2001 Milan municipal election

Municipal elections were held in Milan on 13 May 2001 to elect the Mayor of Milan and the 60 members of the City Council.

2001 Milan municipal election

← 1997 13 May 2001 2006 →
Turnout82.3% Increase 10.4 pp
Mayoral election
 
Candidate Gabriele Albertini Sandro Antoniazzi
Party Forza Italia Independent
Alliance Centre-right Centre-left
Popular vote 499,020 264,217
Percentage 57.5% 30.5%

Mayor before election

Gabriele Albertini
FI

Elected mayor

Gabriele Albertini
FI

City Council election

All 60 seats in City Council
31 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
Centre-right Gabriele Albertini 54.17 36 0
Centre-left Sandro Antoniazzi 33.39 19 +7
IdV Antonio Di Pietro 5.62 3 +3
FdV Milly Moratti 3.81 1 0
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

The incumbent Mayor Gabriele Albertini easily won a second term in office, defeating the centre-left candidate and former trade unionist Sandro Carlo Antoniazzi.[1]

The municipal elections occurred on the same day of the national general election which was heavily won by Silvio Berlusconi's House of Freedoms, a circumstance that largely influenced also the local vote.[1] In this election, the Mayor was elected for the first time for a five years term, in accordance to a new local administration Law approved in 2000.

Background

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During his first 4-years term as Mayor, Gabriele Albertini usually referred himself as a "condominium administrator",[2] underlining his soft attitude to the government of the city: Albertini's popularity was extremely high since his administration seemed more like the one of a manager heading an enterprise.[3] Describing himself as a man of the civil society, he managed to identify and subdivide municipal affairs with the politically and economically closest interests, choosing trusted men for the top management jobs of large municipal companies and banks and creating a real network of alliances with the social and economical powers of the city, such as businessmen, stylists and bankers.[3]

On the other side, moreover weakened by the national government's extreme unpopularity, the centre-left coalition was unable to find a way to fit into this system of power.[4]

Campaign

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As Albertini decided to conduct a low profile campaign, benefiting from Berlusconi's national campaign (Berlusconi himself was candidate in the constituency of Milan City Centre for the Chamber of Deputies), the semi-unknown centre-left candidate Sandro Antoniazzi struggled to emerge as a competitive contender to the office of Mayor.[4] Moreover the centre-left coalition was deeply divided, with the Federation of the Greens (FdV) and Italy of Values (IdV) parties presenting their own mayoral candidates (respectively the environmentalist activist Milly Moratti and the notorious former magistrate Antonio Di Pietro).[4]

On the contrary, the centre-right coalition was unified thanks to a new alliance between Berlusconi and the Lega Nord leader Umberto Bossi, even if Bossi repeatedly attacked the incumbent Mayor describing him as a "man of power" while his party was at the side of the people.[5]

Voting system

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The semipresidential voting system was the one used for all mayoral elections in Italy of cities with a population higher than 15,000 for the third time. Under this system voters express a direct choice for the Mayor or an indirect choice voting for the party of the candidate's coalition. If no candidate receives at least 50% of votes, the top two candidates go to a second round after two weeks. This gives a result whereby the winning candidate may be able to claim majority support.

The election of the City Council is based on a direct choice for the candidate with a preference vote: the candidate with the majority of the preferences is elected. The number of the seats for each losing party is determined proportionally.

Parties and candidates

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Gabriele Albertini welcoming Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip to Milan on 6 June 2000

This is a list of the major parties (and their respective leaders) which participated in the election.

Political party or alliance Constituent lists Candidate
Federation of the Greens Milly Moratti
Centre-left coalition
(The Olive Tree)
Democrats of the Left Sandro Antoniazzi
The Daisy
Communist Refoundation Party
Party of Italian Communists
Italian Democratic Socialists
Italy of Values Antonio Di Pietro
Centre-right coalition
(House of Freedoms)
Forza Italia Gabriele Albertini
National Alliance
Northern League
Christian Democratic Centre

Results

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Summary of the 2001 Milan City Council and Mayoral election results
 
Candidates Votes % Leader's
seat
Parties Votes % Seats
Gabriele Albertini 499,020 57.54 Forza Italia 245,052 37.47 25
National Alliance 66,389 10.15 7
Northern League 28,623 4.38 3
Christian Democratic CentreUnited Christian Democrats 14,184 2.17 1
Total 354,248 54.17 36
Sandro Antoniazzi 264,217 30.47  Y Democrats of the Left 91,336 13.97 8
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy 66,337 10.14 6
Communist Refoundation Party 39,663 6.06 3
Miracle in Milan 11,513 1.76 1
Party of Italian Communists 5,990 0.92
Italian Democratic Socialists 3,550 0.54
Total 218,389 33.39 18
Antonio Di Pietro 45,667 5.27  Y Italy of Values 36,746 5.62 2
Milly Moratti 36,189 4.17  Y Federation of the Greens 17,570 2.69 1
Moratti List 7,333 1.12
Total 24,903 3.81 1
Arturo Testa 6,749 0.78 Pensioners' Party 6,074 0.93
Camilla Occhionorelli 3,965 0.46 European Democracy 3,434 0.53
Attilio Carelli 3,832 0.44 Tricolour Flame 3,416 0.52
Stefano Carluccio 3,108 0.36 Liberal Socialists 2,898 0.44
Giorgio Schultze 2,586 0.30 Humanist Party 2,227 0.34
Sergio Gozzoli 1,878 0.22 New Force 1,655 0.25
Total 867,211 100.00 3 653,990 100.00 57
Eligible voters 1,091,046 100.00
Did not vote 193,191 17.71
Voted 897,855 82.29
Blank or invalid ballots 30,644 3.4
Total valid votes 867,211 96.6
Source: Ministry of the Interior

References

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  1. ^ a b "Milano, per Albertini sindaco più voti che ai partiti del Polo" (in Italian). La Stampa. 15 May 2001. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Albertini, una sfida senza storia ancora sindaco col 60% dei voti" (in Italian). la Repubblica. 14 May 2001. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b "La nomenklatura di Albertini" (in Italian). la Repubblica. 13 September 1999. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Milano, Albertini snobba i comizi e Antoniazzi lavora per i posteri" (in Italian). la Repubblica. 30 April 2001. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Bossi-Albertini, offese e scontro" (in Italian). la Repubblica. 10 January 2001. Retrieved 5 April 2021.