A third mandate for the mayors of large cities already in office for 10 years? According to the judges of the Consulta, it is not possible. The officials in Piazza del Quirinale have in fact declared unfounded the questions of constitutional legitimacy of the law which does not provide, even for the mayors of municipalities with a population exceeding 15,000 inhabitants, the possibility of a third consecutive mandate. The Court expressed its opinion on the appeal brought by the Liguria Region regarding the legislative decree 7/2024 which, by modifying article 51, paragraph 2, of the Tuel, essentially eliminated any mandate limit for mayors of municipalities with a population of up to 5,000 inhabitants; imposed three term limits for mayors of municipalities with populations between 5,001 and 15,000 inhabitants; maintained two term limits for mayors of municipalities with a population exceeding 15,000 inhabitants.
The Constitutional Court recalled that the limit on consecutive mandates was introduced with article 2 of law 81/1993. The identification of the balance point, being the result of a balance between different constitutional interests, is an expression of the discretion of the legislator. The latter can only be reviewed if manifestly unreasonable and this characteristic, again according to the Consulta, cannot be found in the specific case.
