Politics of Marche
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The politics of Marche, a region of Italy, takes place in the framework of an "anomalous presidential"[1][2] representative democracy or prime-ministerial system with an executive presidency, whereby the President of the Region is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in the Regional Council, while executive power is exercised by the Regional Government led by the President, who is directly elected by the people. The current Statute, which regulates the functioning of the regional institutions, has been in force since 2004.
Prior to the rise of Fascism, most of the deputies elected in Marche were part of the liberal establishment (see Historical Right, Historical Left and Liberals), which governed Italy for decades. The region, especially its northern part (largely inhabited by Romagnoli), was also a stronghold of the Italian Republican Party. In the 1919 general election Marche was one of the regions in which the Italian People's Party, while in the 1924 general election the National Fascist Party took more than 60%.[3]
After World War II Marche was an early stronghold of Christian Democracy and later one of the few regions where the Christian Democrats and the Italian Communist Party were close in terms of the popular vote. However, from 1970 to 1995 the Italian Socialist Party teamed up with the Christian Democrats and long held the presidency, leaving the Communists out of the regional government. Since 1995 the region has been a stronghold of the post-Communist parties, from the Democratic Party of the Left to the present-day Democratic Party, and became part of the so-called "Red belt", along with Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria.[4][5][6]
Executive branch
[edit]The Regional Government (Giunta Regionale) is presided by the President of the Region (Presidente della Regione), who is elected for a five-year term, and is composed by the President and the Ministers (Assessori), who cannot be more than ten, including a vice president.[7]
List of presidents
[edit]| President | Term of office | Party | Coalition | Administration | Legislature | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presidents elected by the Regional Council of Marche (1970–1995) | ||||||||
| 1 |  |
Giuseppe Serrini (1917–1994) |
1 August 1970 |
19 December 1972 |
DC | DC • PSI • PSDI • PRI | Serrini | I (1970) |
| 2 |  |
Dino Tiberi (1923–2013) |
19 December 1972 |
10 September 1975 |
DC | DC • PSI • PSDI • PRI | Tiberi | |
| 3 |  |
Adriano Ciaffi (b. 1936) |
10 September 1975 |
7 September 1978 |
DC | DC • PSI • PSDI • PRI | Ciaffi | II (1975) |
| 4 | |
Emidio Massi (1922–2016) |
7 September 1978 |
18 November 1980 |
PSI | DC • PSI • PSDI • PRI | Massi I | |
| 18 November 1980 |
21 October 1985 |
DC • PSI • PSDI • PRI | Massi II | III (1980) | ||||
| 21 October 1985 |
22 July 1990 |
DC • PSI • PSDI • PRI | Massi III | IV (1985) | ||||
| 5 | |
Rodolfo Giampaoli (1939–2026) |
22 July 1990 |
29 July 1993 |
DC | DC • PSI • PSDI • PRI | Gianpaoli | V (1990) |
| 6 | |
Gaetano Recchi (1934–2023) |
29 July 1993 |
19 June 1995 |
PSI | DC • PSI • FdV | Recchi | |
| Directly-elected presidents (since 1995) | ||||||||
| 7 | |
Vito D'Ambrosio (b. 1943) |
19 June 1995 |
17 April 2000 |
PDS DS |
PDS • PRC • FdV | D'Ambrosio I | VI (1995) |
| 17 April 2000 |
5 April 2005 |
DS • PRC • PPI • FdV | D'Ambrosio II | VII (2000) | ||||
| 8 |  |
Gian Mario Spacca (b. 1953) |
5 April 2005 |
30 March 2010 |
DL PD |
DS • DL • PRC • FdV • PdCI | Spacca I | VIII (2005) |
| 30 March 2010 |
12 June 2015 |
PD • IdV • UDC • FdV | Spacca II | IX (2010) | ||||
| 9 | .jpg) |
Luca Ceriscioli (b. 1966) |
12 June 2015 |
30 September 2020 |
PD | PD • IdV • UDC • FdV • PSI | Ceriscioli | X (2015) |
| 10 |  |
Francesco Acquaroli (b. 1974) |
30 September 2020[8] |
29 September 2025[8] |
FdI | League • FdI • FI | Acquaroli I | XI (2020) |
| 30 September 2025 |
In office | Acquaroli II | XII (2025) | |||||
Legislative branch
[edit] | This section needs to be updated. (September 2015) |
