give him more strength in the national political battle.

The real Italian anomaly

What should ask for politics, on the other hand, is to put his hand to the Italian electoral law for the European Parliament. Which set up (circumscriptions by over 10 million inhabitants and direct preferences) provides for enormous costs, lends itself to distortions and prevents consolidating a European ruling class as our main European partners do. Italy should, however, conform to what the other great EU democracies do.

In France, Germany and Spain, for example, for the European elections there is only one national college with blocked lists and the voter votes for the party that best represents it. In these states, candidates for the European Parliament are decided with selection processes inside the parties many months before the vote and those who choose to vote for a party also know what the “team” would be to bring to Brussels.

Without a similar model, the European vote in Italy will continue to be a fake national election of Midterm instead of an opportunity to truly deal on the Europe we would like.