Overview
- Speaking in Bologna, the president called for continued, constructive engagement between ANCI and the government on resources, priority interventions and the lasting effects of past current-spending cuts on city budgets.
- He said the European Recovery Plan has accelerated municipal skills and capacity and warned it would be damaging not to deploy those resources effectively, highlighting the significance of ANCI’s Cohesion Agenda.
- He described municipalities as the first line of democracy and said they must reflect the popular will at a time of declining electoral participation.
- He cautioned that technical mechanisms cannot fix abstention and may aggravate it, stressing that political representativeness is essential.
- In a video message, the prime minister said the 2026 budget adds no new cuts for local authorities and increases funding for foster care and summer centers while expanding equalization measures and easing spending constraints.