LOCAL ELECTIONS

On May 4th, local elections were held in Trentino-Alto Adige.

At Protect Our Winters Italy (POW IT), we made the tough decision not to run a full campaign in the lead-up — not because we didn’t care, but because our limited resources required us to focus on operational duties instead.

But I couldn’t just leave it there.

Personally, I've worked closely with over 10 communes the past two years and I’ve come to realize even more that real change starts locally — with people, in their daily lives but also with the politicians. That’s why we at POW IT, more precisely, the core team of South Tyrol, organized a small but impactful climate action right in the historic center of Bolzano.

It was a warm, almost summer-like spring day with temperatures reaching 28°C — far above the seasonal average. A strong reminder of how climate change is already shaping our realities.

🌱 The climate crisis will affect our communities on levels we can't yet fully grasp. That’s why we encouraged people to go out and vote — even on a sunny Sunday when many preferred the lakes to the polling stations.
But the results were sobering: In South Tyrol, only 60% voted — 5.4% less than in 2020. In Bolzano and Merano, the turnout was just 33%, at Brunico only 38%.

Is this political fatigue? Do people believe they can't make a difference in something as 'small' as a local election? Or a sign that our voting system needs to evolve? What if we could vote online via SPID? How would that impact turnout — and results? Who actually benefits from low participation?

What remains is the urgent need to talk. With our friends. With our families. To remind each other that local elections matter deeply. Personally, I’m quite disappointed — but I've also learned, that the smaller scales do not count for less but often for much more than we thought. Be it with climate policy or implementation of European directives.

©Clemens Plaschke