The Regional Legislative Assembly of Marche (Assemblea Legislativa Regionale delle Marche) is composed of 40 members. 32 councillors are elected in provincial constituencies by proportional representation using the largest remainder method with a Droop quota and open lists, while 8 councillors (elected in bloc) come from a "regional list", including the President-elect. One seat is reserved for the candidate who comes second. If a coalition wins more than 50% of the total seats in the Council with PR, only 4 candidates from the regional list will be chosen and the number of those elected in provincial constituencies will be 36. If the winning coalition receives less than 40% of votes special seats are added to the Council to ensure a large majority for the President's coalition.[9]
The Council is elected for a five-year term, but, if the President suffers a vote of no confidence, resigns or dies, under the simul stabunt, simul cadent clause introduced in 1999 (literally they will stand together or they will fall together), also the Council is dissolved and a snap election is called.[10]
Current composition
[edit]The Regional Council of Marche is currently composed of the following political groups:[11]
| Party | Seats | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brothers of Italy (FdI) | 11 / 31 |
In government | |
| Democratic Party (PD) | 7 / 31 |
In opposition | |
| Lega | 3 / 31 |
In government | |
| Forza Italia (FI) | 3 / 31 |
In government | |
| Ricci for President | 2 / 31 |
In opposition | |
| Five Star Movement (M5S) | 1 / 31 |
In opposition | |
| Marchigiani for Acquaroli for President (MAP) | 1 / 31 |
In government | |
| Civics Marche | 1 / 31 |
In government | |
| Union of the Centre (UDC) | 1 / 31 |
In government | |
| Greens and Left Alliance (AVS) | 1 / 31 |
In opposition | |
By coalition:
| Coalition | Seats | Status |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centre-right coalition | 20 / 31 |
Government | ||
| Centre-left coalition | 11 / 31 |
Opposition | ||
Local government
[edit] | This section needs to be updated. (December 2024) |
Provinces
[edit]| Province | Inhabitants | President | Party | Election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancona | 482,886 | Daniele Carnevali | Italian Socialist Party | 2021 | |
| Pesaro and Urbino | 364,896 | Giuseppe Paolini | Democratic Party | 2018 | |
| Macerata | 324,188 | Sandro Parcaroli | Lega Nord | 2021 | |
| Ascoli Piceno | 214,014 | Sergio Loggi | Italia Viva | 2021 | |
| Fermo | 177,993 | Michele Ortenzi | Independent (centre-right) | 2021 | |
Municipalities
[edit]- Provincial capitals
| Municipality | Inhabitants | Mayor | Party | Election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancona | 102,500 | Daniele Silvetti | Forza Italia | 2023 | |
| Ascoli Piceno | 51,168 | Marco Fioravanti | Brothers of Italy | 2019 | |
| Fermo | 37,869 | Paolo Calcinaro | Civic list | 2020 | |
| Macerata | 43,000 | Sandro Parcaroli | Lega Nord | 2020 | |
| Pesaro | 98,438 | Andrea Biancani | Democratic Party | 2024 | |
- Other municipalities
| Municipality | Inhabitants | Mayor | Party | Election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fano | 63,922 | Luca Serfilippi | Lega | 2024 | |
| San Benedetto del Tronto | 48,036 | Antonio Spazzafumo | Civic list | 2021 | |
| Senigallia | 44,673 | Massimo Olivetti | Independent (centre-right) | 2020 | |
| Jesi | 40,502 | Lorenzo Fiordelmondo | Democratic Party | 2022 | |
| Civitanova Marche | 40,400 | Fabrizio Ciarapica | Forza Italia | 2017 | |
| Urbino | 15,501 | Maurizio Gambini | Independent (centre-right) | 2014 | |
Parties and elections
[edit]Latest regional election
[edit]In the latest regional election, which took place on 28–29 September 2025, incumbent president Francesco Acquaroli of the Brothers of Italy (FdI) was re-elected by beating Matteo Ricci of the Democratic Party (PD). FdI was the largest party, followed by the PD, Forza Italia and Lega Marche, the latter two part of the centre-right coalition led by FdI.
