Two weeks ago elections were held in the autonomous province of the South Tyrol and on November 10 it was the turn of the Trentino, the other autonomous province within the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, to go to the polls.

The Trentino elections marked another success for the pro-autonomy camp. The incumbent provincial president, Lorenzo Dellai, sees his leadership of the Union for Trentino (Unione per il Trentino) revalidated and he will now serve a third successive term as president of the provincial government. The list of parties headed by Dellai brought together the Democratic Party (Partito Democratico, which received the largest share of the vote at 21%), Dellai's own party (Union for Trentino, 17%), the Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party (Partito Autonomista Trentino Tirolese, 8%) and three other parties, including the Ladin Autonomist Union (Unione Autonomista Ladina), which was awarded the seat reserved for the Ladin community in the Dolomite region in the north of the province.

The centre-left coalition obtained 165,000 votes (57%) overall, leaving the centre-right list (36%) some distance behind. But support for one of the parties of the centre-right coalition, the Northern League (Lega Nord), increased significantly: scoring 14%, the Northern League overtook Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (Popolo della Libertà, 12%) to become the third political force in the province. The winning candidate, Lorenzo Dellai, and his Union for Trentino say identity and autonomy constitute the very "soul" of their party. Their vision is one of local autonomy as opposed to the Northern League's plans for regional federalism.

The provincial elections in the South Tyrol and the Trentino also determined the composition of the Regional Council of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The South Tyrolean People's Party and the Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party will both have 21 seats in the Regional Council; the Democratic Party will have 10; People of Freedom, 8; Northern League, 8; Union for the Trentino, 7; the Libertarians, 5; the Greens, 3; the South Tyrolean Freedom Party, 2; and Italy of Values, Claudio Eccher, Nerio Giovanazzi, Union for South Tyrol, Unitalia and the Ladin Autonomist Union take one seat each.

Further information:

• Corriere della Sera: Provinciali Trentino, vince centrosinistra - Veltroni: «Il vento sta cambiando»
• Asca: Trento: il successo di Dellai non e' ancora ricetta nazionale
• Official results