 | ||||||||||
| Candidates | Votes | % | Seats | Parties | Votes | % | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francesco Acquaroli | 337,679 | 52.43 | 1 | Brothers of Italy | 155,540 | 27.41 | 10 | |||
| Forza Italia | 48,823 | 8.60 | 3 | |||||||
| Lega Marche | 41,805 | 7.37 | 3 | |||||||
| Marchigiani for Acquaroli President | 24,104 | 4.25 | 1 | |||||||
| Civics for Acquaroli President | 14,680 | 2.59 | 1 | |||||||
| Union of the Centre | 10,853 | 1.91 | 1 | |||||||
| Us Moderates | 9,299 | 1.64 | – | |||||||
| Total | 305,104 | 53.77 | 19 | |||||||
| Matteo Ricci | 286,209 | 44.44 | 1 (0)[a] | Democratic Party | 127,638 | 22.50 | 6 | |||
| Civic List Ricci for President | 41,650 | 7.34 | 2 | |||||||
| Five Star Movement | 28,836 | 5.08 | 1 | |||||||
| Greens and Left Alliance | 23,565 | 4.15 | 1 | |||||||
| Marche Alive Project | 10,872 | 1.92 | – (1)[b] | |||||||
| Civic Project Forward with Ricci | 8,100 | 1.43 | – | |||||||
| Peace Health Work | 6,392 | 1.13 | – | |||||||
| Total | 247,053 | 43.54 | 10 (11)[c] | |||||||
| Beatrice Marinelli | 6,302 | 0.98 | – | Evolution of the Revolution | 4,867 | 0.86 | – | |||
| Lidia Mangani | 5,039 | 0.78 | – | Italian Communist Party | 3,388 | 0.60 | – | |||
| Claudio Bolletta | 4,851 | 0.75 | – | Sovereign Popular Democracy | 3,953 | 0.70 | – | |||
| Francesco Gerardi | 3,916 | 0.61 | – | Force of the People | 3,037 | 0.54 | – | |||
| Blank and invalid votes | – | – | ||||||||
| Total candidates | 643,996 | 100.00 | 2 (1) [d] | Total parties | 567,402 | 100.00 | 29 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | – | 50.01 | ||||||||
| Source: Marche Region – Results | ||||||||||
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Palermo, Francesco (31 October 2019). "The Erosion of Italian Regionalism". Verfassungsblog. doi:10.17176/20191031-163150-0. ISSN 2366-7044.
The attention given to the regional elections in Umbria didn't change when the direct election of regional presidents was introduced in 1995 (and constitutionalized in 1999), making Italy the only European country with a presidential system at regional level. For the past two decades, the only electoral thrill in the region was the amount of votes and the broader or smaller margin in favour of the presidential candidate from the leftist coalition.
- ↑ Vampa, Davide (2021). "Translating votes into seats and offices: Changing representation and government in the Italian Regions (2018-2020)". Contemporary Italian Politics. 13 (4): 485–505. doi:10.1080/23248823.2021.1969490.
The rationale of the index is the same as that of the general ENP, with a score of 1 meaning that the opposition is formed by just one party, 2 meaning that there are two opposition parties of exactly the same size, and so on. In this article the same index is also applied to the ruling coalition to determine whether it is more or less fragmented than its opposition. In an anomalous presidential system like the one existing in Italian regions, government formation is still linked to parliamentary dynamics (i.e.the composition of regional councils). Therefore, rather than focusing on vote shares, this time we only consider how seats are distributed within the government and opposition camps (ENPSM; ENPSO).
- ↑ Piergiorgio Corbetta; Maria Serena Piretti, Atlante storico-elettorale d'Italia, Zanichelli, Bologna 2009
- ↑ Ceccarini, Luigi; Newell, James L. (2019). The Italian General Election of 2018: Italy in Uncharted Territory. Springer. p. 252. ISBN 9783030136178. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ↑ Newell, James L. (2010). The Politics of Italy: Governance in a Normal Country. Cambridge University Press. p. 229. ISBN 9781139788892. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ↑ Barbieri, Giovanni (2012). "The Northern League in the 'Red Belt' of Italy" (PDF). Bulletin of Italian Politics. 4 (2). University of Glasgow: 277–294. ISSN 1759-3077. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ↑ "Regione Marche > Entra in Regione > Istituzione > Assessorati".
- 1 2 "Who is Acquaroli, the Melonian governor on his encore after wresting Marche from the left". Il Sole 24 ORE. 29 September 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ↑ La Repubblica – Regional electoral law
- ↑ "Regional Council of Lombardy – 1999 Constitutional law" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
- ↑ "Consiglio - Assemblea legislativa regionale delle Marche - Gruppi Consiliari". www.consiglio.marche.it (in Italian). Retrieved 4 July 2019.
External links
[edit] Politics of Italian regions | |
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